KINNEY, John Fitch, a Delegate from the Territory of Utah; born in New Haven, Oswego County, N.Y., April 2, 1816; completed preparatory studies; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1837 and commenced practice in Marysville, Ohio; moved to Mount Vernon, Ohio, in 1839 and thence to Lee County, Iowa, in 1844; secretary of the State council in 1845 and 1846; prosecuting attorney of Lee County in 1846 and 1847; judge of the supreme court of Iowa from 1847 until January 1854, when he resigned; appointed by President Pierce chief justice of the supreme court of the Territory of Utah and served from January 1854 to 1857; moved to Nebraska City, Nebr., in 1857 and practiced law until 1860; again appointed by President Buchanan chief justice of the Territory of Utah June 26, 1860, and served until March 1863; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1863-March 3, 1865); was not a candidate for renomination in 1864; returned to Nebraska City, Nebr., and resumed the practice of law; appointed by President Johnson as a commissioner in February 1867 to visit the Sioux Indians; appointed by President Arthur as agent of the Yankton Sioux Indians and served from December 11, 1884, until January 1, 1889, when he resigned; resumed the practice of law in Nebraska City, Nebr.; moved to San Diego, Calif., in 1889; died in Salt Lake City, Utah, August 16, 1902; interment in Mount Hope Cemetery, San Diego, Calif.
View Record in the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
[ Top ]Haslam, Larry. "Utah's Delegates to Congress, 1851-1896." masters' thesis, Utah State University, 1962.
Homer, Michael W. "The Federal Bench and Priesthood Authority: The Rise and Fall of John Fitch Kinney's Early Relationship with the Mormons."Journal of Mormon History, vol. 13 (1986-87): 88-108.
