John Edward Kelley

John E. Kelley was born near Portage, Wisconsin on March 27, 1853. He attended the public schools, and as a young man he worked at lumber camps in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Kelley moved to Colman in the Dakota Territory in 1878. He operated a successful farm and timber business, and from 1894 to 1897 was owner and publisher of the Flandreau Herald newspaper.

Originally a Democrat, Kelley was elected to the South Dakota House of Representatives in 1890 and 1891.

He later joined the Populist Party, and ran unsuccessfully for the United States House of Representatives in 1892 and 1894. In 1896 he was elected to Seat A, one of South Dakota's two at-large U.S. House seats, and he served in the 55th United States Congress, March 4, 1897 to March 3, 1899. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1898, and returned to his farming and business interests.

Kelley later returned to the Democratic Party, and served as a Delegate to the 1912 Democratic National Convention. From 1915 to 1918 he served as Register of the United States Land Office in Pierre, South Dakota.

He later moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, and become editor of the Co-operators Herald. He died in Minneapolis on August 5, 1941, and was buried at Saint Mary's Cemetery in Minneapolis.

• United States Congress. "John Edward Kelley (id: K000060)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• John Edward Kelley at Find a Grave