1947–1948 Massachusetts legislature

The 155th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met from January 1, 1947, to June 18, 1948, during the governorship of Robert F. Bradford, in Boston.

155th Massachusetts General Court
← 154th 156th →
Overview
Legislative body	General Court
Election	November 5, 1946
Senate
Members	40
President	Donald W. Nicholson, Harris S. Richardson
Party control	Republican
House
Members	240
Speaker	Frederick Willis (10th Essex)
Party control	Republican
Sessions
1st January 1, 1947 (1947-01-01) – July 1, 1947 (1947-07-01) 2nd January 7, 1948 (1948-01-07) – June 19, 1948 (1948-06-19)

State Senate

Districts

As established by Chapter 507 of the Acts of 1939. The state census of 1935 was the basis of the apportionment.

• Berkshire District: Adams, Becket, Cheshire, Clarksburg, Dalton, Florida, Hancock, Hinsdale, Lanesborough, Lenox, New Ashford, North Adams, Peru, Pittsfield, Richmond, Savoy, Stockbridge, Washington, West Stockbridge, Williamstown, Windsor
• First Bristol District: Acushnet, Attleboro, Berkley, Dighton, Easton, Freetown, Mansfield, North Attleboro, Norton, Plainville, Raynham, Rehoboth, Seekonk, Swansea, Taunton
• Second Bristol District: Fall River, Somerset
• Third Bristol District: Dartmouth, Fairhaven, New Bedford, Westport
• Cape and Plymouth District: Barnstable, Bourne, Brewster, Carver, Chatham, Chilmark, Dennis, Duxbury, Eastham, Edgartown, Falmouth, Gay Head, Gosnold, Halifax, Hanson, Harwich, Kingston, Marion, Mashpee, Mattapoisett, Nantucket, Oak Bluffs, Orleans, Pembroke, Plymouth, Plympton, Provincetown, Rochester, Sandwich, Tisbury, Truro, Wareham, Wellfleet, West Tisbury, Whitman, Yarmouth
• First Essex District: Lynn, Nahant, Swampscott
• Second Essex District: Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Salem
• Third Essex District: Essex, Gloucester, Hamilton, Ipswich, Lynnfield, Manchester, Middleton, Newbury, Newburyport, Peabody, Rockport, Rowley, Saugus, Topsfield, Wenham
• Fourth Essex District: Amesbury, Andover, Boxford, Georgetown, Groveland, Haverhill, Merrimac, North Andover, North Reading, Salisbury, West Newbury
• Fifth Essex District: Lawrence, Methuen
• Franklin and Hampshire District: Amherst, Ashfield, Bernardston, Belchertown, Buckland, Charlemont, Chesterfield, Colrain, Conway, Cummington, Deerfield, Easthampton, Enfield*, Erving, Gill, Goshen, Granby, Greenfield, Greenwich*, Hadley, Hatfield, Hawley, Heath, Huntington, Leverett, Leyden, Ludlow, Middlefield, Monroe, Montague, New Salem, Northfield, Orange, Pelham, Prescott*, Rowe, Shelburne, Shutesbury, South Hadley, Sunderland, Ware, Warwick, Wendell, Whately, Williamsburg, Worthington
• First Hampden District: Longmedaow, Springfield Wards 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
• Second Hampden District: Chicopee, Holyoke, Springfield Ward 1
• Hampden, Hampshire and Berkshire District: Agawam, Alford, Blandford, Chester, Egremont, Granville, Great Barrington, Lee, Monterey, Montgomery, Mount Washington, New Marlborough, Otis, Russell, Sandisfield, Sheffield, Southwick, Springfield Ward 3, Tollan, Tyringham, Westfield, West Springfield
• First Middlesex District: Ashby, Ayer, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Dracut, Dunstable, Groton, Littleton Wards 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Lowell Ward 11, Pepperell, Shirley, Townsend, Tyngsborough, Westford
• Second Middlesex District: Belmont, Cambridge Wards 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, Somerville Wards 6, 7
• Third Middlesex District: Cambridge Ward 3, Malden Ward 3, Medford Wards 1, 5, 7, Somerville Wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

(*)Terminated. See Acts of 1927, chapter 321; Acts of 1938, chapter 240 and 455.

