John Emory Bennett (March 18, 1833 – December 31, 1893) was a justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court from 1871 to 1874, and a justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court from 1889 until his death. Born in East Bethany, Genesee County, New York, Bennett was educated at

Genesee Wesleyan Seminary The Genesee Wesleyan Seminary was the name of two institutions located on the same site in Lima, New York. The Genesee Wesleyan Seminary (I) was founded in 1831 by the Genesee Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The plan for its ...

of Lima, New York, graduating in 1852.''Transactions of the Grand Chapter: Royal Arch Masons of the State of Michigan'' (1895), p. 38-39. He moved to

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, where he was the first postmaster of Morrison, Illinois. At the breaking out of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, he joined the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

and was elected as Lieutenant Colonel of the

75th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 75th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service 75th Regiment Illinois was organized at Dixon, Illinois and mustered into Federal service on September 2, ...

, and in December 1862, was promoted to Colonel and served throughout the war. After the war he served for some time as judge advocate in the regular army, and after Arkansas was reconstructed he was elected Judge of the First Circuit, in 1868. He was appointed to the first Board of Trustees of the Arkansas Industrial University, known now as the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

, in 1871 and introduced the motion to name

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville () is the second-largest city in Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, and the biggest city in Northwest Arkansas. The city is on the outskirts of the Boston Mountains, deep within the Ozarks. Known as Washington until ...

as its location.Reynolds, ''History of the University of Arkansas'' (1910) p. 61, 369-70 He was then elected as a justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court in 1871. On May 2 or 3, 1872, Bennett and fellow judge E. J. Searle were arrested by a mob while traveling on a train through Argenta, Arkansas (a third judge, M. L. Stephenson, escaped). The mob claimed to be acting on orders from Governor Elisha Baxter, who disclaimed any knowledge of the matter. The following day, Bennett was able to dispatch a letter to Governor Baxter demanding to be released, and on May 7, an infantry detachment sent to the town secured the release of the two captive judges.Edward McPherson, ''Handbook of Politics for 1872'' (1872), p. 92. Bennett continued on the court until his term expired in 1874, and then moved to Helena, Arkansas, where he engaged in the private practice of law. In 1883, he moved to the

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of No ...

, locating at

Clark, South Dakota Clark is a city in and county seat of Clark County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,148 at the 2020 census. History A post office was established at Clark in 1880. Clark was platted in 1882. The city took its name from Clark ...

and continued to practice of law. Bennett was a Mason, and was a charter member of Olivet Chapter, No. 28 at Clark, and served as its High Priest for three terms. He was elected to the South Dakota Supreme Court in 1889, taking office on October 15, 1889. In 1893 was re-elected, but died two days before his new term would begin. Bennett died in Pierre, South Dakota, and was interred in Rose Hill Cemetery, in

. Competing accounts indicate that Bennett County, South Dakota is either named for Bennett, or for Granville C. Bennett, a prominent South Dakota politician.

References

1833 births 1893 deaths Illinois postmasters Justices of the Arkansas Supreme Court Genesee Wesleyan Seminary alumni People from Genesee County, New York People of the Brooks–Baxter War Justices of the South Dakota Supreme Court Union Army colonels University of Arkansas people 19th-century American judges {{SouthDakota-state-judge-stub