Biography

1840 - 06/15/1885

Private John Patrick “Big Jack” Colihan (D30) Schuylkill County 1875-1876 

Early Life:

Private John P. “Big Jack” Colihan born 1840, Galway, Ireland, 1842, son of John and Ellen Colihan,  moved to Middleport, Schuylkill County; coal mine engineer, 1860; private Civil War, 1861-1863; dry goods and grocery business, Ashland, Pennsylvania; 1870-1885; elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1875-1876; married, Mary Campbell, children, Edward James Colihan, Mary Agnes, John Colihan, Hannah, William Colihan, Thomas Colihan; died, June 15, 1885 (44-45) Ashland, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.

Early Career:

Enlisted, with brother, Patrick, Ashland Rifles, April 21-July 25, 1861; saw limited action; later mustered in, Aug. 17, 1862, private, Company K, 137th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry - nine months; saw action at Antietam and Chancellorsville; mustered out, June 1863.

Pennsylvania Politics:

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 30th district, Schuylkill County, 1875-1876, member, Accounts (Appropriations) and Mines and Mining Committees. 

Legacy: 

Supported the Bituminous Coal Health and Safety Act, establishing misdemeanor penalties for mine owners who neglected its provisions; voted in favor of allowing defendants to testify in their own defense, important legislation during the Molly Maguire trials in Pottsville. 

Cited:

Cox, Harold "Senate Members "C". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.

Smull’s Legislative Handbook, (1875) Smull, J.A., Members of the Senate of Pennsylvania, page 601 and 606-608.