Samuel Austin Kingman (June 26, 1818 – September 9, 1904) was an associate justice of the

Kansas Supreme Court The Kansas Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in the state of Kansas. Composed of seven justices, led by Chief Justice Marla Luckert, the court supervises the legal profession, administers the judicial branch, and serves as the sta ...

from February 9, 1861 to January 9, 1865, and chief justice from January 14, 1867 to December 30, 1876.

Early life, education, and career

Born June 26, 1818 in

Worthington, Massachusetts Worthington is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, ...

, Kingman was educated at the common schools.Clark Bell, ed., ''The Medico-legal Journal'', Vol. 18 (1900), p. 62-63. At the age of 20 he moved to Kentucky, where he resided for eighteen years, engaged first in teaching school, where he was admitted to the bar and practiced as an attorney; held the office of county clerk and county attorney. In 1849, 1850 and 1851 he was a member of the Kentucky legislature serving as a member of the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form ...

as a Whig. He was one of twenty-five members of the 1950 legislature that did not draw their allotted recess payments. He had been member of the Whig Party and was the delegate from

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

at the 1851 Whig State Convention. In 1856 he moved to Iowa, where he remained for only one year.

Career in Kansas

In 1857 he emigrated to Kansas and settled on a farm in Browne County. His agricultural experiences not being satisfactory, he removed to

Hiawatha Hiawatha ( , also : ), also known as Ayenwathaaa or Aiionwatha, was a precolonial Native American leader and co-founder of the Iroquois Confederacy. He was a leader of the Onondaga people, the Mohawk people, or both. According to some account ...

, the county seat, opened a law office, and continued in the practice of his profession until 1865. Kingman was a member of the Wyandotte convention of 1859, which framed the Kansas state constitution. He was elected June 7, 1859 to fill the delegate position for

Brown County, Kansas Brown County (county code BR) is a county located in the northeast portion of the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 9,508. Its county seat and most populous city is Hiawatha. Brown County is the location of ...

gaining 93 of the 114 total votes. The convention started a few weeks later on July 5 and Kingman was elected as the temporary president. The same year on October 2 he was nominated by the

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 ...

state convention in

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for the position of Associate justice of the first Kansas supreme court. Shortly after on November 8 he resoundingly lost to Benjamin F. Killey to be the state probate judge. He was then duly elected an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Kansas along with Lawrence Dudley Bailey and with Thomas Ewing Jr. as the chief justice. He took up his seat upon the admission of the state into the Union in 1861, and held the position of associate justice for four years. In 1864 he ran for re-election as associate justice but was defeated, by Jacob Safford a local district judge at the time. Two years later he was elected Chief Justice and took his seat January 14, 1867, for the term of six years. In 1872 he was re-elected for a full term, but at the end of 1876 he resigned his office by reason of his failing health and retired from active public life, residing at Topeka. He was the president of both the

Kansas State Historical society The Kansas Historical Society is the official state historical society of Kansas. Headquartered in Topeka, it operates as "the trustee of the state" for the purpose of maintaining the state's history and operates the Kansas Museum of History, Ka ...

and the Kansas State Bar association. In 1873 several people and organizations put Judge Kingman's name forward for senatorship, and although he was persuaded to run he lost to James M. Harvey. Both

Kingman County, Kansas Kingman County (standard abbreviation: KM) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 7,470. The largest city and county seat is Kingman. History Early history For many millennia, the G ...

and Kingman city were named in his honor during his lifetime, in 1872 and 1874 respectively.

Death

In 1844, Kingman married Matilda Willets of

Terre Haute Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

, with whom he had two daughters Lucy and Lillian, all three of whom survived him. He died suddenly September 9, 1904 aged 86 sitting in a chair at his home in Topeka. Although his health had been in decline for several years he was suffering no particular illnesses at the time so his death was deemed to be from old age. He had survived two of the chief justices that followed him, Albert H. Horton and

David Martin David or Dave Martin may refer to: Entertainment *David Martin (artist) (1737–1797), Scottish painter and engraver *David Stone Martin (1913–1992), American artist *David Martin (poet) (1915–1997), Hungarian-Australian poet and novelist *Dav ...

as well as almost all of the other fifty-one delegates to the Wyandotte convention. He was buried at

Topeka Cemetery The Topeka Cemetery is a cemetery in Topeka, Kansas, United States. Established in 1859, it is the oldest chartered cemetery in the state of Kansas. The 80-acre cemetery had more than 35,000 burials by 2019, including several prominent Kansans. Am ...

References

External links

Portrait of Kingman (between 1890 and 1900)

Diary of Samuel A. Kingman at Indian Treaty in 1865
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingman, Samuel Austin 1818 births 1904 deaths People from Worthington, Massachusetts Kentucky Whigs Members of the Kentucky House of Representatives Justices of the Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justices of the Kansas Supreme Court People buried in Topeka Cemetery District attorneys County clerks in Kentucky People from Brown County, Kansas