George W. McCrary
George Washington McCrary (August 29, 1835 – June 23, 1890) was a United States representative from Iowa, the 33rd United States Secretary of War and a United States circuit judge of the United States Circuit Courts for the Eighth Circuit.
George W. McCrary
Michael C. Kerr (1875–1876)
Samuel J. Randall (1876–1877)
June 23, 1890 (aged 54)
St. Joseph, Missouri
Education and career[edit]
Born on August 29, 1835, near Evansville, Vanderburg County, Indiana,[1] McCrary moved with his parents in 1836 to the Wisconsin Territory (Iowa Territory from July 4, 1838, State of Iowa from December 28, 1846) who settled in Van Buren County.[2][3] He attended the public schools, taught in the country schools at age 18,[3] read law at the law firm of future United States Supreme Court Justice Samuel Freeman Miller[3] and was admitted to the bar in 1856.[1] He entered private practice in Keokuk, Iowa from 1856 to 1857.[1] He was a member of the Iowa House of Representatives in 1857, resuming private practice in Keokuk from 1858 to 1861.[1] He was a member of the Iowa Senate from 1861 to 1865, again resuming private practice in Keokuk from 1862 to 1869.[1]
Federal judicial service[edit]
McCrary was nominated by President Rutherford B. Hayes on December 1, 1879, to a seat on the United States Circuit Courts for the Eighth Circuit vacated by Judge John Forrest Dillon.[1] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 9, 1879, and received his commission the same day.[1] His service terminated on March 18, 1884, due to his resignation, which he attributed to his family's financial need after his many years of public service.[1][3][12]
Later career and death[edit]
Following his resignation from the federal bench, McCrary resumed private practice in Kansas City, Missouri from 1884 to 1890.[1] He served as general counsel for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad Company in Kansas City, Missouri from 1884 to 1890.[3][12] He died on June 23, 1890, in St. Joseph, Missouri,[1] after suffering from a stomach tumor.[2] He was interred in Oakland Cemetery in Keokuk.[4]