James Albertus TAWNEY, Congress, MN (1855-1919)

TAWNEY, James Albertus, a Representative from Minnesota; born in Mount Pleasant Township, near Gettysburg, Adams County, Pa., January 3, 1855; apprenticed with his father as a blacksmith; subsequently learned the trade of machinist; moved to Winona, Minn., August 1, 1877, where he was employed as a blacksmith and machinist until January 1, 1881; attended the law department of the University of Wisconsin at Madison; was admitted to the bar in 1882 and commenced practice in Winona, Winona County, Minn.; member of the State senate of Minnesota in 1890; elected as a Republican to the Fifty-third and to the eight succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1893-March 3, 1911); majority whip (Fifty-fifth through Fifty-eighth Congresses); chairman, Committee on Appropriations (Fifty-ninth through Sixty-first Congresses); unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1910; member of the International Joint Commission, created to prevent disputes regarding the use of boundary waters between the United States and Canada, from March 11, 1911, until his death, serving as chairman of the United States section from September 17, 1911, to December 1, 1914; died at Excelsior Springs, Clay County, Mo., June 12, 1919; interment in Woodlawn Cemetery, Winona, Minn.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present