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John A. Roche (August 12, 1844 - February 10, 1904; buried in Rosehill Cemetery) served as mayor of Chicago, Illinois (1887–1889) for the Republican Party. He was elected as 25th mayor, 39th term (due to multiple terms of other mayors.) He was born in Utica New York, and served as an apprentice to his brother for three years. He stayed in business for a long time, and had but a high school education. He was a firm believer in education and mentions this in his inaugural address.
Move to Chicago
In 1869, he moved to Chicago to do business. He loved it, and decided to become a candidate for the Republican Party. He was won against the democratic candidate, Robert L. Nelson. People admired him for his assertive and straightforward nature and history of business. As a mayor, he was prominent for the drainage and water supply commission and being appointed to suppress gambling in saloons as well as closing disreputable ones.
Retirement
After retiring, he focused his attention once again on business, and became manager and vice president of the Crane Elevator Company. In 1983 he was elected president of the Lake Street Elevated Railroad Company. He then died on February 10th one hour after a meeting from Uremic poisoning.
Bibliography
Tiwana, Shaw, & O’Brien, Ellen, & Benedict, Lyle. (2007). Inaugural addresses of the mayors of Chicago. Chicago, IL: Chicago Public Library Compilations.
Louise Pierce, Bessie. (1953). History of Chicago, volume III: The rise and fall of a modern city. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Hucke, Matt. (1996-2006). Rosehill cemetery and mausoleum. Retrieved December 12, 2007, from http://www.graveyards.com/IL/Cook/rosehill/roche/html.
Torp, Kim. (2006). The history of Chicago’s mayors. Retrieved on December 12, 2007, from http://www.genealogytrails.com/ill/cook/Mayors of Chicago.html.
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