Senator John Benjamin Kendrick

John Benjamin Kendrick (September 6, 1857 – November 3, 1933) was an American politician, cattleman, and banker who served as the ninth governor of Wyoming and as a United States senator from Wyoming from 1917 to 1933, as a member of the Democratic Party. Over three terms in the Senate, he contributed to the legislative process during a significant period in American history, representing the interests of his Wyoming constituents and participating actively in national affairs.

Kendrick was born near Rusk, Texas, on September 6, 1857, to John Harvey Kendrick and Anna Maye. He spent his early years on his family’s ranch and attended public school in Florence, Texas, until the seventh grade. His limited formal education was offset by extensive practical experience in ranching and the cattle trade, which would shape his later career and public reputation as a prominent cattleman of the American West.

In March 1879 Kendrick was employed by Charles W. Wulfjen to move cattle from Texas to the Wyoming Territory. He arrived in Wyoming in August 1879 and settled on a ranch near what would become Sheridan, where he worked as a cowboy and ranch foreman and began to establish himself in the cattle industry. From 1879 until 1883 he served as foreman for his future father-in-law’s cattle company. In 1883 he returned briefly to Texas to purchase a cattle herd, which he then drove back to Wyoming to establish his own ranching operation. Over the following years he invested in and was employed by the Lance Creek Cattle Company and the Converse Cattle Company, enterprises in which he steadily increased his stake until he became owner in 1897. On January 20, 1891, he married Eula Wulfjen, daughter of Charles W. Wulfjen, further cementing his ties to the region’s ranching community. In 1895 he purchased property in the Nielsen Heights area of Sheridan for his future home, and in 1908 he began construction of the mansion later known as Trails End. This residence became a symbol of his success and prominence; in 1970 Trails End was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and in 1982 it was donated to the state of Wyoming for operation as a museum.

Kendrick’s business interests extended beyond ranching into finance and local economic development. In 1900 he became president of the First National Bank of Sheridan, a position he held until 1902. His leadership in banking and ranching made him one of the leading citizens of northern Wyoming and provided the economic and social base for his entry into public life. His family connections also extended into national service; his daughter Rosa Maye later married army officer Hubert Reilly Harmon, who would become a senior officer in the United States Air Force.

Kendrick’s political career advanced rapidly in the early twentieth century. A Democrat in a predominantly Republican state, he built a reputation as a pragmatic and popular leader. He was elected the ninth governor of Wyoming and served from 1915 until 1917. His tenure as governor coincided with a period of growth and change in the state, and his administration emphasized development of Wyoming’s natural resources and support for agriculture and ranching. In 1916 he was elected to the United States Senate, and he resigned the governorship in 1917 to take his seat in Congress. Kendrick then served as a senator from Wyoming from 1917 to 1933, winning reelection and completing three terms in office.

During his years in the Senate, Kendrick served at a time marked by World War I, the postwar era, the Teapot Dome scandal, and the onset of the Great Depression. He was credited with beginning the investigations into the Teapot Dome scandal, the major federal bribery incident involving oil reserves that took place from 1922 to 1923, thereby playing a notable role in one of the most significant political controversies of the era. He served as chairman of the Committee on Canadian Relations during the Sixty-fifth Congress and later as a member of the Committee on Public Lands and Surveys in the Seventy-third Congress. Reflecting his long-standing interest in land and conservation issues, he introduced legislation that helped create Grand Teton National Park in northwestern Wyoming. His prominence within the Democratic Party led to his being considered as a potential presidential and vice-presidential candidate. During the 1924 presidential election, Wyoming’s six Democratic delegates were instructed to vote for Kendrick at the 1924 Democratic National Convention, and they did so for the first three ballots. In the 1928 presidential election, he was mentioned as a possible vice-presidential nominee, although the nomination ultimately went to Senate Minority Leader Joseph Taylor Robinson.

Kendrick remained in the Senate until his final illness in 1933. On November 2, 1933, he fell into a coma and was initially diagnosed with a cerebral hemorrhage; it was later determined that he had suffered from uremia. He died the following day, November 3, 1933. His death prompted tributes from colleagues, including Governor Edwin C. Johnson of Colorado, who praised his long service as senator. Kendrick was interred in Mount Hope Cemetery in Sheridan, Wyoming, near the community where he had built his ranching and political career. To fill the vacancy created by his death, Governor Leslie A. Miller of Wyoming appointed First Assistant Postmaster General Joseph C. O’Mahoney to the Senate; O’Mahoney subsequently won the 1934 special election to complete the remainder of Kendrick’s term.

Kendrick’s legacy as a cattleman, public servant, and western leader continued to be recognized long after his death. In 1958 he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, honoring his contributions to the development of the American West and his prominence in Wyoming’s political and economic history. His Sheridan residence, Trails End, preserved as a state historic site and museum, stands as a tangible reminder of his life as a rancher, businessman, and statesman.