John E. Bennett

John Emory Bennett (March 18, 1833 – December 31, 1893) was a justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court from 1871 to 1874, and a justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court from 1889 until his death.

Born in East Bethany, Genesee County, New York, Bennett was educated at Genesee Wesleyan Seminary of Lima, New York, graduating in 1852.

He moved to Illinois, where he was the first postmaster of Morrison, Illinois. He was then elected as a justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court in 1871. Bennett continued on the court until his term expired in 1874, and then moved to Helena, Arkansas, where he engaged in the private practice of law.

In 1883, he moved to the Dakota Territory, locating at Clark, South Dakota and continued to practice of law. Bennett was a Mason, and was a charter member of Olivet Chapter, No. 28 at Clark, and served as its High Priest for three terms. He was elected to the South Dakota Supreme Court in 1889, taking office on October 15, 1889. In 1893 was re-elected, but died two days before his new term would begin.

Bennett died in Pierre, South Dakota, and was interred in Rose Hill Cemetery, in Clark, South Dakota. Competing accounts indicate that Bennett County, South Dakota is either named for Bennett, or for Granville G. Bennett, a prominent South Dakota politician.