Jesse Knight (July 5, 1850 – April 9, 1905) was a justice of the

Wyoming Supreme Court The Wyoming Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices. Each Justice is appointed by the Governor of Wyoming from a list of three nominees submitted by the ...

from December 18, 1897, to April 9, 1905. He was born in

Boonville, New York Boonville is a town in Oneida County, New York, United States. The town is in the northeastern section of the county. The population was 4,555 at the 2010 census. The town includes a village, also called Boonville. The town and village are name ...

, to Jesse and Henrietta Knight. His father died of yellow fever in the

Isthmus of Panama The Isthmus of Panama, historically known as the Isthmus of Darien, is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North America, North and South America. The country of Panama is located on the i ...

before Knight was born.Lawrence P. Gooley,
Boonville's Jesse Knight, Wyoming Pioneer Judge
, ''New York History Blog'' (January 31, 2012). Knight attended Lewis, Oneida, and Fulton county schools, and then lived in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

with his uncle from 1867 to 1869. He moved to

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, and then to the

Territory of Wyoming The Territory of Wyoming was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 25, 1868, until July 10, 1890, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Wyoming. Cheyenne was the territorial capital. The b ...

, where he worked in various occupations including as a store clerk and postmaster. Knight then became a court clerk and attorney, opening a law practice in

Evanston, Wyoming Evanston is a city in and the county seat of Uinta County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 11,747 at the 2020 census. It is located near the border with Utah. History Evanston was named after James A. Evans, a civil engineer for th ...

. While in practice, Knight "was appointed Territorial Auditor of Wyoming, taking oath of office March 31, 1882, and serving until March 31, 1884".Wyoming State Archives biography of Jesse Knight, available at 2301 Central Ave, Cheyenne, WY 82001. He was also a land sales agent for the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

, and was elected prosecuting attorney of

Uinta County, Wyoming Uinta County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 20,450. Its county seat is Evanston. Its south and west boundary lines abut the Utah state line. Uinta County, together with ...

in 1888. Following Wyoming's

admission to the Union Admission to the Union is provided by the Admissions Clause of the United States Constitution in Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1, which authorizes the United States Congress to admit new states into the Union beyond the thirteen states that ...

in 1890, Knight was elected to the state constitutional convention, and in 1896 was elected as a judge of the state's Third Judicial District. Knight was appointed to the Wyoming Supreme Court in 1897, and was elected to a full eight-year term in 1898. He became Chief Justice, serving in that capacity until his sudden and unexpected death from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

References

Justices of the Wyoming Supreme Court 1850 births 1905 deaths People from Wyoming Territory People from Boonville, New York Deaths from pneumonia in Wyoming People from Evanston, Wyoming 19th-century American judges {{Wyoming-state-judge-stub