Nicholas J. Sinnott

Nicholas John Sinnott (December 6, 1870 – July 23, 1929) was a Republican politician from the state of Oregon. He served in the Oregon State Senate, in the United States House of Representatives, and on the now defunct United States Court of Claims federal court.

Early life

Sinnott was born in The Dalles, Wasco County, Oregon, on December 6, 1870. His father, Colonel N. B. Sinnott, was the founder of the old Umatilla House in The Dalles, his mother was Mary Brass Sinnott. Sinnott attended public schools and Wasco Independent Academy in The Dalles. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana in 1892. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1895 and began his practice in The Dalles, where he remained in private practice until 1912. In 1901, Sinnott married Dora Purcell, and they would have six children.

Political career

Sinnott served as a member of the Oregon State Senate during the 1909 and 1911 sessions, representing Wasco County as a Republican.

In 1912, Sinnott was elected as a Republican to the 63rd United States Congress, and was re-elected seven times. He served as chairman of the Committee on Public Lands (Sixty-sixth through Seventieth Congresses), and the Committee on Patents (Seventieth Congress). While in the House he worked to create and enlarge water reclamation projects in Eastern Oregon.

On April 18, 1928, President Coolidge appointed Sinnott as a judge of the United States Court of Claims in Washington, D.C.. He resigned from the House effective May 31, 1928, and served on the Court until his death in Washington, D.C. on July 20, 1929. Sinnott was interred in St. Peters Cemetery in The Dalles. The Sinnott Memorial observation station and museum at Crater Lake National Park was dedicated in his honor on July 16, 1931.