FRANK P. KELLY
District Attorney

1888-1890

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Frank P. Kelly

Frank P. Kelly (1888-1890), originally from Philadelphia, came to California in 1867. He first studied to be a printer, worked as a reporter and became editor of the Santa Barbara Press. He moved to Los Angeles, where he became managing editor of the Evening Express newspaper in 1884, the same year he was admitted to the bar. He then became an assistant city attorney and was elected district attorney in 1888. In 1912, a legal journal reported that 270 criminals were sent to state prison during Kelly’s tenure – the highest number, to date, for one D.A.’s term. Kelly became the attorney for the Southern Pacific Company and the Market Street Railway Company in San Francisco.