Jefferson P. Kidder

Jefferson Parish Kidder (June 4, 1815 – October 2, 1883) was an American lawyer and jurist. He served as the non-voting delegate from the Dakota Territory to the United States House of Representatives. Kidder was the only Democratic lieutenant governor of Vermont until John J. Daley in 1965.

Early life Kidder was born in Braintree, Vermont on June 4, 1815. He attended the Orange County Grammar School in Randolph, and graduated from Alden Partridge's American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy (Norwich University) in 1834. He studied law in Montpelier, was admitted to the bar in 1839 and practiced in Braintree and West Randolph. Among the prospective attorneys who studied law under Kidder's supervision were John W. Rowell, who went on to serve as chief justice of the Vermont Supreme Court and Carl C. Pope, a legislator and judge in Wisconsin.

Career He was a member of the Vermont Constitutional Convention in 1843. He served as State's Attorney for Orange County (1842-1847), a member of the Vermont State Senate (1847-1849), the Lieutenant Governor of Vermont (1852-1853), and a delegate to the 1856 Democratic National Convention.

In 1848 he received the honorary degree of Master of Arts from the University of Vermont.

In 1857 Kidder moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he joined the Republican Party.

In 1859, Kidder moved to Dakota Territory and became a delegate to Congress from the provisional government at Sioux Falls.

In 1862 and 1863, he was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives. In 1865 he moved to Vermillion, Dakota Territory, when Abraham Lincoln appointed him an associate justice of the territorial Supreme Court. He was buried in St. Paul's Oakland Cemetery.

Family His son Lyman S. Kidder was a U.S. Cavalry 2nd lieutenant serving in the 2nd Cavalry under George Armstrong Custer, and was killed in action in what would be dubbed the Kidder massacre.

Jefferson Kidder was also the grandfather of noted lawman and Arizona Ranger Jeff Kidder.

Legacy Kidder County, North Dakota is named for him.