Mayor of Chicago, 1887-1889
- Republican Party
- Elected 30th mayor of Chicago April 5, 1887; defeated Robert S. Nelson (Union Labor) and Joseph L. Whitlock (Prohibition)
- Inauguration: April 18, 1887
Biographical
- Born August 12, 1844 in Utica, N.Y.
- In 1871, married Miss Emma Howard of Chicago; together they had four children.
- Elected to Illinois State House in 1873
- Before mayoral term, worked as machinery dealer first in the partnership James, Roche & Spencer, and later with J.A. Fay & Co.
- After mayoral term, worked in the business sector as superintendent of Crane Works and managing director of Otis Elevator
- Became a trustee of the Lewis Institute (now the Illinois Institute of Technology) in 1894 and later became board president
- Died February 10, 1904 in Chicago
- Buried in Rosehill Cemetery, Chicago
Sources
- Andreas, A.T. History of Chicago: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time. A.T. Andreas, 1884–86.
- "Ex-Mayor Roche Dies Suddenly." Chicago Daily Tribune, February 11, 1904, p. 4.
- Grossman, James R., Ann Durkin Keating and Janice L. Reiff, editors. Encyclopedia of Chicago. University of Chicago Press, 2004.
