Amory Kinney

Wabash Valley profiles : a series of tributes to hometown people and events that have shaped our history

Description:	One typed page including portrait; biography of Amory Kinney, Indianas first true abolitionist. ABASH VALLEY WP R O F I L E SA series of tributes to hometown people and events that have shaped our history.Amor y Kinneyften referred to as Indianas first true abolitionist, Amory Kinney made an extraordinary impact on the state and on Terre Haute, his home for 33 years. A native of Bethel, Vermont, Amory was born April 13, 1791, the son of a Congregational minister. In 1814 he migrated to Cortlandville, N.Y. to study law under Samuel Nelson, later a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. There he met and married Hannah Bishop and befriended John W. Osborn, a journalist. Five years later, he moved to Vincennes, where Osborn (who married Hannahs sister Ruby) had become editor of Elihu Stouts newspaper The Western Sun. The pair collaborated to represent a slave named Polly, daughter of a slave purchased by Vincennes businessman Hyacinth Lasselle before the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and the 1816 Indiana Constitution abolished involuntary servitude. Seeking freedom for Polly, Kinney filed for a writ of habeas corpus in the Knox Circuit Court. The court ruled in favor of Lasselle, asserting that his financial stake in a slave could not be divested by subsequent constitutional edicts. Kinney appealed. In June 1820 the Indiana Supreme Court reversed the decision and Polly was freed. As a consequence Kinney was assaulted by a mob and severely injured. Osborn then relocated to Terre Haute and founded the villages first newspaper -- The Western Register & Terre-Haute Advertiser -- in July 1823. Kinney remained in Vincennes until 1823 and then moved to Washington in Daviess County. In 1826, the Kinneys joined the Osborns in Terre Haute. Amory made an immediate impact. Appointed justice of the peace in 1827, Amory bought Osborns newspaper in April 1828, shortening its name to The Western Register. In April 1830 -- after he was elected to the Indiana House -- he sold the newspaper back to Osborn. During his initial legislative term, Kinney headed a pioneer effort to codify Indiana statutes. The Indiana Revised Code of 1831 evolved. When John Law resigned in 1831 as circuit court judge, Kinney succeeded him, serving seven years. Hannah Kinney died Sept. 2, 1831. Two years later, Amory wed her sister Lucy. In 1835 he was one of the founders of the Congregational Church of Terre Haute. As a member of the town council in 1838-39 -- the first year Terre Haute was incorporated -- he drafted many of the communitys first ordinances. Meanwhile, he served a third term in the House and united with Salmon Wright and Samuel Barnes Gookins to form a prestigious law firm. One of his law students was George W. Cutter, later a prominent poet. No one in Indiana was more outspoken in favor of a graded public school system than Kinney. In 1846 he was elected to the House for a third time to champion legislation favoring free schools. When the Vigo County Court of Common Pleas was established in 1852, Kinney was elected the first judge, serving a four-year term. In January 1853, he was selected an initial member of the Terre Haute Public School trustees. Kinneys commitment to causes and his community allowed him little time to rest. At age 68, he took a well-deserved vacation to visit relatives in his native Vermont. While there he suffered a fatal heart attack and died Nov. 20, 1859.OTERRE HAUTE(812) 238-6000NATIONAL BANKAlways Close to HomeDate published: May 10, 2001Filename: Kinney, Amory profile
Origin:	2001-05-09
Created By:	McCormick, Mike
Publisher:	Terre Haute Tribune-Star
Source:	http://indianamemory.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/vchs/id/559
Collection:	Vigo County Historical Society
Rights:	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/
Copyright:	Copyright Undetermined
Subjects:	Kinney, Amory, 1791-1859 Abolitionists Slavery Antislavery movements Legislators Journalists Business & Industry People Politics

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