Stephen S. Fenn
Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives from Idaho Territory
In office
June 23, 1876 – March 3, 1879
Preceded byThomas W. Bennett
Succeeded byGeorge Ainslie
Member of the Idaho Territorial House of Representatives
In office
1872–1873
ConstituencyNez Perce County
Member of the Idaho Territorial Council
In office
1864–1867
ConstituencyIdaho County
Personal details
Born(1820-03-28)March 28, 1820
Watertown, Connecticut
DiedDecember 8, 1892(1892-12-08) (aged 72)
Blackfoot, Idaho
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceBlackfoot
ProfessionAttorney

Stephen Southmyd Fenn (March 28, 1820 – December 8, 1892) was an American politician who served as a congressional territorial delegate from the Idaho Territory.

Born in Watertown, Connecticut, Fenn moved with his parents to Niagara County, New York, in 1824. He attended the public schools and moved in 1841 to Jackson County, Iowa, where he held several local offices. Fenn moved to California in 1850 and engaged in mining and ranching, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1862 and commenced practice in that part of Washington Territory which became a part of the Territory of Idaho upon its organization in 1863. He also engaged in mining and served as member of the Idaho Territorial Council from 1864 to 1867. Fenn served as district attorney for the first judicial district in 1869 and was elected in 1872 as a member of the Territorial House of Representatives and served as its speaker.[1]

He engaged in agricultural pursuits and successfully contested as a Democrat the election of Thomas W. Bennett to the forty-fourth Congress. Fenn was reelected to the forty-fifth Congress and served from June 23, 1876, to March 3, 1879. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1878 and continued his former pursuits until July 1891. Fenn's mind weakened in his later years and he died in the insane asylum in Blackfoot, Idaho, on December 8, 1892.[2]

The community of Fenn on the Camas Prairie in Idaho County is named for Fenn and his son, Major Frank A. Fenn (1853–1927),[3][4][5][6] buried in Kooskia.[7]

References

  1. ^ Curtis, George H.; Wells, Merle (1944). "The Political Founders of Idaho". Twenty-Seventh Biennial Report of the Secretary of State of Idaho. pp. 59–77.
  2. ^ "An Old-Timer Gone". The Ketchum Keystone. December 17, 1892.
  3. ^ "Major F.A. Fenn dead". Lewiston Morning Tribune. June 21, 1927. p. 8.
  4. ^ "There is usually a logical reason for the name a town ends up with". Lewiston Morning Tribune. February 25, 1990. p. 11-Centennial.
  5. ^ "Fenn put name on Idaho's map". Lewiston Morning Tribune. May 6, 1990. p. 18-Centennial.
  6. ^ "Why they call it Fenn". Lewiston Morning Tribune. February 5, 1933.
  7. ^ "Major Frank Fenn". Find a Grave. Retrieved November 21, 2012.

External links

U.S. House of Representatives Preceded byThomas W. Bennett Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives from Idaho 1876–1879 Succeeded byGeorge Ainslie

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

Members of the United States House of Representatives from Idaho
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