Quick Facts
Biography
John Moses Cheney (January 6, 1859 – June 2, 1922) was an American attorney and judge.
Cheney was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Boston University School of Law graduated him with an LL.B. in 1886.
He entered private practice in Orlando, Florida, from 1886 to 1906. Cheney served as United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida from 1906-1913 before resuming private practice in Orlando from 1913 to 1922. Cheney was Orlando city attorney from 1889 to 1890, was 1900 Census supervisor for Florida, and was the owner of the Orlando Light and Water Company from 1901 to 1922.
On August 26, 1912, President William Howard Taft appointed Cheney by recess appointment to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida that had been vacated by James William Locke. Cheney was formally nominated on December 3, 1912, but his service ended on March 3, 1913, after the nomination was not confirmed by the Senate.
He unsuccessfully ran as the Republican candidate in the 1920 Senate election. He also co-founded the law firm of Cheney and Akerman (now known as Akerman LLP) with fellow judge Alexander Akerman.
Cheney served on the board of trustees of Rollins College.
Cheney died in Orlando in 1922.
The road in east-central Florida that became State Road 50 was named after him in 1924; portions of the road remain and are called the Old Cheney Highway. Its path is from Orlando to the eastern coast of the state.