Representative John Lawlor Jolley

John Lawlor Jolley (July 14, 1840 – December 14, 1926) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from South Dakota who served one term in Congress from 1891 to 1893. His congressional service took place during a significant period in American history, as South Dakota transitioned from territorial status to statehood and the nation confronted the political and economic issues of the late nineteenth century.

Jolley was born in Montreal, Upper Canada (now Quebec), on July 14, 1840. He attended the common schools in Montreal before moving to the United States as a young man. Seeking further education and professional preparation, he enrolled at Eastman Business College in Poughkeepsie, New York, from which he graduated. In 1857 he moved west to Wisconsin, joining the many migrants who were settling in the Upper Midwest in the years before the Civil War.

With the outbreak of the Civil War, Jolley entered military service in the Union Army. He enlisted as a private in Company C of the 23rd Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. Over the course of the conflict he advanced in rank, and he was mustered out as a second lieutenant on July 4, 1865. Following his discharge, he turned to the study of law, reading law in the traditional manner of the period. He was admitted to the bar in 1866 and soon afterward moved to the Dakota Territory, where he established a law practice in Vermillion.

Jolley quickly became active in territorial politics and public affairs. He served as a member of the Dakota territorial council in 1875 and again in 1881, participating in the legislative work of the territory during a formative era. He was elected mayor of Vermillion in 1887, reflecting his prominence in local civic life, and he would be chosen again as mayor in 1895. At the national party level, he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1884, aligning himself with the Republican Party that dominated politics in much of the northern and western United States in the postwar period.

As the Dakota Territory moved toward statehood, Jolley played a role in shaping the new state’s institutions. In 1889 he served as a delegate to the South Dakota state constitutional convention, contributing to the drafting of the state’s founding document. That same year he was selected for the South Dakota State Senate, where he helped organize and guide the early legislative work of the newly admitted state.

Jolley’s congressional career began with a vacancy. In 1891 he was elected as a Republican to Seat B, one of South Dakota’s two at-large seats in the United States House of Representatives, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Representative John Rankin Gamble. Serving from 1891 to 1893, he represented the interests of his South Dakota constituents in the national legislature and contributed to the legislative process during his single term in office. Although eligible to run for a full term, he chose not to seek reelection and instead returned to his legal practice.

After leaving Congress, Jolley resumed the practice of law in Vermillion and remained a respected figure in the community and in state Republican circles. He continued to be identified with the generation of leaders who had guided South Dakota from territorial status through its early years of statehood. John Lawlor Jolley died in Vermillion, South Dakota, on December 14, 1926. He was buried in Bluff View Cemetery in Vermillion. His legacy in the community is reflected in the naming of Jolley Elementary School in Vermillion, South Dakota, in his honor.