John E. Kenna | |
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| United States Senator fromWest Virginia | |
| In office March 4, 1883 – January 11, 1893 | |
| Preceded by | Henry G. Davis |
| Succeeded by | Johnson N. Camden |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia's3rd district | |
| In office March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1883 | |
| Preceded by | Frank Hereford |
| Succeeded by | Charles P. Snyder |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1848-04-10)April 10, 1848 |
| Died | January 11, 1893(1893-01-11) (aged 44) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Signature | .png) |
John Edward Kenna (April 10, 1848 – January 11, 1893) was an American politician who was asenator fromWest Virginia from 1883 until his death.
Kenna was born inKanawha County, Virginia (nowWest Virginia, near the city ofSt. Albans) and lived his early life atUpper Falls, where his father waslockmaster and owned asawmill.[1] He had little education, and at the age of 16 he served in the"Iron Brigade" with GeneralJoseph O. Shelby in theConfederate States Army and was wounded. After returning home, heread law and was admitted to the bar in 1870. He became very active in the emergingDemocratic Party of West Virginia.
He rose from prosecuting attorney of Kanawha County in 1872 to Justicepro tempore of the county circuit in 1875, and to theUnited States House of Representatives in 1876. While in the House he championedrailroad legislation and crusaded for aid for slack-water navigation to help the coal, timber, and salt industries in his state. These activities earned him a seat in theUnited States Senate in 1883, where he continued fighting for his two causes.
Kenna became Democraticminority leader and emerged as a powerful and controversial speaker on the issue of the independence of the executive branch of the government. He forcefully defended PresidentGrover Cleveland on several issues and indicted the SenateRepublican majority for failure to pass tariff reforms. Kenna was a practicingCatholic and member of the congregation atSt. Joseph's on Capitol Hill inWashington, D.C.[2] In late April 1891, he successfully argued the Ball v. United States case before the U.S. Supreme Court, which spared the lives of two West Virginians accused of murder in Texas.[3][4]
Kenna died on January 11, 1893, at the age of 44, having suffered fromheart disease for several years.[5] He was still in office at the time of his death, and was succeeded byJohnson N. Camden. He had 6 children, includingEd Kenna.
Longtime Washington journalistBenjamin Perley Poore described Kenna as "a tall, thick-set man" who was "negligent in his dress and rather slow in the utterance of his sentences."[6]
Kenna is the namesake of the town ofKenna, West Virginia.[7] In 1901, the state of West Virginia donated amarble statue of Kenna to theU.S. Capitol'sNational Statuary Hall Collection.
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| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | U.S. Representative of West Virginia's 3rd Congressional District 1877–1883 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 2) from West Virginia 1883–1893 Served alongside:Johnson N. Camden,Charles J. Faulkner | Succeeded by |
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| Class 2 | ||
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| National | |
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