Representative David Hayes Kincheloe

David Hayes Kincheloe (April 9, 1877 – April 16, 1950) was a United States Representative from Kentucky and a judge of the United States Customs Court. Born on April 9, 1877, near Sacramento, McLean County, Kentucky, he was raised in a rural environment and attended the local public schools. Seeking formal training in business, he enrolled at Bowling Green Business College (now part of Western Kentucky University), where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1898, an education that provided him with a grounding in commercial and administrative subjects that would later inform both his legal and legislative work.

After completing his college studies, Kincheloe pursued a legal career by reading law, the customary method of legal education at the time. He was admitted to the bar in 1899 and commenced the practice of law in Calhoun, Kentucky. Demonstrating early aptitude in legal advocacy and public service, he was elected prosecuting attorney of McLean County, Kentucky, serving from 1902 to 1906. In that role he was responsible for representing the county in criminal matters and enforcing state law, experience that enhanced his reputation as a capable lawyer. In 1906 he moved to Madisonville, Kentucky, where he continued in private practice and became increasingly active in the civic and political life of the region.

Kincheloe entered national politics as a member of the Democratic Party and was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky as a Democrat to the 64th Congress and to the seven succeeding Congresses. He served eight consecutive terms in the House, from March 4, 1915, until his resignation on October 5, 1930. During these years he represented the interests of his Kentucky constituents through a period that encompassed World War I, the postwar adjustments of the 1920s, and the onset of the Great Depression. As a member of the House of Representatives, David Hayes Kincheloe participated actively in the legislative process, contributing to debates and votes on domestic and international issues that confronted the nation in this significant period of American history. His long tenure reflected sustained electoral support and positioned him as an experienced Democratic voice in Congress.

Kincheloe’s congressional service from 1915 to 1931 coincided with major transformations in federal policy, including wartime mobilization, agricultural and economic questions affecting his largely rural state, and evolving regulatory and trade concerns. While in Congress, he was part of the broader Democratic effort to shape national legislation in response to changing economic and social conditions. His decision to resign in October 1930 came after more than fifteen years in the House, when he accepted appointment to the federal judiciary, marking a transition from elected office to judicial service.

On September 22, 1930, President Herbert Hoover gave Kincheloe a recess appointment to the United States Customs Court, filling the vacancy created by the departure of Judge George Emery Weller. Following this interim appointment, Hoover formally nominated him to the same position on December 4, 1930. The United States Senate confirmed his nomination on January 22, 1931, and he received his commission on January 29, 1931. As a judge of the United States Customs Court, Kincheloe adjudicated cases involving customs duties, import regulations, and related questions of federal tariff law, an area of particular importance to the nation’s trade and economic policy in the interwar and World War II eras.

Kincheloe’s service on the United States Customs Court continued until April 30, 1948, when he retired from the bench after more than seventeen years of judicial service. His combined career in elective office and on the federal judiciary extended over three decades, reflecting a sustained commitment to public service at the national level. In retirement, he remained in Washington, D.C., where he had spent much of his later professional life.

David Hayes Kincheloe died in Washington, D.C., on April 16, 1950, one week after his seventy-third birthday. He was interred in Odd Fellows Cemetery in Madisonville, Kentucky, returning in death to the community that had long been his home and professional base before his years in Washington. His career as a lawyer, county prosecutor, eight-term United States Representative from Kentucky, and judge of the United States Customs Court marked him as a significant Kentucky figure in the political and judicial history of the early twentieth century.