Maurice T. Moloney was born in Kerry county, Ireland on July 26th, 1849. Moloney came to the United States at the young age of 18. When he first arrived in the United States, he did not know what profession he was going to pursue. He eventually decided to pursue a career in law, and attended the University of Virginia Law School. He graduated in 1871 with a Bachelor of Law degree, and was admitted to the Bar in Virginia.
The same year he was admitted to the bar in Virginia, Moloney moved to Ottawa, Illinois, which would become his home for the majority of his life. After being admitted to the Illinois bar he began practicing as a lawyer. Moloney quickly distinguished himself and served as the city attorney of Ottawa from 1879-1881. Shortly after serving as city attorney, Moloney graduated to the next level of civil service in the legal world, and was elected to the state attorney office of Illinois in 1884. He served as a state attorney for four years.
Although Moloney lived in Ottawa, he also kept a law office in Chicago and built up a substantial number of clients at this time. Then in 1892, Moloney was selected by the Democratic State Convention as a potential candidate for State Attorney General. He won this position in the general election. It is during his time as State Attorney General that Moloney was involved in arguing the Ritchie v. People case in 1895. In 1899, Moloney stepped out of the realm of legal public service and into the realm of administrative public service, and was elected Mayor of Ottawa, Illinois. Maurice Moloney died on March 9th, 1917 at the age of 67.
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Sources:
“The Bench and Bar of Illinois”– volume 2 by John M. Palmer (Lewis Pub. Co., 1899).
