# Henry Z. Hayner *American lawyer and New York legislator who served as chief justice of the Minnesota Territorial Supreme Court in 1852–1853* Henry Zachariah Hayner (September 18, 1802 – March 1874) was a lawyer who sat in the New York State Assembly in 1846. He later held the office of chief justice of the [[Minnesota Territorial Supreme Court]] from 1852 to 1853.[^1] President Millard Fillmore nominated Hayner to the territorial court in August 1852. Hayner reached the [[Minnesota Territory]] in October 1852, too late for the court's fall term to begin. In April 1853, President [[Franklin Pierce]] nominated [[William H. Welch (judge)|William H. Welch]] to the position in his place.[^1] ## Life and career Hayner was born in 1802 in Brunswick, New York. His parents were Zachariah and Eve Hayner, whose maiden name was Clum.[^1] After schooling at the Hopkins Academy in Hadley, Massachusetts, he attended Yale University and took his degree there in 1826.[^1] He then settled in Troy, New York, where he read law and gained admission to the bar in 1830.[^1] In 1846 he sat for Rensselaer County, New York, in the 69th New York State Legislature.[^1] [[Jerome Fuller]] had held the chief justiceship of the territorial court under a recess appointment. After that appointment expired, Fillmore put Hayner forward for the post in August 1852.[^1] The nomination was approved promptly, and Hayner set out for the territory.[^1] By the time he arrived in October 1852, the court's fall term could no longer be started, and he had little judicial work to do.[^1] In April 1853 the newly elected Pierce nominated Welch to the chief justiceship, ending Hayner's service on the court.[^1] Back in New York, Hayner opened a law practice in New York City.[^1] When the American Civil War began, he received a commission as a major. He served first on the staff of General John E. Wool and afterward as provost marshal in Baltimore, Maryland, and in New York City.[^1] In the years after the war he took up mining interests in the western states and territories, until illness brought him back to New York City.[^1] He died there of Bright's disease in March 1874.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Henry Z. Hayner* (revision 1378277859, retrieved 2026-10-26) — Hayner's birth, education, admission to the bar, 1846 New York legislative service, August 1852 nomination and October 1852 arrival in Minnesota Territory, April 1853 replacement by William H. Welch, Civil War service, and death in March 1874; licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Z._Hayner