Senators

District		Portrait	Senator	Date of birth	Party	Hometown	Notes
Berkshire			Michael H. Condron		Democratic	Pittsfield
Bristol	First		Willard A. Ormsbee		Republican	Raynham	Chairman, Aeronautics; chairman, Mercantile Affairs
	Second		William Emmet White	June 1, 1900	Democratic	Fall River
	Third		Edward C. Peirce	March 7, 1895	Democratic	New Bedford
Cape and Plymouth			Donald W. Nicholson	August 11, 1888	Republican	Wareham	President of the Senate; chairman, Rules
Essex	First		Charles V. Hogan	April 12, 1897	Democratic	Lynn
	Second		J. Elmer Callahan		Republican	Salem	Chairman, Constitutional Law
	Third		Cornelius F. Haley	July 15, 1875	Republican	Rowley	Chairman, State Administration
	Fourth		Philip K. Allen	January 3, 1910	Republican	Andover	Chairman, Agriculture
	Fifth		Michael A. Flanagan	February 21, 1890	Democratic	Lawrence
Franklin and Hampshire			Ralph Collins Mahar	January 4, 1912	Republican	Orange	Chairman, Education; chairman, Public Health
Hampden	First		Ralph Vester Clampit	March 28, 1896	Republican	Springfield	Chairman, Military Affairs and Public Safety
	Second		William E. Nolen		Democratic	Holyoke
Hampden, Hampshire and Berkshire			Ralph Lerche	August 19, 1899	Republican	Northampton	Chairman, Cities; chairman, Water Supply
Middlesex	First		William C. Geary		Democratic	Lowell
	Second		Edward Rowe (politician)	March 17, 1902	Republican	Cambridge	Chairman, Legal Affairs; chairman, Taxation
	Third		Burton F. Faulkner		Democratic	Somerville
	Fourth		Sumner G. Whittier	July 4, 1911	Republican	Everett	Chairman, Civil Service; chairman, Departmental Rules and Regulations
	Fifth		Richard I. Furbush	January 4, 1904	Republican	Waltham	Chairman, Conservation; chairman, Power and Light
	Sixth		Harris S. Richardson	January 10, 1887	Republican	Winchester	Chairman, Ways and Means
	Seventh		George Jelly Evans	February 4, 1909	Republican	Wakefield	Chairman, Labor and Industries; chairman, Pensions
Middlesex and Norfolk			Charles William Olson	August 24, 1889	Republican	Ashland	Chairman, Public Lands; chairman, Public Welfare
Middlesex and Suffolk			Richard Henry Lee	December 20, 1901	Republican	Newton	Chairman, Public Service
Norfolk	First		John D. Mackay	April 7, 1872	Republican	Quincy	Chairman, Judiciary
	Second		Mason Sears	December 29, 1899	Republican	Dedham	Chairman, Election Laws
Norfolk and Plymouth			Newland H. Holmes	August 30, 1891	Republican	Weymouth	Chairman, Bills in the Third Reading; chairman, Counties
Norfolk and Suffolk			Philip Griggs Bowker	April 17, 1899	Republican	Brookline	Chairman, Metropolitan Affairs
Plymouth			Charles Gardner Miles	December 2, 1879	Republican	Brockton	Chairman, Engrossed Bills; chairman, Municipal Finance
Suffolk	First		Joseph A. Melley	March 1, 1902	Democratic	Chelsea
	Second		Michael LoPresti	June 25, 1908	Democratic	Boston
	Third		Charles John Innes	June 1, 1901	Republican	Boston	Chairman, Insurance
	Fourth		John E. Powers	November 10, 1910	Democratic	Boston
	Fifth		Chester A. Dolan Jr.	September 20, 1907	Democratic	Boston	Minority Floor Leader
	Sixth		Charles I. Taylor	November 25, 1899	Democratic	Boston
	Seventh		Joseph L. Murphy	January 25, 1907	Democratic	Boston
Worcester	First		William Daniel Fleming	April 14, 1907	Democratic	Worcester
	Second		Harry P. McAllister	April 25, 1880	Republican	Worcester	Chairman, Banks and Banking
	Third		George W. Stanton		Democratic	Fitchburg
	Fourth		Joseph Simon Virostek		Republican	Douglas	Chairman, Towns; chairman, Transportation
Worcester and Hampden			Edward William Staves	May 9, 1887	Republican	Southbridge	Chairman, Highways and Motor Vehicles

