McGarry was born on January 20, 1842, in Loughgiel, County Antrim, Ireland, and came to the United States in 1865 settling at first in Cleveland, Ohio, where, with a cousin, he "engaged in the fuel business.
[3] On July 6, a requiem mass was celebrated at what the Los Angeles Times called "the largest funeral that has taken place at St. Vibiana's Cathedral since the obsequies of the late Stephen M.
[4]In Ireland, after completing his education, McGarry was a teacher, and his first vocation after moving to Cleveland was that of a fuel dealer, in business with a cousin.
[1] When he settled in Chicago with his bride, he established a retail and wholesale coal business, which he sold when he decided to move to California.
[5] McGarry was a losing candidate in an 1898 election for a Board of Freeholders that was chosen to draft the new charter for Los Angeles.