Patrick Jay Hurley (abt. 1883 - 1963)

Born about 8 Jan 1883 in Barretstown, Woodstown District, County Waterford, Ireland [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Ruth (Wilson) Hurley — married 5 Dec 1919 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Descendants

Died 30 Jul 1963 at about age 80 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States

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Preceded by 50th Secretary of War James W. Good

Patrick J. Hurley 51st United States Secretary of War 1929—1933

Succeeded by 52nd Secretary of War George H. Dern

Biography

Patrick Hurley was born in Ireland.

Patrick Hurley was an Oklahoman.

Patrick Hurley is Notable.

Patrick J. Hurley was a noted leader of his generation, his service culminating in the office of United States Secretary of War and appointment as Ambassador to China. Friend and advisor to Presidents, world leaders, and such notables as early workmate and fellow Oklahoman Will Rogers. Hurley was self-educated and rose from a hardscrabble childhood in the Indian Territory to hold several advanced degrees, becoming a lawyer, businessman, soldier and statesman. His accomplishments include representing early oil and banking interests, real estate development, landmark legal maneuvers which preserved the Choctaw Nation, acts of bravery in battle, deeds of diplomacy during two World Wars, and defending western democracy on the world stage.

NOTE: Although no longer an instantly recognizable embodiment of the promise of America, Patrick Hurley's achievements in early life and public service are so varied and voluminous, that a short genealogical sketch can not touch on all of them or provide depth of detail for those included.

Birth and Early Years
Patrick Jay Hurley was born to Pierce Hurley and Mary Ann Kelly on January 8th, the third of their several children. The year and birthplace given in his authorized biography^[1] are seemingly contradicted by Irish records. In the biography, and most often by Patrick himself, his birthplace is said to occur in the Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory in 1883.^[2] However, the birth register in Barretstown, County Waterford, Ireland, states that location in 1881.^[3] Although the emigration year of his parents from Ireland is unclear, it is known that the family is living in the Choctaw Nation by the mid 1880s as Hurley's younger brother John Charles birth in 1888 is listed as Indian Territory.^[4]

The 1896 death of his mother when he was a young teen was compounded soon afterward by his father's severe work injury, leaving Patrick as the main income earner for the family. Tall for his age, Hurley took a succession of jobs working in the coal mines near Lehigh, Indian Territory, present day Coal County, Oklahoma. This work was sporatic and didn't allow a steady income. Having grown to over six feet tall, his full adult height, before age 16, Hurley left mining and found employ as a cowhand in the nearby Cherokee Nation with a regular pay. This opportunity offered training as a horseman and brought him mentoring by another soon to be famous Oklahoman, Will Rogers. During this time as a cowboy he longed to begin studies and achieve a law degree, and he made plans to begin a formal education.

Education
Young Patrick and his family faced a hand-to-mouth existence as outsiders in Indian Territory during his upbringing, which did not provide many opportunities for formal education. His mother taught Patrick and his siblings to read and the tenants of Christianity found in her Irish Catholic faith. Providence seemingly provided opportunity for self-education and he availed himself fully. Even without formal classroom schooling during his early years, Hurley graduated from Indian University, Muskogee, I.T., now Bacone College, in 1905 and received his law degree from the National University School of Law, Washington D.C., in 1908. Admitted to the Oklahoma Bar, he started a law practice in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and was admitted to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1912. Serving as national attorney for the Choctaw Nation from 1912 to 1917, Hurley further received a second law degree, from George Washington University Law School, in 1913.

Spouse and Children
During his early years as a lawyer and military man, he met the young lady he was to marry. Ruth Wilson was the daughter of U.S. Navy Admiral Henry Wilson. After a few non-eventful meetings the relationship did not seem promising, but a courtship of letters began and spark ignited. The couple wed 5 Dec 1919 in Philadelphia, PA and made their first home in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Children of Ruth and Patrick:

1. Patricia (Hurley) 1st Gwynn, 2nd Lawrence 1921–2007
2. Ruth Noel (Hurley) Hughes 1922–2000
3. Wilson Patrick Hurley 1924–2008
4. Mary Hope (Hurley) White 1930–1982

