4th Nevada Attorney General
Term: January 4, 1875 - January 6, 1879
Biography
John R. Kittrell, born in 1829 in North Carolina, apparently remained there
long enough to be acculturated to the values of “his old south”. His
obituary indicates that he “[w]as a southern Democrat and inherited all the
prejudices of the south in his dislike of everything Republican.” Another
account portrays Kittrell as “uncompromising a foe to the causes and institution
of the Union as any White Leaguer of the South.” The account also stated that he was “a man of pleasing manners when he don’t [sic] display the bitter Rebel
side of his character.[1]
His love for Nevada, as well as for his native North Carolina, always remained
strong. Admitted to the Nevada State Bar on May 4, 1871,[2] Kittrell began serving as Nevada’s Attorney General in 1875.
Election of 1874
Elected as Nevada’s fourth Attorney General on November 3, 1874, Kittrell
(Democrat) received 9,050 (50.5%) of the 17,906 votes cast, and Moses Tebbs
(Republican) received 8,856 (49.5%) votes.[3]
Election of 1876
In this election, Kittrell became the first Attorney General to lose
re-election to office.
Office Administration and Duties
Kittrell had no deputies or other support staff according to the Nevada
Attorney General’s budgets for the 1875–1877 and 1877–1879 state biennial fiscal
periods:
1875–1877 Budget
|
$7,000
|
|
$7,000
|
Attorney General’s Salary
|
|
|
Office expenses came from an appropriation “[f]or a current expense
appropriation, to defray the telegraphic, postage, and contingent
expenses of the several state officers, Supreme Court, and State
Library, to be expended under the direction of the Lieutenant Governor,
State Controller, and Secretary of State, $10,000”
|
1877–1879 Budget
|
$7,200
|
|
$7,200
|
Attorney General’s Salary
|
|
|
Office expenses came from an appropriation “[f]or a current expense
appropriation, to defray the telegraphic, postage, and contingent
expenses of the several state officers, Supreme Court, and State
Library, to be expended under the direction of the Lieutenant Governor,
State Controller, and Secretary of State, $10,000”
|
In addition to his regular duties as Attorney General, state statute required
Kittrell to perform other duties and serve as a member of the Nevada Board of
Examiners, Board of State Prison Commissioners, Parole Board, and Board of
Directors for the Nevada State Library. He also provided oversight to the
various toll road franchises, granted in the Washoe City, Carson City, Virginia
City, Steamboat, and Dayton areas.
Kittrell also served as a member of the Board of Commissioners.[4]
The board administered payments and the accrued interest from Nevada state bonds
issued in 1864, 1865, and 1866 to finance the creation of Nevada’s state
government.
[1] Nevada Historical
Quarterly, Vol. XXVI, Winter 1983, Number 4, p. 293.
[2] Nevada Reports,
Number 22, p. 12.
[3] Political History
of Nevada, p. 206, p. 356.
[4] Statutes of Nevada,
1875, Chapter V, pp. 48–49.