John James JENKINS, Congress, WI (1843-1911)

JENKINS, John James, a Representative from Wisconsin; born in Weymouth, England, August 24, 1843; attended the common schools; immigrated to the United States with his parents, who settled in Baraboo, Wis., in June 1852; served in the Civil War as a member of Company A, Sixth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, 1861-1865; clerk of the circuit court of Sauk County 1867-1870; moved to Chippewa Falls, Wis., in 1870; studied law; was admitted to the bar and practiced; city clerk and city attorney of Chippewa Falls; member of the State assembly in 1872; county judge of Chippewa County 1872-1876; appointed United States attorney for the Territory of Wyoming in March 1876 and served until 1880, when he returned to Chippewa Falls, Wis., and resumed the practice of law; elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fourth and to the six succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1895-March 3, 1909); chairman, Committee on the Judiciary (Fifty-eighth through Sixtieth Congresses); unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1908; appointed judge of Puerto Rico by President Taft in May 1910 and served until his death in Chippewa Falls, Wis., June 8, 1911; interment in Forest Hill Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present