Employees

• Irving N. Hayden, Clerk of the Senate
• Thomas A. Chadwick, Assistant Clerk of the Senate
• William F. Dillon, Clerical Assistant to Clerk of the Senate
• Frederick May Elliot, Chaplain of the Senate
• William F. Furbush, Secretary to the President of the Senate and Clerk of the Senate Committee on Rules
• Fernald Hutchins, Counsel to the Senate
• Thomas R. Bateman, Assistant Counsel to the Senate
• Royal B. Patriquin, Assistant to Counsel of the Senate

Representatives

portrait	name	date of birth	district
	Frank Haskell Allen	October 12, 1877	7th Worcester
	Richard James Allen	June 22, 1909
	Horace Thurber Aplington
	John A. Armstrong	June 12, 1901
	Charles J. Artesani
	Edward C. Ashworth	April 22, 1899
	John George Asiaf	June 30, 1900
	Joseph A. Aspero
	Samuel Greenleaf Atkinson
	Josiah Babcock Jr.	May 21, 1880
	Everett Breed Bacheller	August 24, 1895
	Earle S. Bagley	January 20, 1905
	William B. Bailey	December 11, 1892
	Laurence H. Banks
	Cyrus Barnes	August 23, 1889
	George L. Barrus	December 15, 1880
	Michael J. Batal	September 8, 1898
	Norman S. Baxter
	Raymond H. Beach	August 11, 1888
	William Berthiaume
	G. Leo Bessette	September 23, 1906
	Rodolphe G. Bessette	September 14, 1911
	Fred Arthur Blake	January 13, 1895
	Frank Edwin Boot	November 8, 1905
	Stanley John Borsa
	Gerald Timothy Bowler
	Gordon Dickson Boynton	August 9, 1901
	Jeremiah Francis Brennan
	Daniel Joseph Bresnahan	September 30, 1888
	Clarence B. Brown	December 22, 1877
	Frank Eben Brown	January 14, 1890
	John D. Brown	January 30, 1900
	Archie Edward Bruce	August 20, 1883
	James A. Burke (Massachusetts politician)	March 30, 1910
	Harland Burke	April 22, 1888
	Philip Courtland Burr
	Fannie Buzzell	March 31, 1914
	Oscar Josiah Cahoon	April 29, 1912
	Colin James Cameron	August 24, 1879
	Robert Patterson Campbell	December 20, 1887
	Matthew J. Capeless	June 4, 1875
	Enrico Cappucci	1910
	Ernest Westervelt Carman
	Arthur B. Carney Jr.
	John Henry Carroll
	William J. Casey (Massachusetts politician)	June 27, 1905
	Daniel Casey	May 7, 1890
	Francis X. Casey
	Harrison Chadwick	February 25, 1903
	Wendell Phillips Chamberlain	October 28, 1911
	Philip Aloysius Chapman
	William G. Clark Jr.	May 6, 1912
	David M. Cleary	May 9, 1901
	Thomas Francis Coady	1878
	John F. Collins	July 20, 1919	11th Suffolk
	Dana S. Collins
	J. Everett Collins	April 27, 1894
	James Francis Condon	February 4, 1899
	Joseph T. Conley
	Robert Gerard Connolly	September 11, 1916
	Michael John Conway
	Leo Joseph Cournoyer	December 11, 1905
	George Chauncey Cousens	September 20, 1905
	William A. Cowing	January 6, 1878
	Earl Gustavus Crockett	March 23, 1894
	Patrick Francis Cronin
	Jeremiah Dickson Crowley	May 16, 1911
	Walter A. Cuffe	January 29, 1898
	John G. Curley
	Leslie Bradley Cutler	March 24, 1890
	Lawrence Harvard Davis
	George Walter Dean
	Ernest DeRoy	July 13, 1889
	Cornelius Desmond	October 4, 1893
	Burt Dewar	December 29, 1884
	Logan Rockwell Dickie	May 4, 1890
	Vincent B. Dignam	February 22, 1896
	Jacinto F. Diniz	October 3, 1888
	Edmond J. Donlan	December 19, 1899
	Anthony R. Doyle	August 8, 1895
	Charles D. Driscoll	June 18, 1888
	Howard Bernard Driscoll
	Joseph Edward Duffy	September 25, 1912
	Henry M. Duggan	October 5, 1896
	Ernest W. Dullea	January 14, 1891
	Henry Allen Ellis	November 5, 1879
	Thomas Edward Enright	August 1, 1881
	Andrew E. Faulkner	September 23, 1913
	Michael Paul Feeney	March 26, 1907
	Charles E. Ferguson	January 30, 1894
	Maurice Edward Fitzgerald
	Peter F. Fitzgerald	February 16, 1889
	William J. Fitzsimons
	Norman Eugene Folsom	December 23, 1903
	John F. Foster
	Stephen L. French	March 9, 1892
	George Fuller	July 24, 1893
	John L. Gallant
	Charles Gibbons	July 21, 1901
	Frank S. Giles	June 15, 1915
	Avery W. Gilkerson	June 5, 1899
	Hollis M. Gott	May 25, 1885
	Thomas T. Gray	July 22, 1892
	George Greene	March 7, 1897	12th Suffolk
	Francis G. Gregory
	Frederick C. Haigis	May 10, 1903
	Jacob Hakala
	James Edward Hannon
	Francis Appleton Harding	1908
	Fred C. Harrington	April 21, 1902
	William E. Hays	November 28, 1903
	Charles W. Hedges	March 27, 1901
	James Alan Hodder
	Charles F. Holman	June 21, 1892
	J. Philip Howard	February 16, 1907
	Richard Lester Hull	November 30, 1917
	Nathaniel M. Hurwitz	March 24, 1893
	Fred A. Hutchinson	April 5, 1881
	C. Vernon Inett
	William Whittem Jenness	April 3, 1904
	Adolph Johnson	July 20, 1885
	Ernest A. Johnson	March 13, 1897
	Stanley Everett Johnson	October 4, 1911
	Peter John Jordan	July 23, 1910
	Jeremiah Kamens
	Charles Kaplan	September 26, 1895
	Clarence Karelitz
	Warren Charles Karner
	Alfred B. Keith	November 26, 1893
	Francis Joseph Kelley	March 21, 1890
	Richard A. Kelly	August 7, 1905
	Thomas E. Key
	Allan Roy Kingston	November 23, 1901
	Fred I. Lamson	December 11, 1910
	George Thomas Lanigan	January 4, 1909
	Laurence W. Law
	Francis W. Lindstrom	December 18, 1898
	Louis Lobel	August 10, 1911
	C. Edwin Lofgren
	Gerald P. Lombard	January 4, 1916
	Raymond Joseph Lord
	Burton Elmer Loring
	C. Gerald Lucey	September 8, 1913
	Arthur Ulton Mahan	June 18, 1900
	Vincent Ambrose Mannering	July 11, 1912	10th Suffolk
	George Edward Marchand	December 22, 1877
	William Markland
	Philip M. Markley	March 28, 1897
	George Francis Martin Jr.
	Francis V. Matera
	Michael J. McCarthy (politician)	October 23, 1890
	Frank D. McCarthy
	Paul Andrew McCarthy	December 23, 1902
	Elmer L. McCulloch
	Samuel D. McLeod
	Joseph A. Milano	April 8, 1883
	Sherman Miles	December 5, 1882
	Hugh Morton
	Edward J. Mulligan	February 8, 1907
	Robert F. Murphy (politician)	January 24, 1899
	George Bernard Murphy Jr.
	Cornelius Joseph Murray	August 19, 1890
	Harold Clinton Nagle	July 27, 1917
	Louis K. Nathanson	12th Suffolk
	George Burkman Norton
	James Anthony O'Brien	October 27, 1886
	William Thomas O'Brien	December 2, 1889
	John Henry O'Connor Jr.	December 9, 1917