Choctaw Nation
Patrick Hurley having grown up in the Choctaw Nation during late Territory days, and being a childhood friend of Chief Victor Locke, was recommended by Locke and appointed by President William Howard Taft as National Attorney in 1911. In support of his unique qualifications for the position, by virtue of his upbringing among Choctaw neighbors, he was made an adopted citizen by the Tribal Council. Hurley was instrumental in stopping the re-opening of the Choctaw Rolls in 1915, defending against profuse deceitful claims to the Choctaw Estate by schemes such as the Texas-Oklahoma Investment Company and Society of Mississippi Choctaws. The claims aimed to flood the Choctaw Nation rolls with non-Choctaw, to gain land which was divided amongst the previously enrolled Choctaw Citizens by the Dawes Commission, whose application period closed in 1907.

Law Practice, Business Concerns and Early Politics
Lawyer Hurley quickly developed a successful legal practice in Tulsa and became a high-profile public figure in Oklahoma politics. His law practice focused on finance which led to his position as a Bank President and follow-on involvement in the burgeoning oil business. Hurley brought his skills to bear on saving the Gilliland Oil Company among others, returning value and profits to investors. He was a candidate for local office, and chaired the 1926 Oklahoma Republican State Party Convention. Hurley also developed real estate, including the 1929 Ambassador Hotel in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Today the property operates as a boutique hotel under an international hotel brand, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1999.

Military and National Public Service
Patrick Hurley applied but was too young to serve with Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders, instead beginning his miliary service in the Indian Territorial Volunteer Militia from 1902 to 1907 and in the Oklahoma National Guard, from 1914 to 1917. During World War I, Hurley was with the Judge Advocate General's Department of the 6th Army Corps, American Expeditionary Force, in France. For his service he was awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal. In November 1918, Hurley was detached to the 76th Field Artillery Regiment and participated it in the battles near Louppy-le-Château, France. Hurley voluntarily conducted a reconnaissance despite heavy enemy fire and so was awarded with Silver Star for gallantry in action.

After the first World War Hurley was active in the Republican Party and was appointed Assistant Secretary of War by President Herbert Hoover in 1929. He was promoted to Secretary of War after the untimely death of James W. Good and served until 1933. Upon the outbreak of the second World War, Hurley was promoted to brigadier general in 1941, and General George C. Marshall dispatched him to the Far East as a personal representative to examine the feasibility of relieving American troops besieged on the Bataan peninsula in the Philippines. Dwight Eisenhower, then a staff officer in Washington and later U.S. President, directed Hurley's travel to Australia while arranging supplies for those forces led by (Gen. Douglas) MacArthur.

After the conclusion of this mission, he embarked on a series of assignments as a personal representative of President Franklin Roosevelt. He served as minister to New Zealand in 1942 and then flew to the Soviet Union, the first foreigner to receive permission to visit the Eastern Front. Over the next two years, he visited the Near East, Middle East, China, Iran and Afghanistan on behalf of Roosevelt. Patrick was later appointed US Ambassador to China at the close of World War II.

In the post-war years of 1946, 1948 and 1952, Hurley ran unsuccessfully as a U.S. Senate candidate from New Mexico. Hurley then resumed his business interests, starting a company to mine uranium deposits.

Death and Legacy
Hurley built a home in 1938 near Santa Fe, New Mexico, to support the health of his son Wilson who was asthmatic. It was here that he passed away on 30 Jul 1963^[5] and is buried at the Santa Fe National Cemetery, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Not without detractors now or in his day, assessments of Hurley have been mixed. However, his considerable legacy arguably touches the life of today's U.S. Citizen in countless ways.

Biography of Hurley

• Lohbeck, Don. Patrick J. Hurley. Henry Regnery Company, 1957. (Authorized Biography)
• Buhite, Russell D. Patrick J. Hurley and American Foreign Policy. Cornell University Press, 1973.

