San Francisco County
Biographies
FRANK J.
EGAN
Frank J. Egan, who has for ten years held the office of public defender in San Francisco, is a native of this city, where his birth occurred February 27, 1882. He is a son of the late John J. and Catherine (McMahon) Egan. His father, as a young man, came to the United States from Ireland, and with the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in the Union Army. He served throughout the four years of warfare. After the close of hostilities, he came to San Francisco and here was engaged in business until the disastrous fire of 1906 destroyed everything he owned. He died in 1914. The paternal grandfather of Frank J. Egan was killed at the battle of Bull Run, during the fist week of the Civil war. Catherine (McMahon) Egan came to San Francisco as a young girl, here married Mr. Egan, and died in this city in 1918.
Frank J. Egan attended St. Patrick’s parochial school in San Francisco until he was eleven years of age, when he found it necessary to secure employment. Accordingly, he became a delivery boy for a grocery store, which was the beginning of many different kinds of work. He was ambitious, however, and determined to make a lawyer of himself. Securing a legal education was not an easy matter for him, but he managed to attend the classes at the San Francisco Law School in conjunction with his outside work. He was an honor man in his class, and passed his examinations with rating as number one. He also successfully passed the examination for the bar and was duly admitted December 13, 1913. He then established himself in practice in San Francisco, and very quickly made a creditable reputation as a lawyer. He continued as a private practitioner until October 15, 1921, when he was appointed to the office of public defender. He was regularly elected to the same position in August, 1922, and since has been reelected twice without opposition, which is obvious proof of the satisfactory manner in which he has conducted the responsible duties of this public trust. He has won many cases of importance for clients who were unable to employ private counsel.
Mr. Egan was married to Miss Lorraine Kipp, a native daughter of San Francisco, and they have become the parents of three sons, namely: Frank J., Jr., John and Richard. Mr. Egan is widely known as an enthusiastic supporter of the republican party. His religious faith is that of the Roman Catholic Church, and he is a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Loyal Order of Moose.
Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
Source: Byington, Lewis Francis, “History of
San Francisco 3 Vols”, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co.,
Chicago, 1931. Vol. 3 Pages 488-489.
© 2008 Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
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BIOGRAPIES