STATUES THE PEOPLE THEY SALUTE: John E. Kenna
One of the two subjects representing West Virginia, John E. Kenna was born on April 10, 1848, in Kanawha County, Virginia, which became part of the state of West Virginia in 1863. His parents were Edward Kenna and Margery Lewis, who was the great grand daughter of American Revolutionary War General Andrew Lewis.
Edward Kenna was killed in a scandalous public shooting at Charleston’s fashionable Kanawha House hotel in June 1856 when John was only eight.
In 1858, young John moved with his widowed mother and siblings to Missouri, where an uncle lived. John Kenna recalled working as a boy on the Missouri farm and being quite poor. He joined the Confederate army at age 16.
He fought in the Civil War, under General Joseph O. Shelby and was wounded. When John Kenna returned home he studied law and in 1870 he was admitted to the bar. He was a prosecuting attorney of Kanawha County and later justice pro tempore of the county circuit in 1875.
Kenna was active in the emerging Democratic party of West Virginia, and in 1876, he was elected as West Virginia’s representative in the U.S. House of Representatives where he served until 1883, when he was elected U.S. Senator. He served as U.S. Senator until 1893, when he sadly died at the age of 44. He had suffered heart disease for a number of years.
In both the House and the Senate, John Kenna had championed railroad legislation and sought aid for slack-water navigation to help the coal, timber and salt industries in his state.
In 1901, West Virginia donated a marble statue of John E. Kenna to represent their state in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol.
Diana Erbio is a freelance writer and author of “Coming to America: A Girl Struggles to Find her Way in a New World”. Read more in her series Statues: The People They Salute, by going to the Table of Contents for links to her posts about statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection and others. Visit & Like the Facebook Page.
Great stories as always Diana!
Thank you.