Mark W. Delahay
United States federal judge (1816-1879)
Mark William Delahay (1817 – May 8, 1879) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. He resigned after being impeached by the United States House of Representatives due to allegations of alcoholism.
Career
Born in 1817, in Talbot County, Maryland, Delahay entered private practice in Illinois until 1853. He was the editor of the Virginia Observer located in Virginia, Illinois. He resumed private practice in Mobile, Alabama from 1853 to 1855, then in Leavenworth, Kansas Territory from 1855 to 1857. He was owner and editor of The Territorial Register in the Kansas Territory starting in 1857. He was chief clerk of the Kansas Territorial House of Representatives from 1860 to 1861. He was Surveyor General of the Kansas Territory (State of Kansas from January 29, 1861) and the Nebraska Territory from 1861 to 1863.
Relationship with Abraham Lincoln
Delahey had a personal friendship with Abraham Lincoln originating with their mutual cause in establishing the Republican Party. In 1859, Delahay sought the Republican nomination for a United States Senate seat for Kansas.
The public source identifies “Mark W. Delahay” as united States federal judge (1816-1879). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Mark, Delahay and United.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Mark W. Delahay”, the useful work is to connect “united States federal judge (1816-1879)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 21, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q6770163. VIAF identifies the subject as 78066086. The Library of Congress control number is n97071758. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1817, 1879, 1853 and 1855.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Mark W. Delahay”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Mark W. Delahay primary sources, Mark W. Delahay archive and Mark research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Mark W. Delahay”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Mark W. Delahay” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.