John Hailey (August 29, 1835 – April 10, 1921) was an American politician who served as a

Congressional A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ad ...

Delegate from

Idaho Territory The Territory of Idaho was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1863, until July 3, 1890, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as Idaho. History 1860s The territory ...

Biography

Hailey was born in

Smith County, Tennessee Smith County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 19,904. Smith County is located in the region of the state known as Middle Tennessee. Its cou ...

, and attended the public schools. Of Scottish ancestry, his grandfather, Philip Hailey, and his father, John Hailey, were both natives of Virginia. His father married Miss Nancy Baird, a native of Tennessee, the daughter of Captain Josiah Baird, who had been a captain in the War of 1812. He moved in 1848 to

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

with his parents, who settled in Dade County. Hailey crossed the Plains, emigrating to

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

in 1853. He enlisted as a

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on the outbreak of the Rogue River Indian War in 1855 and was subsequently promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

. He married Louisa M. Griffin on August 7, 1856, in

Jackson County, Oregon Jackson County is one of the Oregon counties, 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 223,259. The county seat is Medford, Oregon, Medford. The county Oregon Geographic Names ...

, and they would have six children including Thomas G. Hailey, who would serve in the

Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest State court (United States), state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.

. Hailey moved to

Washington Territory The Washington Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...

in 1862 and engaged in agricultural pursuits, stock raising, and mining. Hailey was elected mayor of

Boise Boise ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Located on the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and nor ...

, in 1871 but never took office. He was elected as a Delegate to the Forty-third Congress (March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1875). He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1874. From 1877 to 1879, Hailey was a county commissioner for Ada County, and from 1880 to 1881, he represented Ada and

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Counties on the Idaho Territorial Council, serving as its president. In 1884, Hailey was elected to the Forty-ninth Congress (March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1887), and was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1886 to the Fiftieth Congress. From 1891 to 1893, he served as a county commissioner for

Logan County Logan County is the name of ten current counties and one former county in the United States: * Logan County, Arkansas * Logan County, Colorado * Logan County, Idaho (1889–1895) * Logan County, Illinois * Logan County, Kansas * Logan County ...

Later life

He was appointed

warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically ident ...

of the

Idaho State Penitentiary The Old Idaho Penitentiary State Historic Site was a functional prison from 1872 to 1973 in the Western United States, western United States, east of Boise, Idaho. The first building, also known as the Territorial Prison, was constructed in the Te ...

in 1899. In 1907, upon the founding of the Historical Society of the State of Idaho, Hailey was made its first secretary and librarian. In 1910, as secretary and librarian, Hailey wrote a history of the state at the request of the legislature. He died in

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

, on April 10, 1921, and was

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in the

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. The city of Hailey is named in his honor. In 1958, he was inducted into the

Hall of Great Westerners The Hall of Great Westerners was established by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 1958. Located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., the Hall was created to celebrate the contributions of more than 200 men and women of the American W ...

of the

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 Western and Native American art works and artifacts. The facility also has the world's most extensive collection of Amer ...

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hailey, John 1835 births 1921 deaths Members of the Idaho Territorial Council Delegates to the United States House of Representatives from Idaho Territory United States Army officers Rogue River Wars People from Smith County, Tennessee Idaho Democrats 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives