Robert Sarsfield Maloney

Robert Sarsfield Maloney (February 3, 1881 – November 8, 1934) was a United States Representative from Massachusetts and a member of the Republican Party who served one term in Congress from 1921 to 1923. He was born in Lawrence, Essex County, Massachusetts, where he attended the local public schools. After completing his schooling, he learned the printer’s trade, a skill that would shape his early involvement in labor organizations and later his work in publishing.

Maloney’s early career was closely tied to the labor movement and the printing industry. Active in organized labor, he became a fraternal delegate of the American Federation of Labor to the 1907 Canadian Trades and Labor Congress held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, reflecting his prominence in labor circles beyond his home state. From 1908 to 1912 he served as the New England organizer for the International Typographical Union, working to advance the interests of printers and typographical workers throughout the region.

Maloney entered municipal politics in his native city of Lawrence while maintaining his ties to labor and public affairs. In 1909 he was elected a member of the Lawrence Board of Aldermen and served as president of the board. His role in city government continued as Lawrence adopted a new city charter establishing a City Commission form of government, approved by voters in the November 7, 1911, city election and taking effect on January 1, 1912. Under this new structure, Maloney became a member of the city commission in 1912 and again from 1916 to 1920, serving as its president. Within the commission, he was elected to serve as director of the Department of Public Health and Charities, holding that position in 1912 and from 1915 to 1920, where he oversaw municipal health and welfare programs.

Building on his local political experience, Maloney was elected as a Republican to the Sixty-seventh Congress, representing Massachusetts’s 7th congressional district from March 4, 1921, to March 3, 1923. His term in the U.S. House of Representatives coincided with a significant period in American history marked by post–World War I economic and social adjustments. As a member of the House of Representatives, Robert Sarsfield Maloney participated in the democratic process, contributed to the legislative work of the Congress, and represented the interests of his Massachusetts constituents. He served one term and was not a candidate for renomination in 1922. As of 2023, he remained the last Republican to represent the 7th congressional district of Massachusetts.

After leaving Congress, Maloney returned to public service in Lawrence. He again served as director of the Department of Public Health and Charities from 1924 until 1928, resuming responsibility for the city’s health and charitable programs. In addition to his governmental duties, he published a weekly newspaper, drawing on his background in the printer’s trade and his longstanding engagement with public issues. Later, he entered the restaurant business in Lawrence, where he remained active in local affairs until his death.

Robert Sarsfield Maloney died in Lawrence, Massachusetts, on November 8, 1934. He was interred in Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Lawrence, reflecting his lifelong connection to the city in which he was born, built his career in labor and municipal politics, and from which he rose to serve in the United States Congress.