John Lawlor Jolley (July 14, 1840December 14, 1926) was a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

Biography

He was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

(now

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

) in 1840, where he attended the common schools. He graduated from Eastman Business College in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

. He moved to Wisconsin in 1857, and enlisted as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in Company C, Twenty-third Regiment, of the Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. He was mustered out as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

on July 4, 1865. He took up the study of the law and was admitted to the bar in 1866.

Vermillion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color, color family, and pigment most often made, since antiquity until the 19th century, from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide, which is toxic) and its corresponding color. It is ...

of 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 ...

.is where he first established his practice. He was a member of the territorial council in 1875 and 1881. In 1887 and 1895, he was elected

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of Vermillion. He was a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

in 1884. In 1889, he was a delegate to the state constitutional convention. He was also selected for the

South Dakota State Senate The Senate is the upper house of the South Dakota Legislature. It consists of 35 members, one representing each legislative district; it meets at the South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre. Composition :''92nd Legislature (2019)'' Officers Li ...

in 1889. In 1891 he was elected to Seat B, one of South Dakota's two at-large seats in the

, filling the vacancy caused by the death of John Rankin Gamble. He chose not to seek a full term, and resumed the practice of law. He died in Vermillion in 1926, and was buried at Vermillion's Bluff View Cemetery. Jolley Elementary School, in Vermillion, SD, is named after Mr. Jolley.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jolley, John L. 1840 births 1926 deaths People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War Politicians from Montreal Members of the Dakota Territorial Legislature 19th-century American politicians Mayors of places in South Dakota South Dakota state senators South Dakota lawyers Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from South Dakota People from Vermillion, South Dakota 19th-century American lawyers