John E. Kenna

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John E. Kenna

United States Senator from West Virginia
In office March 4, 1883 – January 11, 1893
Preceded by	Henry G. Davis
Succeeded by	Johnson N. Camden
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia's 3rd district
In office March 4, 1877 – March 4, 1883
Preceded by	Frank Hereford
Succeeded by	Charles P. Snyder
Personal details
Born	(1848-04-10)April 10, 1848 St. Albans, West Virginia
Died	January 11, 1893(1893-01-11) (aged 44) Washington, D.C.
Political party	Democratic

John Edward Kenna (April 10, 1848 – January 11, 1893) was an American politician who was a Senator from West Virginia from 1883 until his death.

Biography

Kenna was born near St. Albans, West Virginia, in Kanawha County and lived his early life at Upper Falls, where his father was lockmaster and owned a sawmill.^[1] He had little education, and at the age of 16 he served in the "Iron Brigade" with General Joseph O. Shelby in the Confederate States Army and was wounded. After returning home, he read law and was admitted to the bar in 1870. He became very active in the emerging Democratic Party of West Virginia.

He rose from prosecuting attorney of Kanawha County in 1872 to Justice pro tempore of the county circuit in 1875, and to the United States House of Representatives in 1876. While in the House he championed railroad legislation and crusaded for aid for slack-water navigation to help the coal, timber, and salt industries in his state. These activities earned him a seat in the United States Senate in 1883, where he continued fighting for his two causes.

Kenna became Democratic minority leader and emerged as a powerful and controversial speaker on the issue of the independence of the executive branch of the government. He forcefully defended President Grover Cleveland on several issues and indicted the Senate Republican majority for failure to pass tariff reforms. His brilliant career was cut short with his sudden death at the age of 44 on January 11, 1893.

In 1901, the state of West Virginia donated a marble statue of Kenna to the U.S. Capitol's National Statuary Hall Collection.

References

↑ Courtesy of Dr. William H. Dean, Ph.D. From Coal, Steamboats, Timber and Trains: The Early Industrial History of St. Albans, West Virginia & The Coal River, 1850-1925. UpperFallsWV.blog.com

External links

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John Edward Kenna

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Frank Hereford	U.S. Representative of West Virginia's 3rd Congressional District 1877–1883	Succeeded by Charles P. Snyder
United States Senate
Preceded by Henry G. Davis	U.S. Senator (Class 2) from West Virginia 1883–1893 Served alongside: Johnson N. Camden, Charles J. Faulkner	Succeeded by Johnson N. Camden

v t e United States Senators from West Virginia

Class 1	Van Winkle Boreman Caperton Price Hereford Camden Faulkner Scott Chilton Sutherland Neely Hatfield Holt Kilgore Laird Revercomb Byrd Goodwin Manchin

Class 2	Willey Davis Kenna Camden S. Elkins D. Elkins Watson N. Goff D. Elkins G. Goff Neely Rosier Shott Revercomb Neely Hoblitzell Randolph Rockefeller

Authority control	WorldCat VIAF: 29361553 LCCN: no2008162485

Persondata
Name	Kenna, John Edward
Alternative names
Short description	American politician
Date of birth	April 10, 1848
Place of birth	St. Albans, West Virginia
Date of death	January 11, 1893
Place of death	Washington, D.C.

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