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 is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from New York, serving three terms during the mid-19th century.

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 Located on the ancestral homeland of the Nipmuc, the area was first settled by Europeans in 1720 and referred to as th ...

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. The county is part of the Capital Dis ...

in 1817. He attended academies in

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada * Salem, Ontario, various places Germany * Salem, Baden-Württemberg, a municipality in the Bodensee district ** Salem Abbey (Reichskloster Salem), a monastery * Salem, Schleswig-Holstein Israel * Salem (B ...

and White Creek, 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 in Utica and Lauren Ford in

Herkimer Herkimer may refer to: People: * Johan Jost Herkimer (1732–1795), United Empire Loyalist, brother of Nicholas Herkimer * John Herkimer (1773–1848), American lawyer and politician from New York * Lawrence Herkimer (1925–2015), American innov ...

. 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 and Oneida Castle, where he continued to practice law. Among the attorneys who studied under Jenkins was Breese J. Stevens. 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 a profession aimed at controlling and extinguishing fire. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter or fireman. Firefighters typically undergo a high degree of technical training. This involves structural fir ...

. Jenkins was the attorney for the Oneida Indians from 1838 to 1845 as they negotiated with the state of New York to resolve land claims and create reservations. He served as

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

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 (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

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 b ...

. According to some accounts, he was the Wilmot Proviso's actual author. As a result of his anti-slavery views Jenkins became a Republican 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 Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

. 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 supreme court, highest court in the Judiciary of New York (state), Unified Court System of the New York (state), State of New York. It consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeal ...

, 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 The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...

, and lost to Edwin D. Morgan, 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 superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

in Martinsburg. 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 college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, Clinton, New York. It was established as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and received its c ...

. 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 large ...

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) 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century New York (state) politicians 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives