Richard Joseph Welch was a U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

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Born in Monroe County, New York

Monroe County, New York

Monroe County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 744,344. It is named after James Monroe, fifth President of the United States of America. Its county seat is the city of Rochester....

, Welch was educated in the public schools.
He moved to California in early boyhood and settled in San Francisco.
He served in the State senate 1901-1913.
Harbor master for the port of San Francisco 1903-1907.
Supervisor of the city and county of San Francisco from 1916 until September 30, 1926, when he resigned, having been elected to Congress.

Welch was elected as a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 to the Sixty-ninth

69th United States Congress

The Sixty-ninth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1925 to March 4, 1927, during the third and fourth...

 Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Lawrence J. Flaherty

Lawrence J. Flaherty

Lawrence James Flaherty was a U.S. Representative from California.Born in San Mateo, California, Flaherty moved with his parents to San Francisco in 1888.He attended the public schools.Learned the trade of cement mason....

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He was reelected to the Seventieth

70th United States Congress

The Seventieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1927 to March 3, 1929, during the last two years of...

 and to the eleven succeeding Congresses and served from August 31, 1926, until his death in a hospital in Needles, California

Needles, California

Needles is a city located in the Mojave Desert on the western banks of the Colorado River in San Bernardino County, California. It is located in the Mohave Valley, which straddles the California–Arizona border. The city is accessible via Interstate 40 and U.S. Route 95...

, September 10, 1949.
He served as chairman of the Committee on Labor (Seventy-first

71st United States Congress

The Seventy-first United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1929 to March 4, 1931, during the first two years...

 Congress), Committee on Public Lands (Eightieth

80th United States Congress

The Eightieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1947 to January 3, 1949, during the third and fourth...

 Congress).
He is interred at Holy Cross Cemetery

Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma

Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Colma, California is an American Roman Catholic cemetery operated by the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Established in 1887 on of a former potato farm, it is the oldest and largest cemetery established in Colma to serve the needs of San Francisco...

 in Colma, California

Colma, California

Colma is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, at the northern end of the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,792 at the 2010 census. The town was founded as a necropolis in 1924....

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