Political and legal activities in the State of Rhode Island have been capably represented by a native son of Providence, George Hurley, who has risen to a high place in the practice of law and to important official station in the service of the Federal and State governments.
Born in Providence, November 9, 1884, George Hurley is the son of John and Mary (Donohue) Hurley. He was graduated from Brown University with his Bachelor of Arts degree in the class of 1907. He was Rhodes scholar from Rhode Island at the University of Oxford in 1907-10. He studied law at Oxford, and subsequently completed his legal training at Harvard Law School, 1910-11. Mr. Hurley entered upon the practice of law shortly after he was admitted to the bar of Rhode Island in 1912. Seven years later he helped form the firm of Knauer, Hurley & Fowler, with which he was identified from 1919 to I 9 2 5; an d later he was a member of the law firm of Fitzgerald & Higgins. He is now practicing independently.
Mr. Hurley came into political prominence in 1916, when he was the Democratic candidate for Secretary of State of Rhode Island. He was a member of the Democratic State Central Committee of Rhode Island for several years and was chairman in 1921-22.
During the World War period, Mr. Hurley served as special assistant to the Department of State of the United States from October 6, 1917. to June 30, 1919, and as a representative of the War Trade Board was commissioned on foreign service as an attache of the American Legation at Copenhagen, Denmark, until June, 1919. In 1918 and 1919 he was the American delegate on the Interallied Trade Committee for Denmark. He served as special assistant to the Alien Property Custodian in 1919. In these respective offices he was of especial aid to the government in the solution of many complex problems and in the administration of the several departmental duties, both during and just following the war.
Mr. Hurley then returned to the practice of law at Providence, but in 1923 he was called to the post of Assistant Attorney-General of Rhode Island. He filled this office until 1925, having given eminent satisfaction by his service therein. He is recognized as one of the leaders of the Rhode Island bar. In the organized bodies of his profession he enjoys high standing, and is a member of the American Bar Association and the Rhode Island Bar Association.
He was affiliated with the Association of American Rhodes Scholars, and with the Delta Upsilon and Phi Beta Kappa fraternities. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus and the University Club, Catholic Club, Brown Club, East Side Tennis Club, and Turks Head Club.
George Hurley married, October 27, 1917, Marie Rose Walsh, of Brooklyn, New York, and they are the parents of two children: George, 2d, and Constance. The Hurley city home is on Charles Field Street in Providence.
Source: Carroll, Charles. Rhode Island: Three Centuries of Democracy, vol 3 of 4. New York: Lewis historical Pub. Co., 1932.