Jefferson Parish Kidder (June 4, 1815 – October 2, 1883) was an American lawyer and jurist. He served as the non-voting delegate from the

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of ...

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

. Kidder was the only Democratic lieutenant governor of Vermont until John J. Daley in 1965.

Early life

Kidder was born in Braintree, Vermont on June 4, 1815. He attended the Orange County Grammar School in Randolph, and graduated from

Alden Partridge Alden Partridge (February 12, 1785 – January 17, 1854) was an American author, legislator, officer, surveyor, an early superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York and a controversial pioneer in U.S. milita ...

's American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy (

Norwich University Norwich University is a private university in Northfield, Vermont, United States. The university was founded in 1819 as the "American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy". It is the oldest of six senior military college, senior militar ...

) in 1834. He studied law in Montpelier, was admitted to the bar in 1839 and practiced in Braintree and West Randolph. Among the prospective attorneys who studied law under Kidder's supervision were John W. Rowell, who went on to serve as chief justice of the

Vermont Supreme Court The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont. Unlike most other states, the Vermont Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the trial courts, as Vermont has no intermediate appeals court. The court ...

and Carl C. Pope, a legislator and judge in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

Career

He was a member of the Vermont Constitutional Convention in 1843. He served as

State's Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

for Orange County (1842-1847), a member of the

Vermont State Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members elected from multi-member districts. Each senator represents at least 20,300 citizens. ...

(1847-1849), the Lieutenant Governor of Vermont (1852-1853), and a delegate to the 1856 Democratic National Convention. In 1848 he received the

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

from the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

. In 1857 Kidder moved to

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

, where he joined the Republican Party. In 1859, Kidder moved to

and became a delegate to Congress from the provisional government at Sioux Falls. In 1862 and 1863, he was elected to the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the U.S. state of Minnesota's Minnesota Legislature, legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper chamber, to write and pass legislation, whic ...

. In 1865 he moved to Vermillion,

, when

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

appointed him an associate justice of the territorial Supreme Court. In 1874, he was elected as the territory's delegate to Congress. He served from March 4, 1875 to March 3, 1879 and was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1878. 1879, Kidder was reappointed to the Supreme Court of Dakota Territory. He served until his death in 1883.

Death and burial

Kidder died in St. Paul on October 2, 1883. He was buried in St. Paul's Oakland Cemetery.

Family

His son Lyman Kidder was a U.S. Cavalry 2nd lieutenant serving in the 2nd Cavalry under

George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point ...

, and was

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

in what would be dubbed the Kidder massacre. Jefferson Kidder was also the grandfather of noted lawman and Arizona Ranger Jeff Kidder.

Legacy

Kidder County, North Dakota is named for him.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kidder, Jefferson P. 1815 births 1883 deaths People from Braintree, Vermont Norwich University alumni Vermont lawyers Vermont Democrats State's attorneys in Vermont Vermont state senators Lieutenant governors of Vermont Minnesota Republicans Minnesota lawyers Members of the Minnesota House of Representatives South Dakota Republicans South Dakota lawyers Justices of the Dakota Territorial Supreme Court Delegates to the United States House of Representatives from Dakota Territory People from Vermillion, South Dakota 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly 19th-century members of the Minnesota Legislature