John Dennis Phelan

John Dennis Phelan (March 23, 1809 – September 9, 1879) was an American editor, politician and jurist. He served as Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives.

Early life Phelan was born on March 23, 1809, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He was the son of John Phelan (d. 1850), an Irish immigrant, and Priscilla Oakes (née Ford) Phelan (1785–1864), of New England stock, who moved to Richmond and, later, Huntsville, Alabama in 1818. His father was cashier of the Bank of New Brunswick during the War of 1812.

He graduated at the University of Nashville in 1828 and studied law in Virginia with the Hon. Benjamin Watkins Leigh. He published two poems about Civil War, “Good Old Cause” and “Ye Men of Alabama.” He became professor of law in the University of the South in 1869, holding the chair until his death.

Personal life On April 16, 1835, he was married to Mary Anne Harris (1815–1870) in Limestone County, Alabama. Her parents were Mary Anne (née Moore) Harris and Gen. Thomas Kent Harris, a native of Virginia who moved to Tennessee and served as a representative of that state in the U.S. Congress from 1813 to 1815. Together, they were the parents of:

Thomas Harris Phelan (1836–1862), who died at the Battle of Gaines's Mill during the U.S. Civil War. Anna King Phelan, who married James Chester Derby in 1884.

Descendants His grandson was Phelan Beale (1881–1956), who formed the law practice of "Bouvier and Beale" with Jacqueline Onassis's grandfather, "Major" John Vernou Bouvier, Jr. Beale was married to Edith Ewing Bouvier, sister of John Vernou Bouvier III and aunt to Jackie Kennedy.