Timothy Jenkins (January 29, 1799 – December 24, 1859) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, serving three terms during the mid-

19th Century The 19th (nineteenth) century began on 1 January 1801 ( MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 ( MCM). The 19th century was the ninth century of the 2nd millennium. The 19th century was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was abolis ...

Biography

Timothy Jenkins was born in

Barre, Massachusetts Barre ( ) is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,530 at the 2020 census. History Originally called the Northwest District of Rutland, it was first settled by Europeans in 1720. The town was incorpora ...

on January 29, 1799. His father died when he was 16, and Jenkins moved to

Washington County, New York Washington County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 61,302. The county seat is Fort Edward. The county was named for U.S. President George Washington. Washington County is part of the Gl ...

in 1817. He attended academies in

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

and

White Creek White Creek is a town in Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 3,411 at the 2000 census. The town contains the White Creek Historic District, which was ...

, and then taught school while studying law with

Samuel Beardsley Samuel Beardsley (February 6, 1790 – May 6, 1860) was an American attorney, judge and legislator from New York. During his career he served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, New York Attorney General, United States Att ...

and

William H. Maynard William Hale Maynard (November 23, 1786 – August 28, 1832) was an American lawyer, newspaper editor and politician from New York. Life He was born on November 23, 1786, in Conway, then a town in Hampshire County which in 1811 became a part of ...

in Utica and Lauren Ford in Herkimer. Jenkins was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1824.

Legal career

He resided in

Vernon Vernon may refer to: Places Australia *Vernon County, New South Wales Canada *Vernon, British Columbia, a city *Vernon, Ontario France * Vernon, Ardèche *Vernon, Eure United States * Vernon, Alabama * Vernon, Arizona * Vernon, California * ...

and

Oneida Castle Oneida Castle ( one, tkanaˀalóhaleˀ) is a Village (New York), village in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 625 at the 2010 census. The Village of Oneida Castle is in the northwestern corner of the Vernon (town), New Yo ...

, where he continued to practice law. Among the attorneys who studied under Jenkins was

Breese J. Stevens Breese Jacob Stevens (March 22, 1834 – October 28, 1903) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 20th List of mayors of Madison, Wisconsin, mayor of Madison, Wisconsin, from 1884 to 1885. Biography Breese J. Stevens was born ...

. In Vernon he served in local office, including clerk of the village board of trustees. In Oneida Castle he served in local office including

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

and

fire warden Firefighting is the act of extinguishing or preventing the spread of unwanted fires from threatening human lives and destroying property and the environment. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter. Firefighters typically ...

. Jenkins was the attorney for the

Oneida Indians The Oneida people (autonym: Onʌyoteˀa·ká·, Onyota'a:ka, ''the People of the Upright Stone, or standing stone'', ''Thwahrù·nęʼ'' in Tuscarora) are a Native American tribe and First Nations band. They are one of the five founding nat ...

from 1838 to 1845 as they negotiated with the state of

to resolve land claims and create reservations. He served as district attorney for Oneida County from 1840 to 1845.

Congress

Jenkins was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth Congresses (March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1849). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1848 to the Thirty-first Congress. Jenkins was elected to the Thirty-second Congress (March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853), and served as chairman of the Committee on Private Land Claims. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1852 to the Thirty-third Congress. During his time in Congress, Jenkins was identified as a prominent opponent of slavery, including support for the

Wilmot Proviso The Wilmot Proviso was an unsuccessful 1846 proposal in the United States Congress to ban slavery in territory acquired from Mexico in the Mexican–American War. The conflict over the Wilmot Proviso was one of the major events leading to the ...

and opposition to the

Kansas–Nebraska Act The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 () was a territorial organic act that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. It was drafted by Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas, passed by the 33rd United States Congress, and signed into law by ...

. According to some accounts, he was the Wilmot Proviso's actual author. As a result of his anti-slavery views Jenkins became a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

when the party was founded. In 1856 he served as delegate to the first

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

. In 1857 he was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for a seat on the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by t ...

, losing to

Hiram Denio Hiram Denio (May 21, 1799 – November 5, 1871) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1856 to 1857; and from 1862 to 1865. Life He was born on May 21, 1799, in Rome, Oneid ...

. In 1858 he was a candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor of New York, and lost to

Edwin D. Morgan Edwin Denison Morgan (February 8, 1811February 14, 1883) was the 21st governor of New York from 1859 to 1862 and served in the United States Senate from 1863 to 1869. He was the first and longest-serving chairman of the Republican National Comm ...

, who went on to win the general election.

Death

Jenkins died in on December 24, 1859, while attending a session of the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

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. He was interred at City Cemetery in Oneida Castle.

Family

In 1822 Jenkins married Florilla Tuttle of Vernon. She died soon afterwards, and in 1829 he married Harriet Tuttle, a sister of his first wife. With his second wife Jenkins was the father of four children: Charles M. Jenkins (1830-1856), an attorney; Hiram T. Jenkins (1833-1868), an attorney; Florilla Jenkins (1838-1919), the wife of W. Jerome Hickox; and Albert Jenkins, who died in infancy.

Legacy

Jenkins accumulated a large collection of books and papers, including legal and historical works, speeches, and government publications. In the 1910s his daughter donated the collection to

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, followi ...

. A collection of Jenkins' letters, many concerning his antislavery efforts, were donated to the

New York State Library The New York State Library is a research library in Albany, New York, United States. It was established in 1818 to serve the state government of New York and is part of the New York State Education Department. The library is one of the largest i ...

References

External links

*
Timothy Jenkins
in ''Our County and Its People: A Descriptive Work on Oneida County, New York''. Daniel Elbridge Wager, editor. 1896. Page 37. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Timothy 1799 births 1859 deaths People from Barre, Massachusetts People from Washington County, New York People from Vernon, New York New York (state) postmasters New York (state) lawyers County district attorneys in New York (state) New York (state) Republicans Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Burials in New York (state) 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers Members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)