Other Biography - Significant Mention

• Michael Burleigh, Small Wars, Faraway Places (Viking, New York, 2013), p. 103.
• Merle Miller, "Plain Speaking: an oral biography of Harry S. Truman", New York, NY; Berkley Publishing Company, 1974. pp. 251–252.
• Fenby, Jonathan Chiang Kai-shek China's Generalissimo and the Nation He Lost, New York: Carrol & Graf, 2004 pp. 437, 453-454, 459.
• Milani, Abbas The Shah, London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010 pp. 106-107.

Research Notes

Timeline

1881-1899

• 1881 - Birth in Ireland^[3]
• 1883 - Immigration to United States OR birth in Indian Territory per Lohbeck (See Birth Discrepancy Below)
• 1896 - Death of Mother

1900s

• 1900 Census - Not Found, but father and siblings are found living in the Indian Territory^[4]
• 1905 Graduates Indian University
• 1908 Graduates National University School of Law

1910s

• 1910 Census^[6] - Tulsa, Oklahoma
  • Note: the 1910 census taker confused the father and son
• 1911-1917 Choctaw Nation Attorney
• 1913 - Graduate George Washington University School of Law
• 1914 - Death of Father
• 1917-1918 - Served in U.S. Army, World War I
• 1919 - Marriage

1920s

• 1920 Census^[7] - Tulsa, Oklahoma
• 1926 Chair, Oklahoma Republican State Party Convention
• 1929 - Developed Ambassador Hotel, Tulsa, OK
• 1929 - appointed Assistant U.S. Secretary of War

1930s

• 1930 Census - Not Found
• 1929-1933 U.S. Secretary of War

1940s

• 1940 Census^[8] - Broad Run, Loudoun, Virginia, United States
• 1941 - Awarded U.S. Army rank Brigadier General
• 1944 - Ambassador to China
• 1946, 1948 and 1952, U.S. Senate candidate from New Mexico (unsuccessful)

1950-1963

• 1950 Census^[9] - Washington D.C.
• 1953 - Resumed Business Interests
• 1963 - Death in New Mexico^[5]

Birth Discrepancy
In the authorized biography, "Patrick J. Hurley," Don Lohbeck states Hurley is born January 8, 1883 in Indian Territory. To support this nativity Lohbeck relates the following concerning the years leading up to his birth, beginning with the immigration of his father and marriage of Hurley's parents:^[1]

• (Pierce Hurley) arrived in the late 1860's on the shores of Texas... In Gonzales, Texas Pierce applied for citizenship which was granted in Paris, Texas.
• (Pierce) met Mary Kelly in Caldwell, Texas.
• (Pierce and Mary) were married in the late 1870's in San Marcus(sic), Texas.
• They traveled from Denison, Texas, in the summer of 1882 to the land occupied by the Choctaw Nation [65-85 miles from Denison, TX]. They rented land from Benjamin Franklin Smallwood, a Choctaw Indian, who would be elected principal Chief of the Choctaws in 1888.

Assuming that Pierce Hurley landed directly in Texas from Ireland, he likely arrived at Galveston or Corpus Christi the nearest ports to Gonzales. It is not unreasonable to think he then traveled the 140 to 180 miles from either port to reside in Gonzales. However, Lohbeck fails to state a year for the arrival in Texas, and there does not seem to be records for this or him living in Gonzales. This location is also problematic for Pierce meeting Mary Kelly as Caldwell is well over 100 miles from Gonzales. Lastly Paris, Texas is said to be the place for gaining U.S. citizenship but is 360 miles from Gonzales. All of these details are almost definitely refuted as the known date of the marriage being 1877 with a corresponding recorded found in Ireland,^[10] and the 1900 census which lists the arrival year as 1883 for Pierce and daughter Mary.^[4]

The family traveling from Texas to the Choctaw Nation is definitely true, yet the "summer 1882" timeline Lohbeck offers is factually wrong, at least according to the 1900 census.^[4] Looking at Patrick's younger male siblings, William was born in Texas in 1885 and John was born in Indian Territory in 1888, meaning that the arrival in Indian Territory had to fall within that 3 year window.

