Representative Jacob Michael Kunkel

Jacob Michael Kunkel (July 1822 – April 7, 1870) was a U.S. Representative from Maryland. He was born in Frederick, Maryland, on July 13 (or 24), 1822, to Elizabeth (née Barker) and John Kunkel. His family had a strong military tradition: his father served in the War of 1812, his great-grandfather John Kunkel served under Frederick the Great, and his maternal grandfather William served in the American Revolutionary War. Raised in this environment of public service and patriotic heritage, Kunkel grew up in Frederick, a regional center of politics and commerce in western Maryland.

Kunkel received his early education at the Frederick Academy for Boys and continued his studies at St. John’s Catholic Seminary and Frederick College. He then attended the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, from which he graduated in 1843. After completing his formal education, he read law under Joseph M. Palmer and in the office of Francis Thomas, a prominent Maryland politician and future governor. He was admitted to the bar in 1845 or 1846, marking the beginning of a professional legal career that would underpin his later political life.

Following his admission to the bar, Kunkel commenced the practice of law in Frederick in 1846. In the late 1840s he entered into a law partnership with Francis Thomas, further cementing his ties to Maryland’s political and legal establishment. He also formed a partnership with his brother, John B. Kunkel, at Catoctin Furnace, reflecting his engagement in the region’s economic as well as legal affairs. As a member of the Democratic Party, he soon moved into elective office. He was elected to the Maryland Senate, defeating Gideon Bantz, and represented Frederick County in that body from 1852 to 1854, participating in state-level legislative deliberations during a period of growing national tension over slavery and sectional issues.

As a Democrat representing Maryland, Kunkel advanced to national office in the mid-1850s. He was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-fifth and Thirty-sixth Congresses, serving two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1857, to March 3, 1861, after defeating Henry W. Hoffman. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, immediately preceding the Civil War, when debates over states’ rights, slavery, and the preservation of the Union dominated the national agenda. During these two terms, he contributed to the legislative process and participated in the democratic governance of the nation, representing the interests of his Maryland constituents in the House of Representatives.

At the conclusion of his congressional service in March 1861, Kunkel returned to Frederick and resumed the practice of law. Although no longer in Congress, he remained engaged in public affairs during and after the Civil War. In 1866, he served as a delegate to the Loyalist Convention in Philadelphia, a gathering of Unionist and pro-administration leaders that supported the policies of President Andrew Johnson and addressed issues of Reconstruction and national reunification. His participation in this convention reflected his continued involvement in the political life of the country during the turbulent Reconstruction era.

In his personal life, Kunkel married Anna Mary McElfresh, daughter of John H. McElfresh, on January 3, 1848. The couple had three children. Outside of his legal and political work, he was active in religious and community affairs and served as a vestryman of the Protestant Episcopal Church, indicating a position of responsibility and leadership within his local parish.

Jacob Michael Kunkel died of consumption at his home in Frederick on April 7, 1870. He was interred in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Frederick, Maryland. His career as a lawyer, state senator, and two-term U.S. Representative from Maryland placed him among the notable Democratic figures of his generation, active in both state and national politics during one of the most consequential eras in American history.