John F. Kinney
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John Fitch Kinney (April 2, 1816 – August 16, 1902) was a prominent American attorney, judge, and Democratic politician. He served as Justice of the Supreme Court of Iowa, twice as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Territory of Utah and one term as the Territory of Utah's Delegate in the
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of the 38th Congress.


Biography

He was born in New 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 the
law office A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...
of Orville Robinson, with whom he studied law for two and half years. He then moved to
Marysville, Ohio Marysville is a city in Union County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 25,571 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located approximately northwest of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, it is part of the Columbus met ...
, where he resumed his law studies. He was admitted to the bar in 1837 and began the
practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the profes ...
in Marysville. On December 29, 1838, Kinney and Hannah Hall (1816–1895) were married in
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. He lived there and practiced successfully until the summer of 1844, when he moved to
Lee County, Iowa Lee County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,555. The county seats are Fort Madison and Keokuk: It is the only county in Iowa with more than one county seat. Lee County is part ...
. He was twice elected secretary of the Territorial Legislative Council, in 1845 and 1846, and was
prosecuting attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in civil law. The prosecution is the legal party responsible ...
for Lee County in 1846 and 1847. In June 1847, he was made president of the Democratic Convention, and before leaving
Iowa City Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's fifth-most populous city. The Iowa City metropolitan area, which enc ...
, which was then the
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of the new state, he was appointed, by
Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
Briggs, as Justice of the Supreme 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 the
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. In January 1854, he resigned in order to remove to Utah Territory.
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Pierce had appointed Kinney as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Territory of Utah, and he served in that position from January 1854 until 1857, just before the
Utah War The Utah War (1857–1858), also known as the Utah Expedition, the Utah Campaign, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion, was an armed confrontation between Mormon settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the ...
. He then removed to Nebraska City, Nebraska, where he resumed his law practice. He was re-appointed Chief Justice of the Territory of Utah by President Buchanan and served from June 26, 1860, until March 1863. He was directly involved in the events leading up to the Morrisite War of 1862, and allowed a condemnation of Territorial Governor Stephen S. Harding to be read into the public record after Harding issued a blanket
pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...
for all Morrisites convicted in connection with the war. Kinney was elected as the Territory of Utah's Democratic Delegate to the 38th Congress and served from March 4, 1863, until March 3, 1865. He was not a
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for re-nomination in 1864. He returned to Nebraska City, and resumed his law practice. In February 1867, President
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appointed Kinney a Special Indian
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to visit the
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. He was appointed by President
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as agent of the Yankton Sioux in
South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...
, 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 to
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, California. His wife Hannah died there on May 1, 1895. He was Chairman of the Democratic Central Committee in 1896, when
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was carried for
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in the
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, 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), a
Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
pioneer and old friend from Utah. Though they were married in San Diego, the Kinneys made their home in
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
. John Fitch Kinney died at age 86 in Salt Lake City. His remains were then returned to San Diego, where he is interred in Mount Hope Cemetery, alongside his first wife.


See also

* United States Congress Delegates from the Territory of Utah


References


External links

* at the
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress The ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress'' (Bioguide) is a biographical dictionary of all present and former members of the United States Congress and its predecessor, the Continental Congress. Also included are Delegates fr ...

John F. Kinney
at the
Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations o ...
* *
John F. Kinney
at Iowa Judicial Branch Past Iowa Supreme Court Justices {{DEFAULTSORT:Kinney, John F. 1816 births 1902 deaths Delegates to the United States House of Representatives from Utah Territory Justices of the Iowa Supreme Court Members of the Iowa Territorial Legislature People from Lee County, Iowa People from Oswego County, New York People from Marysville, Ohio People of Utah in the American Civil War People of the Utah War Utah Democrats Utah Territorial judges 19th-century Iowa state court judges Burials at Mount Hope Cemetery (San Diego) People from Nebraska City, Nebraska Chief justices of the Utah Supreme Court District attorneys in Iowa 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives