Jefferson Parish Kidder (June 4, 1815 - October 2, 1883) was an American lawyer and jurist. He served as the non-voting delegate from the Dakota Territory to the United States House of Representatives.

Jefferson was born in Braintree, Orange County, Vermont and studied law at Montpelier. He was admitted to the bar in 1839 and practiced at Braintree and West Randolph. He was a member of the State Constitutional Convention in 1843, and served as State’s attorney, as a member of the State Senate, Lieutenant Governor of Vermont, and a delegate to the 1856 Democratic National Convention .

Kidder moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he joined the Republican Party, and was a member of the state House of Representatives of Minnesota. In 1865 he moved to Vermillion, Dakota, when Abraham Lincoln appointed him an associate justice of the territorial Supreme Court. In 1875 he resigned, having been elected the Terrotory's delegate to the U.S.Congress. He served from March 4, 1875 - March 3, 1879. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1878, then was reappointed a justice of the territorial Supreme Court, where he served until his death in St. Paul. Kidder County, North Dakota is named for him.

External link

• Kidder's Congressional biography