John Snyders Kenyon (May 5, 1843 – February 16, 1902) was an American politician and

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

recipient from New York.

Life

Kenyon was born on May 5, 1843, in Grosvenors Corners,

Schoharie County, New York Schoharie County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 29,714, making it the state's fifth-least populous county. The county seat is Schoharie. "Schoharie" comes from a Mohawk word meaning "f ...

. His parents were Charles Grosvenor Kenyon and Helen Snyder. He was beginning to study law when 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 ...

broke out. Kenyon enlisted in the

3rd New York Volunteer Cavalry The 3rd New York Cavalry Regiment ("Van Alen Cavalry") was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 3rd New York Cavalry was organized by companies beginning in July 1861 and mustered in Septemb ...

in October 1861 and was mustered in as a private in Company D. By December 1862, he was promoted to second lieutenant. He was mustered out as supernumerary in May 1863, but he re-enlisted as a private in Company H in January 1864. He was promoted to corporal in December 1864. He was mustered out in July 1865. On May 15, 1862, his regiment was fighting Confederates along the Trent River in North Carolina when they were ordered to retreat. When a man from his company fell, Kenyon turned and galloped towards the injured soldier. Under fire from Confederates, he dismounted, put the man on his horse, and ran beside him until they made it back to their unit. In 1897, he was awarded a Medal of Honor for his action. After the war, Kenyon moved to

Baldwinsville Baldwinsville is a village in Onondaga County, New York, United States. The population was 7,898 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Syracuse Metropolitan Statistical Area. Baldwinsville (the village itself) is located in the towns of Lysand ...

, where he worked in the flour and paper milling business. In around 1876, he moved to

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

. He was originally a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, but he became a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

shortly after moving to Syracuse. He served as secretary and chairman of the Onondoga County Republican General Committee and as secretary of the

New York Republican State Committee The New York Republican State Committee, established in 1855, is the New York State affiliate of the United States Republican Party (GOP). The party has headquarters in Albany, Buffalo, and New York City.

. In 1874, Kenyon was appointed Canal Superintendent of the

Oswego Canal The Oswego Canal is a canal in the New York State Canal System located in New York, United States. Opened in 1828, it is 23.7 miles (38.1 km) in length, and connects the Erie Canal at Three Rivers (near Liverpool) to Lake Ontario at Osweg ...

. He was appointed Deputy Clerk of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

1877 Events January–March * January 1 – Queen Victoria is proclaimed ''Empress of India'' by the ''Royal Titles Act 1876'', introduced by Benjamin Disraeli, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . * January 8 – Great Sio ...

. He served as Assistant Clerk of the New York State Senate in

1881 Events January–March * January 1– 24 – Siege of Geok Tepe: Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev defeat the Turkomans. * January 13 – War of the Pacific – Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos: The C ...

1882 Events January–March * January 2 ** The Standard Oil Trust is secretly created in the United States to control multiple corporations set up by John D. Rockefeller and his associates. ** Irish-born author Oscar Wilde arrives in ...

1886 Events January–March * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5– 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson's novella ''Strange ...

, and

1887 Events January–March * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Har ...

. In 1882 and 1883, he was the

Reading Clerk of the United States House of Representatives The Reading Clerk of the United States House of Representatives reads bills, motions, and other papers before the House and keeps track of changes to legislation made on the floor. During the vote for Speaker at the beginning of each Congress, o ...

. He served as

Clerk of the New York State Senate A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service c ...

1888 In Germany, 1888 is known as the Year of the Three Emperors. Currently, it is the year that, when written in Roman numerals, has the most digits (13). The next year that also has 13 digits is the year 2388. The record will be surpassed as late ...

1889 Events January–March * January 1 ** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada. ** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in the ...

1890 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony, in the Horn of Africa. ** In Michigan, the wooden steamer ''Mackinaw'' burns in a fire on the Black River. * January 2 ** The steamship ...

1891 Events January–March * January 1 ** Paying of old age pensions begins in Germany. ** A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence. **Germany takes formal possession of its new Africa ...

1894 Events January–March * January 4 – A military alliance is established between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire. * January 7 – William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film in the United S ...

1895 Events January–March * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank, and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island. * January 12 – The National Trust for Places of Histor ...

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that Wil ...

, and

1897 Events January–March * January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City. * January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a puniti ...

. In 1898, he resigned to serve as secretary of the New York State Board of Railroad Commissioners. He was a member of the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...

, the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, and the Medal of Honor Society. He was married to Martha Tefft. They had one daughter, Alma. Kenyon died at home from

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a rup ...

on February 16, 1902. He was buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Syracuse.

Medal of Honor citation

The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Sergeant John Snyders Kenyon, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 15 May 1862, while serving with Company D, 3d New York Cavalry, in action at Trenton, North Carolina. Sergeant Kenyon voluntarily left a retiring column, returned in face of the enemy's fire, helped a wounded man upon a horse, and so enable him to escape capture or death.

References

External links

John S. Kenyon
at ''

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'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Kenyon, John Snyders 1843 births 1902 deaths American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor United States Army Medal of Honor recipients 19th-century American politicians New York (state) Republicans Politicians from Syracuse, New York People from Schoharie County, New York People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Military personnel from Syracuse, New York People from Baldwinsville, New York New York (state) Democrats Reading Clerks of the United States House of Representatives Deaths from appendicitis Burials at Oakwood Cemetery (Syracuse, New York)