JOSEPH PATRICK RILEY JR.

 

    A Charlestonian by birth and a lawyer by profession, Joe Riley is the son of the late Joseph Riley Sr., a prominent businessman and political figure.

    Joseph Sr. was grandson of Patrick Riley, who arrived in the city of Charleston from Ireland as a youth with some skills in weaving about 1850, possibly joining an uncle, also Patrick Riley, who was living as a widower in the city at that time with a family of six. 

   The younger Patrick enrolled in the Confederate forces, but he was returned to the city to continue his previous work in manufacturing gas for the lighting system. He married Ann Collins, another Irish immigrant, and they had nine children, some of whom became prominent in both business and civic affairs in the city. 

   His son John became an apprentice in the iron business and in 1884 opened a foundry that became well known throughout the state for the excellence of its work, being commissioned to carry out detailed work such as the bandstand in White Point Gardens (c. 1907).

    The immigrant Patrick’s son Andrew J. Riley, began the family’s involvement in local government as a member of the City Council (he was succeeded by his brother John). Andrew was also involved in many charitable initiatives, including the provision of the first hospital for the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. He died in 1924, but his widow, Mary (nee Oliver), the daughter of a prominent city contractor and civic benefactor, ensured that her family of nine realised their potential.

     Of these, Joseph P. Riley Sr. was born in 1912 and was only twelve when his father died; but by his mid twenties he had established himself as a realtor in independent practice and married Helen Schachte, a medical technologist who had come second in her graduation class at the College of Charleston. He also began a career of voluntary service that over the next forty years included membership of the South Carolina Development Board and first Chairman of its Tourism Committee; membership of the State Ports Authority (where he promoted Charleston's cruise liner business); presidency of the State Chamber of Commerce and board membership of the U.S. Chamber; and a pioneering involvement with the Patriot's Point development and Spoleto USA. He was elected posthumously to the Charleston Maritime Festival Hall of Fame in 2004.

    A close associate of U.S. Representative Mendel Rivers, he was also active in local constituent service. He was awarded the Order of the Palmetto in 1976. In 1975 he saw his only son Joseph P. Riley Jr. elected as Mayor of Charleston, having served two terms in the State House of Representatives. 

    Joseph P. Riley Sr. died  on 8th. August 1992 at the age of 80. His wife Helen was active in Charleston charities, particularly the Association for the Blind and the Florence Crittenton Home. She died in September 1996, at the age of 81.

 

The following is an introduction of Joseph P. Riley Jr. on the occasion of his presenting the Aedanus Burke Award to Professor Arthur Mitchell of the University of South Carolina in 2009:

 

It is almost exactly 160 years since two young Irish people arrived here to seek their fortunes. Both were from the border area of Ireland, possibly the counties of Longford or Monaghan. 

   Ann was a passenger from Newry to New York on the ‘Marchioness of Bute’ in May 1850; Patrick left Ireland via Liverpool on the ship named ‘Infantry’ in July of the same year. They were both destined for Charleston.

   Patrick was a weaver by training but in Charleston he worked in the emerging gas manufacturing industry, which was about then moving into its new premises at 1 Charlotte Street, near the site of the proposed Irish Memorial.

   Patrick’s aptitude in this new business resulted in his being recalled from war service to continue his work there and at some of the other major gas company locations (one of these  was just across the street here at 121 Church Street).

   By the 1870s Patrick and Ann had a family of nine, five boys and four girls. Of the seven who survived, one son, John, would become a recognized expert in the foundry and machine business - you can hardly walk a few steps in this area without stepping on his work (manhole covers), and the recently restored bandstand at Whitepoint Gardens is a prime example of his craftsmanship.

   Eventually he became a member of many important city bodies, including the city council itself, where he succeeded his brother Andrew. 

   Andrew was involved in every good cause that called on his brilliant organizational skills; he died, however, as a relatively young man but through the efforts of his wife, the family he left behind was given the education and the advancement they merited. Where does the story end? 

   Well, the story is not over yet. But if you wanted an indication of where it is going, you might find it in The White House on February 25th. 2010, when President Obama conferred the National Medal of the Arts on Andrew’s grandson, Joseph P. Riley Jr., for his exceptional services to preservation and to municipal government over the 35 years that he has been Mayor of Charleston, South Carolina.