William James Connell

William James Connell ( born July 6, 1846 in Cowansville, Quebec, Canada; † August 16, 1924 in Atlantic City, New Jersey ) was an American politician. Between 1889 and 1891 he represented the first electoral district of the state of Nebraska in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Career

In 1857 William Connell came to Schroon Lake, New York, 1862, he moved on to Vermont. In these two countries, he attended the public schools. Finally, he moved in 1867 to Omaha in Nebraska. After studying law and his 1869 was admitted as a lawyer, he began to work in his new profession. Between 1872 and 1876 he was district attorney for the third judicial district of Nebraska and from 1883 to 1887 he was a trial lawyer of the city of Omaha.

Connell was a member of the Republican Party. In 1888 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he replaced John A. McShane on March 4, 1889. But since he was defeated at the next election, William Jennings Bryan, he was able to complete only one term in Congress until March 3, 1891. After the end of his time in Washington Connell 1892 again advocate for the city of Omaha. He also worked as a private lawyer. He died in August 1924 in Atlantic City. His son Karl invented the gas mask that used the American armed forces during the First World War.