85	-	Pierce O. Hurley, born June 1845, Ireland. 54 yrs, widowed, farmer, immigrated 1883, naturalized US Citizen
86	-	Mary J., daughter, born Apr 1879, Ireland, 21 yrs, single, immigrated 1883
87	-	Wm C., son, born Mar 1885, Texas, 15 yrs, single
88	-	John C., son, born May 1888, Indian Territory, 12 yrs, single
89	-	Abigail, daughter, born Dec 1893, Indian Territory, 6 yrs, single.

Although Patrick was not living with the family during the 1900 census enumeration, it is clear that his mother has died (in 1896) and the other older children, daughters Ann and Abigail, are also raised and on their own. The birth of Pierce and Mary's four oldest children were recorded in County Waterford, Ireland:

• Anne - recorded 1878
• Mary Josephine - recorded 1879
• Patrick - recorded 1881^[3]
• Abigail - recorded 1882

As a birth record for all four older children, Patrick included, is found in County Waterford, Ireland, it seems that the Lohbeck account is not correct and Patrick Jay Hurley was born 8 Jan 1881 in Ireland rather than 8 Jan 1883 in Indian Territory.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Lohbeck, Don. (1957) Patrick J. Hurley. Henry Regnery Company, Chicago, IL. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000468022
2. ↑ New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:24FW-PQD), Patrick Hurley, 1929; citing Immigration, New York, New York, United States, NARA microfilm publication T715 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Registrar's Book of Births, District of Woodstown, Union of Waterford, County Waterford, Ireland. 1881. Patrick Hurley, Barretstown, Woodstown, County Waterford, 8 Jan 1881. Citing Irish Genealogy ($) irishgenealogy.ie https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/birth_returns/births_1881/02838/2040387.pdf Note: see pdf attached to this Wikitree profile
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3} "United States Census, 1900", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MSR1-LZ6 : 10 May 2023), John C Hurley in entry for Pierce O Hurley, 1900.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JTCG-52L : 11 January 2021), Patrick Hurley, Jul 1963; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
6. ↑ "United States Census, 1910", database with images, FamilySearch (ark:/61903/1:1:MLQW-ZX3 : Tue Apr 04 02:15:42 UTC 2023), Entry for George C Dickerman and Josia M Dickerman, 1910.
7. ↑ "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RXW-VTH), 4th Precinct, Tulsa, Oklahoma; ED 209; image 22 of 40; citing NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).Note: Spouse is not listed on this Census record; father's birth place listed as Ireland, mother's as Texas.
8. ↑ United States Census, 1940, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9MR-9S14?cc=2000219&wc=QZXF-MDT), Broad Run Magisterial District, Loudoun, Virginia; image 19 of 38; ED 54-1, dwelling 136; NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012. Note: This source conflicts with prior sources in the birth place, with this one listing Texas in 1880, three years before she immigrated to the US from Ireland (see 1900, 1910, 1930 US Census Reports, above).
9. ↑ "United States 1950 Census", database, FamilySearch (ark:/61903/1:1:6F73-NFVH : Sun Jan 29 13:07:20 UTC 2023), Entry for Patrick J Hurley, 1 April 1950.
10. ↑ Registrar's Book of Marriages, District of Waterford, Union of Waterford, County Waterford, Ireland. Jan 1877-Feb 1877, Pierse Hurley, bachelor, farmer, 34 yrs, of Barretstown, and Mary Anne Kelly, spinster, 22 yrs, of Bishop's Court, married Feb 1877 in the Roman Catholic Chapel of St. Marys Ballygunner. Citing Irish Genealogy ($) irishgenealogy.ie https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1877/11129/8075145.pdf

See also:

• Wikipedia: Patrick J. Hurley
• Find A Grave: Memorial #6912268
• WikiTree: Bacone College
• President's Secretary's File (Franklin D. Roosevelt Administration), 1933-1945; NARA, NAID: 16620246 Collection FDR-FDRPSF Hurley, Patrick J.
• Oklahoma Historical Society. Chronicles of Oklahoma, Volume 29, Number 1, p. 19, Spring 1951, periodical, Spring 1951; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc1827483/m1/29/?q=Hurley: accessed May 13, 2023), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.
• Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame: Patrick Hurley
• The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History: Hurley, Patrick Jay,