John B. Kendrick

John B. Kendrick
United States Senator
from Wyoming
In office
March 4, 1917 – November 3, 1933
Preceded by Clarence D. Clark
Succeeded by Joseph C. O'Mahoney
9th Governor of Wyoming
In office
January 4, 1915 – February 26, 1917
Preceded by Joseph M. Carey
Succeeded by Frank L. Houx
Member of the Wyoming State Senate
In office
1910-1914
Personal details
Born (1857-09-06)September 6, 1857
Rusk, Texas, U.S.
Died November 3, 1933(1933-11-03) (aged 76)
Sheridan, Wyoming, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Eula Wulfjen
Children 2
Profession Politician, Rancher

John Benjamin Kendrick (September 6, 1857 – November 3, 1933) was an American politician and cattleman. He served as a United States Senator from Wyoming and as the ninth Governor of Wyoming.

Early life

Kendrick was born near Rusk, Texas to John Harvey Kendrick and Anna (Maye) Kendrick. He grew up on a ranch and attended the public schools in Texas until he was in the seventh grade.[1] In March, 1879 he moved cattle from Texas to Wyoming (1,500 miles).[2] He arrived in Wyoming in August, 1879 and settled on a ranch near Sheridan, where he raised cattle as a cowboy,[2] ranch foreman,[2] and later cattle company owner.[1] He married Eula Wulfjen (his employer's daughter) on January 20, 1891.[3]

Kendrick worked as foreman for his father-in-law's cattle company from 1879 until 1883.[1] He was employed by (and invested in ownership positions in) the Lance Creek Cattle Company (1885),[1] the Converse Cattle Company (1887, owner in 1897).[2] Kendrick was also President of the First National Bank of Sheridan from 1900 to 1902.[1][2]

A $10 National Bank Note, Series 1882 Brown Back, from the First National Bank of Sheridan, WY with the hand-signed signature of John B. Kendrick.

Career

In 1909 he was elected President of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association. He was a member of the Wyoming State Senate from 1910 to 1914 and was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the United States Senate in 1913. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention from Wyoming in 1916 and 1924.[3]

He then served as Governor of Wyoming from 1915 until he resigned in 1917, having been elected as a Democratic candidate to the United States Senate in 1916. Kendrick was reelected to the Senate in 1922 and 1928 and served from March 4, 1917, until his death at Sheridan, Wyoming, in 1933.[4] In 1932 he received an honorary law degree from the University of Wyoming.[5]

He served as chairman of the Committee on Canadian Relations (Sixty-fifth Congress) and member of the Committee on Public Lands and Surveys (Seventy-third Congress).[6] He was credited with beginning the investigations into the Teapot Dome scandal, a bribery incident that took place from 1922 until 1923. He introduced legislation that helped create the Grand Teton National Park in northwestern Wyoming.[5]

Death and legacy

While serving in the United States Senate, John Kendrick died on November 3, 1933. Kendrick is interred in Mount Hope Cemetery in Sheridan, Wyoming.

Trail End, completed in 1913, is located in Sheridan, Wyoming. Known locally as the Kendrick Mansion, it was the home of John B. Kendrick and his family. It is now a house museum operated by the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources

Kendrick was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1958.[7]

Further reading

  • Georgen, Cynde. In the shadow of the Bighorns: A history of early Sheridan and the Goose Creek valley of northern Wyoming. Sheridan, Wyoming: Sheridan County Historical Society, 2010. ISBN 978-0-9792871-7-6
  • Georgen, Cynde A. One cowboy's dream: John B. Kendrick, his family, home, and ranching empire. 2nd edition, revised. Virginia Beach, Virginia: The Donning Company Publishers, 2004. ISBN 1-57864-239-6

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Bartlett, p. 255.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Peterson, p. 5.
  3. 1 2 "John Benjamin Kendrick (1857-1933)". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Sen. John Kendrick". Govtrack.us. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Wyoming Governor John Benjamin Kendrick". National Governors Association. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  6. ↑ "KENDRICK, John Benjamin, (1857 - 1933)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  7. ↑ "John Benjamin Kendrick". NNDB. Retrieved November 18, 2012.


Political offices
Preceded by
Joseph M. Carey		 Governor of Wyoming
January 4, 1915 – February 26, 1917		 Succeeded by
Frank L. Houx
U.S. Senate
Preceded by
Clarence D. Clark		 U.S. Senator (Class 1) from Wyoming
1917–1933		 Succeeded by
Joseph C. O'Mahoney
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