John Kintzing Kane (May 16, 1795 – February 21, 1858) was an American lawyer who served as the 21st

Attorney General of Pennsylvania The Pennsylvania Attorney General is the chief law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It became an elected office in 1980. The current Attorney General is Democrat Josh Shapiro. On August 15, 2016, then-Attorney General Kath ...

from 1845 to 1846 and a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania from 1846 to 1858.

Education and career

Born on May 16, 1795, in Albany,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, Kane graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1814 and

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

in 1817. He entered private practice in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

from 1817 to 1824. He was a member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

from 1824 to 1825. He was an attorney and board member of the

Chesapeake & Delaware Canal The Chesapeake & Delaware Canal (C&D Canal) is a -long, -wide and -deep ship canal that connects the Delaware River with the Chesapeake Bay in the states of Delaware and Maryland in the United States. In the mid‑17th century, mapmaker Augus ...

Company starting in 1825. That same year, he was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

and served as president of the organization. In 1828, he became active in national democratic party politics and supported

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

. He wrote a pamphlet titled ''A Candid View of the Presidential Election'' supporting Jackson and is credited with writing many of his statements as President on national policy. He was city solicitor for Philadelphia from 1828 to 1830, and in 1832. Jackson nominated Kane as one of the three United States Commissioners to settle claims with

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

from 1832 to 1836. He resumed private practice in Philadelphia from 1836 to 1845. He led the Pennsylvania Democrats versus the Whigs in the Buckshot War contesting the 1838 state elections which became so contentious the state militia was called up to protect the legislature. He was the 21st

from 1845 to 1846. As Attorney General, he led the prosecution of those arrested during

anti-Catholic riots Anti-Catholic riots were a phenomenon, particularly in the English speaking world, which tended to accompany the lifting of legal sanctions against the Catholic minority in these countries. Examples included: * Philadelphia Anti-Catholic Riots * ...

in Philadelphia during the 1840s.

Federal judicial service

Kane was nominated by President

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...

on June 11, 1846, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania vacated by Judge

Archibald Randall Archibald Randall (May 24, 1797 – June 8, 1846) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Education and career Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Randall read law to ente ...

. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on June 17, 1846, and received his commission the same day. He was the Federal Judge who sentenced

Passmore Williamson Passmore Williamson (February 23, 1822 – February 1, 1895) was an American abolitionist and businessman in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a free state in the antebellum years. As secretary of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society and a member of i ...

for contempt of court due to his violation of the

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 The Fugitive Slave Act or Fugitive Slave Law was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern interests in slavery and Northern Free-Soilers. The Act was one of the most co ...

in the case of the slave

Jane Johnson Jane Johnson may refer to: * Jane Johnson (actress) (1706–1733), English actress * Jane Johnson (slave) (c. 1814–1872), American slave who was center of a precedent-setting legal case *Jane Johnson (writer) Jane Johnson (born 1960) is an Engl ...

. Kane's son, Thomas, resigned his position as clerk of the court in protest of the ruling and was also charged with contempt. His service terminated on February 21, 1858, due to his death in Philadelphia. He is interred in the family mausoleum at

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery is ...

in Philadelphia.

Family

Kane was descended from John O'Kane, a Latin scholar who emigrated from Ireland to America in 1750. Kane was the son of Elisha Kane and Alida (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Van Rensselaer), daughter of Brigadier General Robert Van Rensselaer and Cornelia Rutsen. When his mother Alida died in 1799, Elisha married Elizabeth Kintzing, and it was she who raised John and his siblings. In 1819, Kane was married to Jane Duval Leiper (1796–1866), the daughter of Thomas Leiper (1745–1825). Together, they had seven children, including one that died in infancy. Their daughter, Elizabeth, married Charles Woodruff Shields in 1861. Two sons became notable as adults: *

Elisha Kent Kane Elisha Kent Kane (February 3, 1820 – February 16, 1857) was a United States Navy medical officer and Arctic explorer. He served as assistant surgeon during Caleb Cushing's journey to China to negotiate the Treaty of Wangxia and in the Af ...

(1820–1857), who was a United States naval officer, physician and explorer. He was a member of two Arctic expeditions that tried to rescue the explorer Sir John Franklin and his team. *

Thomas Leiper Kane Thomas Leiper Kane (January 27, 1822 – December 26, 1883) was an American attorney, abolitionist, philanthropist, and military officer who was influential in the western migration of the Latter-day Saint movement and served as a Union Army co ...

(1822–1883), who was an attorney, abolitionist and military officer, who was influential in the western migration of the Latter-day Saints movement and served as a Union colonel and general of volunteers in the American Civil War.

Citations

Sources

External links