Moses Pierce Kinkaid (January 24, 1856 – July 6, 1922) was an American politician who 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 the state of
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
. He was the sponsor of the 1904
Kinkaid Land Act, which allowed homesteaders to claim up to of government land in western Nebraska.
Early life and career
Kinkaid was born near
Morgantown, Virginia
Morgantown is a city in and the county seat of Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Monongahela River. The largest city in North-Central West Virginia, Morgantown is best known as the home of West Virginia Universit ...
, which is now in
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
.
["KINKAID, Moses Pierce, (1856-1922)".]
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Retrieved 2010-04-24. As a boy, he piloted Canada-bound
fugitive slaves
In the United States, fugitive slaves or runaway slaves were terms used in the 18th and 19th century to describe people who fled slavery. The term also refers to the federal Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850. Such people are also called free ...
to his grandparents' home in Pennsylvania, where food, shelter, and aid were given to them. He attended the public schools and graduated from the law department of the
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
in 1876.
He was admitted to the bar and practiced in
Henry County, Illinois
Henry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. The 2010 United States Census, listed its population at 50,486. Its county seat is Cambridge.
Henry County is included in the Davenport- Moline- Rock Island, IA-IL Metropolitan ...
from 1876 until 1880 and in
Pierre
Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...
,
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 ...
in 1880 and 1881.
In 1881, he moved to
O'Neill, Nebraska
O'Neill is a city in Holt County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 3,705 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Holt County.
History
O'Neill was platted in 1874. It was named for one of its founders, John O'Neill. O'Neill was ...
, where he maintained his residence until his death.
[Kolberg, Persijs (1974). Retrieved 2010-04-24.]
In O'Neill, Kinkaid continued to practice law. He also served as an officer of the Holt County Bank from its foundation in 1884 until 1886.
He served in the state Senate in 1883,
and as a district judge from 1887 to 1900.
In 1900, Kinkaid unsuccessfully sought election to the U.S. House of Representatives from
Nebraska's Sixth District.
In 1902, he ran for the same position, this time successfully.
Kinkaid Act
The Sixth District contained most of the
Nebraska Sandhills.
This is a region of grass-stabilized sand dunes. Rainfall percolates readily into the sandy soil, recharging the aquifer and giving rise to hundreds of permanent lakes; but the sandy soil is poorly suited for cultivation, and the area is chiefly used for cattle ranching.
[ Retrieved 2010-04-24.]
At the time that Kinkaid entered Congress, the 1862
Homestead Act
The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of government land or the public domain, typically called a homestead. In all, more than of public land, or nearly 10 percent of th ...
allowed settlers to obtain a quarter-section (160 acres, or 65 ha) of government land for a nominal fee; the 1873
Timber Culture Act
The Timber Culture Act was a follow-up act to the Homestead Act. The Timber Culture Act was passed by Congress in 1873. The act allowed homesteaders to get another of land if they planted trees on one-fourth of the land, because the land was "alm ...
allowed them to claim an additional quarter-section.
[ Retrieved 2010-04-24.]
However, in much of the Sandhills, a half-section was not enough land to sustain a family.
[Kay, John and Mary Findlay (1988). Retrieved 2010-04-24.]
Instead, the pattern of development was one of large cattle ranches on federal land,
with the ranchers using the homestead laws to secure lakes and streams for their operations.
In an effort to increase settlement in the northwestern portion of his state, Kinkaid sponsored and obtained passage of the
Kinkaid Act
The Kinkaid Act of 1904 (ch. 1801, , Apr. 28, 1904, ) is a U.S. statute that amended the 1862 Homestead Act so that one section (1 mi2, 2.6 km2, 640 acres) of public domain land could be acquired free of charge, apart from a modest fili ...
, which amended the Homestead Act to enlarge the size of a homestead claim in certain arid regions of western Nebraska. Settlers on non-irrigable lands west of the
98th Meridian could claim up to .
The measure was signed by President
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
in 1904.
The Act had its intended effect: immigration into the Sandhills increased, with nearly nine million new acres () claimed in Nebraska.
By 1912, most of the land available had been claimed by "Kinkaiders".
Attempts to farm the land thus obtained generally failed; but Kinkaid claims, together with regulations prohibiting fencing of federal land, led to the replacement of a few large ranches in the Sandhills with many smaller ones.
The outcome of the Nebraska law led to the passage of the 1916
Stock-Raising Homestead Act
The Stock-Raising Homestead Act of 1916 provided settlers of public land—a full section or its equivalent—for ranching purposes. Unlike the Homestead Act of 1862 or the Enlarged Homestead Act of 1909, land homesteaded under the 1916 ...
, which extended many of the provisions of the Kinkaid act to other Western states.
Later life and legacy
Kinkaid held his Congressional seat as 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 ...
until his death.
In the 66th and 67th Congresses (1919–1922), he was Chairman of the Committee on Irrigation of Arid Lands. He died in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
on July 6, 1922,
shortly before the end of his tenth term in office.
He was buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery in O'Neill, Nebraska.
The
Old Nebraska State Bank Building in O'Neill, in which Kinkaid had his law office from 1884 until his death, is now the Holt County Historical Museum. It is listed in the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
Kinkaid's office has been restored and is on display.
The
Kinkaider Brewing Company in
Broken Bow, Nebraska
Broken Bow is a city in Custer County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 3,559 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Custer County.
History
Broken Bow was platted in 1882. Its name, likely suggested by a settler who found a b ...
was named in honor of the congressman and the "Kinkaiders" who settled this area of the state.
In 1963, he was inducted into the
Hall of Great Westerners
The Hall of Great Westerners was established by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 1958. Located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., the Hall was created to celebrate the contributions of more than 200 men and women of the American W ...
of the
National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 American West, Western and Native Americans in the United States, American Indian art works and Artifact (archaeology), ar ...
.
See also
*
References
External links
*
Moses P. Kinkaid Law Office Museum (O'Neill, Nebraska)*
Moses P. Kinkaid, late a representative from Nebraska, Memorial addresses delivered in the House of Representatives frontispiece 1924
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinkaid, Moses
1856 births
1922 deaths
Republican Party Nebraska state senators
Nebraska lawyers
Politicians from Morgantown, West Virginia
People from O'Neill, Nebraska
University of Michigan Law School alumni
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Nebraska
19th-century American lawyers
Lawyers from Morgantown, West Virginia