	Louis F. O'Keefe	June 12, 1895
	Tip O'Neill	December 9, 1912
	Frank B. Oliveira
	Harold A. Palmer	October 15, 1906
	Raymond P. Palmer	December 27, 1895
	Anthony Parenzo
	Eben Parsons
	Clark Brownson Partridge	August 26, 1878
	Henry W. Pickford
	Gabriel Piemonte	January 28, 1909
	Frederick Everett Pierce	May 5, 1862	2nd Franklin
	George William Porter	November 6, 1885
	Harvey Armand Pothier	September 6, 1901
	George E. Rawson	December 6, 1886
	Thomas Francis Reilly	August 12, 1903
	Hibbard Richter	April 12, 1899
	Hallam Taylor Ring
	Joseph D. Rivest
	Joseph N. Roach	March 22, 1883
	Albert E. Roberts	November 22, 1875
	William H. J. Rowan	June 21, 1879
	Daniel Rudsten
	Kendall Ainsworth Sanderson
	Thomas Aloysius Scanlan
	Raymond William Schlapp
	William Henry Sears Jr.	July 14, 1875
	A. John Serino	March 13, 1906
	Henry Lee Shattuck	October 12, 1879
	John M. Shea	December 8, 1902
	Arthur Joseph Sheehan	March 16, 1897
	Robert T. Sisson	February 21, 1881
	Michael F. Skerry	January 3, 1909
	Charles J. Skladzien
	Roy C. Smith	January 28, 1890
	H. Edward Snow	April 25, 1914
	Margaret Spear	August 10, 1882
	George Ward Stetson	May 31, 1902
	Daniel Francis Sullivan	February 15, 1904
	Jeremiah Joseph Sullivan	March 9, 1905
	Patrick Gilbert Sullivan	November 18, 1904
	Paul A. Sullivan
	Ralph Warren Sullivan
	Joseph A. Sylvia Jr.	September 16, 1903
	Edmond Talbot Jr.	June 1, 1898
	Clarence F. Telford
	Nathaniel Tilden	November 3, 1903
	Harold Edward Tivey
	Harold Tompkins	August 23, 1887
	John Joseph Toomey	March 25, 1909
	Talbot T. Tweedy
	James Joseph Twohig Jr.	May 2, 1908
	Earle Stanley Tyler	December 18, 1896
	Theodore Jack Vaitses	May 8, 1901
	John H. Valentine	July 21, 1896
	John W. Vaughan	March 20, 1878
	James T. Violette
	William X. Wall	July 1, 1904
	Joseph Francis Walsh	February 9, 1907
	John Cummings Webster Jr.
	Norman F. Wellen
	John B. Wenzler	June 11, 1881
	Malcolm Stuart White
	Howard J. Whitmore Jr.	May 9, 1905
	John S. Whittemore
	Frederick Willis (American politician)	May 18, 1904
	Henry D. Winslow	September 24, 1910
	Stanislaus George Wondolowski	August 20, 1909
	Albert E. Wood
	Clarence A. Wood
	Lawrence Theodore Woolfenden
	Arthur Eaton Young
	Arthur Lincoln Youngman

See also

• 1948 Massachusetts gubernatorial election
• 80th United States Congress
• List of Massachusetts General Courts

Further reading

• Election Statistics: The Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1946), Secretary of the Commonwealth, 1947, hdl:2452/43438
• Court, Massachusetts General (1947). Manual for the Use of the General Court. Boston: Commonwealth of Massachusetts. hdl:2452/40788.

External links

• Massachusetts General Court, Bills (Legislative Documents) and Journals: 1947, hdl:2452/219469
• Massachusetts, Bills (Legislative Documents) and Journals: 1948, hdl:2452/219470
• Massachusetts Acts and Resolves: 1947, hdl:2452/55996
• Massachusetts Acts and Resolves: 1948, hdl:2452/55997