John J. Phelan


John Joseph Phelan was the second Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, serving from 1886 to 1897. He was also the Secretary of the State of Connecticut from 1893 to 1895. He was born in County Wexford, Ireland.
Phelan was born in County Wexford, Leinster, Republic of Ireland on June 24, 1851. Phelan died in Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S. on November 6, 1936.

Knights of Columbus

Phelan was not a founding member of the Knights. He joined the group in 1885. At the beginning of Phelan's leadership in 1886, there were just thirty-eight councils with about 2,700 members. After his time in office ended in 1897, there were 210 councils and nearly 17,000 members located in ten states.