Died While Shaking Hands
Presiding Judge Bennett of South Dakota’s Supreme Court Pierre, South Dakota, January 1 – John E. Bennette, presiding judge of the South Dakota Supreme Court died here suddenly of heart disease while in the act of saying good-bye and shaking hands with Secretary of State Thorson. He had been feeling ill for several days, but came from his home at Clark Friday to take the oath of office for a six-year term, for which he was elected last fall. The remains were sent by special train to Clark this morning under a large Masonic escort for interment. Deceased was born in Genesee County, New York, March, 1839. When 21 he married and moved to Marion, Illinois. He served as colonel of the Seventy-fifth Illinois regiment during the war, and was promoted to Brigadier General for valor during the battles of Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, Atlanta, etc. Afterward he was appointed judge advocate of the Army and assigned to the division of Missouri and Arkansas during the reconstruction, as was afterward circuit and supreme judge in Arkansas. He settled at Clark, South Dakota, in 1883, where he has always taken a leading place in public affairs, having been elected to the Supreme bench for the second term in 1898. His death removes one of South Dakota’s most prominent men. He was a Mason of high degree, and said to be about the best posted in the state.

Omaha World Herald – January 2, 1894 Transcribed and Contributed by: Frances Cooley