John F. Kinney | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Justice of theSupreme Court of Iowa | |
| In office 1847–1854 | |
| Appointed by | Ansel Briggs |
| Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives fromUtah Territory'sat-large district | |
| In office March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1865 | |
| Preceded by | John M. Bernhisel |
| Succeeded by | William H. Hooper |
| Chief Justice of theSupreme Court of the Territory of Utah | |
| In office 1854–1857 | |
| Appointed by | Franklin Pierce |
| In office 1860–1863 | |
| Appointed by | James Buchanan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Fitch Kinney (1816-04-02)April 2, 1816 |
| Died | August 16, 1902(1902-08-16) (aged 86) Salt Lake City,Utah, U.S. |
| Spouses | |
| Signature | .png) |
John Fitch Kinney (April 2, 1816 – August 16, 1902) was a prominent Americanattorney, judge, andDemocratic politician. He served as Justice of theSupreme Court of Iowa, twice asChief Justice of the Supreme Court of theTerritory of Utah and oneterm as the Territory of Utah'sDelegate in theHouse of Representatives of the38th Congress.
He was born inNew Haven, New York, the fourth child and second son of Stephen Fitch Kinney (1789–1872) and Abby Brockway (1788–1824). Having completed public school and a more select school, he entered the Oswego Academy at age 16. After two years of higher learning there, he entered thelaw office ofOrville Robinson, with whom he studied law for two and half years. He then moved toMarysville, Ohio, where he resumed his law studies. He was admitted to thebar in 1837 and began thepractice of law in Marysville.[1]
On December 29, 1838, Kinney and Hannah Hall (1816–1895) were married inMount Vernon, Ohio. He lived there and practiced successfully until the summer of 1844, when he moved toLee County, Iowa. He was twice elected secretary of the Territorial Legislative Council, in 1845 and 1846, and wasprosecuting attorney for Lee County in 1846 and 1847. In June 1847, he was made president of theDemocratic Convention, and before leavingIowa City, which was then thecapital of the new state, he was appointed, byGovernorBriggs, as Justice of theSupreme Court of Iowa, to fill a vacancy. Kinney served in the office under the Governor's appointment for nearly two years. He was then elected Judge of the Supreme Court for six years, by the joint assembly of theLegislature. In January 1854, he resigned in order to remove to Utah Territory.[1]
PresidentPierce had appointed Kinney as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of theTerritory of Utah, and he served in that position from January 1854 until 1857, just before theUtah War. He then removed toNebraska City, Nebraska, where he resumed his law practice. He was re-appointed Chief Justice of the Territory of Utah by PresidentBuchanan and served from June 26, 1860, until March 1863.[2] He was directly involved in the events leading up to theMorrisite War of 1862, and allowed a condemnation of Territorial GovernorStephen S. Harding to be read into the public record after Harding issued a blanketpardon for allMorrisites convicted in connection with the war.
Kinney was elected as the Territory of Utah's DemocraticDelegate to the38th Congress and served from March 4, 1863, until March 3, 1865. He was not acandidate for re-nomination in 1864. He returned to Nebraska City, and resumed his law practice. In February 1867, PresidentJohnson appointed Kinney a Special IndianCommissioner to visit theSioux. He was appointed by PresidentArthur as agent of the Yankton Sioux inSouth Dakota, and served from December 11, 1884, until January 1, 1889, when he resigned, in order to escape the rigors of the northern climate, and again resumed the practice of law in Nebraska City.
In 1890, Kinney removed toSan Diego, California. His wife Hannah died there on May 1, 1895. He was Chairman of the Democratic Central Committee in 1896, whenSan Diego County was carried forWilliam Jennings Bryan in thePresidential election, and at the close of his official term, in 1898, received from the County Convention a vote of thanks and an expression of confidence for the able and satisfactory manner in which he had discharged his duties. Kinney was again married on May 9, 1899, to Lucy Jane Leonard (1826–1911), widow of Moses Thurston (1817–1873), aMormon pioneer and old friend from Utah. Though they were married in San Diego, the Kinneys made their home inSalt Lake City.
John Fitch Kinney died at age 86 in Salt Lake City.[3] His remains were then returned to San Diego, where he is interred inMount Hope Cemetery, alongside his first wife.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Delegate to the United States Congress from the Territory of Utah March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1865 | Succeeded by |
| Territorial (1851–1895) |
|   | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oneat-large seat (1895–1913) |
| ||||||||
| Two at-large seats (1913–1915) |
| ||||||||
| Districts (1915–present) (3rd district established in 1983) (4th district established in 2013) |
| ||||||||
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
