John Emory Bennett (March 18, 1833 – December 31, 1893) was a justice of the

Arkansas Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Arkansas is the highest court in the state judiciary of Arkansas. It has ultimate and largely discretionary appellate jurisdiction over all state court cases that involve a point of state law, and original jurisdiction ...

from 1871 to 1874, and a justice of the

South Dakota Supreme Court The South Dakota Supreme Court is the highest court in the state of South Dakota. It is composed of a chief justice and four associate justices appointed by the governor. One justice is selected from each of five geographic appointment districts ...

from 1889 until his death. Born in

East Bethany Bethany is a town in Genesee County, New York, United States. The population was 1,765 at the 2010 census. The town lies on the southern border of Genesee County. US Route 20 and NYS Route 63 pass through the town. History The area was first ...

Genesee County, New York Genesee County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,388. Its county seat is Batavia. Its name is from the Seneca word Gen-nis'-hee-yo, meaning "the Beautiful Valley".THE AMERICAN REVIEW; ...

, Bennett was educated at

Genesee Wesleyan Seminary The Genesee Wesleyan Seminary was the name of two institutions located on the same site in Lima, New York. The Genesee Wesleyan Seminary was founded in 1831 by the Genesee Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church after the Conference ...

Lima, New York Lima (, the name is a shibboleth) is a town in Livingston County, New York, United States. The population was 4,154 at the 2020 census. The town is in the northeast part of the county, south of Rochester. The village of Lima is located withi ...

, graduating in 1852.''Transactions of the Grand Chapter: Royal Arch Masons of the State of Michigan'' (1895), p. 38-39. He moved to

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, where he was the first postmaster of

Morrison, Illinois Morrison is a city and the county seat of Whiteside County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,188 at the 2010 census, down from 4,447 in 2000. It is located on the Historic Lincoln Highway, the nation's first transcontinental highway ...

. At the breaking out of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, he joined the Union Army and was elected as Lieutenant Colonel of the

75th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 75th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service 75th Regiment Illinois was organized at Dixon, Illinois and mustered into Federal service on September 2 ...

, and in December 1862, was promoted to

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

and served throughout the war. After the war he served for some time as

judge advocate Judge-advocates are military lawyers serving in different capacities in the military justice systems of different jurisdictions. Australia The Australian Army Legal Corps (AALC) consists of Regular and Reserve commissioned officers that prov ...

in the regular army, and after

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

was reconstructed he was elected Judge of the First Circuit, in 1868. He was appointed to the first Board of Trustees of the Arkansas Industrial University, known now as the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

, in 1871 and introduced the motion to name

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, Arkansas, Washington County, and the most populous city in Northwest Arkansas. The city ...

as its location.Reynolds, ''History of the University of Arkansas'' (1910) p. 61, 369-70. He was then elected as a justice of the

in 1871. On May 2 or 3, 1872, Bennett and fellow judge E. J. Searle were arrested by a mob while traveling on a train through Argenta, Arkansas (a third judge, Marshall L. Stephenson, escaped). The mob claimed to be acting on orders from Governor

Elisha Baxter Elisha Baxter (September 1, 1827May 31, 1899) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 10th governor of Arkansas from 1873 to 1874. Early life and career Baxter was born in Rutherford County, North Carolina. He sought and obta ...

, who disclaimed any knowledge of the matter. The following day, Bennett was able to dispatch a letter to Governor Baxter demanding to be released, and on May 7, an infantry detachment sent to the town secured the release of the two captive judges.Edward McPherson, ''Handbook of Politics for 1872'' (1872), p. 92. Bennett continued on the court until his term expired in 1874, and then moved to

Helena, Arkansas Helena is the eastern portion of Helena–West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas, located on the west bank of the Mississippi River. It was founded in 1833 by Nicholas Rightor and is named after the daughter of Sylvanus Phil ...

, where he engaged in the private practice of law. In 1883, he moved to 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 ...

, locating at

Clark, South Dakota Clark is a city in and county seat of Clark County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,148 at the 2020 census. History A post office was established at Clark in 1880. Clark was platted in 1882. The city took its name from Clark ...

and continued to practice of law. Bennett was a

Mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a worker who lays bricks to assist in brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cutti ...

, and was a charter member of Olivet Chapter, No. 28 at Clark, and served as its High Priest for three terms. He was elected to the South Dakota Supreme Court in 1889, taking office on October 15, 1889. In 1893 was re-elected, but died two days before his new term would begin. Bennett died in

Pierre, South Dakota Pierre ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of South Dakota and the county seat of Hughes County. As of the 2020 census, its population was 14,091. Pierre is the eleventh-most populous city of South Dakota, and the second-least populo ...

, and was interred in Rose Hill Cemetery, in

. Competing accounts indicate that

Bennett County, South Dakota Bennett County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,381. Its county seat is Martin. Bennett County was removed from the Pine Ridge Reservation by an act of Congress in 1911, much of Bennett ...

is either named for Bennett, or for Granville G. Bennett, a prominent South Dakota politician.

References

1833 births 1893 deaths Illinois postmasters Justices of the Arkansas Supreme Court Genesee Wesleyan Seminary alumni People from Genesee County, New York People of the Brooks–Baxter War Justices of the South Dakota Supreme Court Union army colonels University of Arkansas people 19th-century Arkansas state court judges {{SouthDakota-state-judge-stub