William Kennon Jr. (June 12, 1802October 19, 1867) was a lawyer, judge, and 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

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. He served for one term from 1847 to 1849.

Early life

Born in

Carrickfergus Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 28,141 at the 2021 census. It is County Antrim's oldest t ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

on the

island of Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially named Irelanda sovereign state covering five-sixths of th ...

(the entirety of which was then part of the U.K.), Kennon, known locally as 'Kenno', immigrated to the United States in 1816 with his parents, who settled near

Barnesville, Ohio Barnesville is a village in Belmont County, Ohio, United States. It is located in the central portion of Warren Township in Belmont County and is part of the Wheeling metropolitan area. The population was 4,008 at the 2020 census. History The ...

. He was a first cousin of fellow U.S. Representative William Kennon Sr. He attended the common schools and graduated from Franklin College,

New Athens, Ohio New Athens ( ) is a village in Harrison County, Ohio, United States. The population was 222 at the 2020 census. History New Athens was platted in 1817. A post office has been in operation at New Athens since 1818. Franklin College was founded ...

, in 1826. Kennon studied law and 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 1830.

Career

He commenced practice in St. Clairsville, Ohio, and served as the

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 ...

Belmont County Belmont County is a county located in the eastern end of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 66,497. Its county seat is St. Clairsville, while its largest city is Martins Ferry. The county was crea ...

from 1837 to 1841. Kennon 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 Thirtieth Congress from March 4, 1847, until March 3, 1849. He was not a candidate for renomination, and instead resumed the practice of law. He served as judge of the court of common pleas of the fifteenth judicial district from 1865 to July 1, 1867, when he resigned.

Personal life

Kennon was married to Elizabeth Kirkwood (1818–1899), daughter of Joseph Kirkwood and granddaughter of Revolutionary War hero

Robert Kirkwood Robert Henry Kirkwood (1756November 4, 1791) was a United States officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War and the Northwest Indian War. He died in 1791 during the battle of St. Clair's Defeat. Early life Kirkwood was born in 1756 in ...

. Together, they were the parents of: * Margaret A. Kennon (1852–1922), who married Allen C. Miller (1848–1892) in 1870. * Newell Kirkwood Kennon (1855–1937), an attorney. * Albert Wilson Kennon (1861–1949), an 1886 graduate of the

Cincinnati Law School The University of Cincinnati College of Law is the law school of the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio. History The University of Cincinnati College of Law was founded in 1833 as the Cincinnati Law School. It is the fourth oldest conti ...

who married Ida Belle Updegraff (1868–1941), of

Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in Ohio County, West Virginia, Ohio and Marshall County, West Virginia, Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The county seat of Ohio County, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mo ...

, in 1904. He died in St. Clairsville on October 19, 1867, and was interred in Union Cemetery.

Sources

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennon, William Jr. 1802 births 1867 deaths People from Carrickfergus People from St. Clairsville, Ohio Ohio lawyers Irish emigrants to the United States Franklin College (New Athens, Ohio) County district attorneys in Ohio Kennon family (Ohio) People from Barnesville, Ohio 19th-century American lawyers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives