They first settled at Kenosha, Wisconsin, (then Southport), but quickly relocated west to Rock County, then back east to Port Washington, where Delaney received his early education.

[1] In 1861, the family moved again, to Sparta, Wisconsin, where Delaney began to study law at the office of Montgomery & Tyler.

He moved to Hustisford, Wisconsin, in 1873, and established a law practice there, and was elected superintendent of schools for the eastern half of the county, serving six years.

Over the next several election cycles, Delaney would famously engage in a bitter feud with fellow Democrat Edward S. Bragg over which of them would be nominated to serve in Congress.

Shortly thereafter, President Cleveland appointed Delaney United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

[11][12] The appointment did not dissuade Delaney from congressional aspirations, and he launched a campaign against Bragg in 1886 while still serving as U.S. attorney.

Finally, a delegate from Washington County switched his vote to Delaney, allowing him to secure a bare majority on the 216th ballot.

[14] At the culmination of his years-long campaign for Congress, Delaney was defeated in the general election by Republican Richard Guenther, who before that time was not even a resident of the 2nd congressional district.

[18][19] In his roles as attorney, Delaney was a participant in Marks v. Shoup, a 1901 United States Supreme Court case.

Delaney was removed from office by President William McKinley when he gave a recess appointment to Charles S. Johnson on July 28, 1897.

He left Alaska in 1904, and settled for some time at Everett, Washington, before removing to California due to painful rheumatism.

[26] His younger daughter, Alma, married George C. Teal, a successful salmon cannery operator in Alaska.