Moses Kinkaid

Moses Pierce Kinkaid (January 24, 1856 – July 6, 1922) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Nebraska. He was the sponsor of the 1904 Kinkaid Land Act, which allowed homesteaders to claim up to 640 acres (260 ha) of government land in western Nebraska.

Kinkaid was born near Morgantown, Virginia, which is now in West Virginia. As a boy, he piloted Canada-bound fugitive slaves to his grandparents' home in Pennsylvania, where food, shelter, and aid were given to them. He attended the public schools and graduated from the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1876. He was admitted to the bar and practiced in Henry County, Illinois from 1876 until 1880 and in Pierre, Dakota Territory in 1880 and 1881. In 1881, he moved to O'Neill, Nebraska, where he maintained his residence until his death.

In O'Neill, Kinkaid continued to practice law. He also served as an officer of the Holt County Bank from its foundation in 1884 until 1886. He served in the state Senate in 1883, and as a district judge from 1887 to 1900.

In 1900, Kinkaid unsuccessfully sought election to the U.S. House of Representatives from Nebraska's Sixth District. In 1902, he ran for the same position, this time successfully.

The Sixth District contained most of the Nebraska Sandhills. This is a region of grass-stabilized sand dunes. Rainfall percolates readily into the sandy soil, recharging the aquifer and giving rise to hundreds of permanent lakes; but the sandy soil is poorly suited for cultivation, and the area is chiefly used for cattle ranching.

At the time that Kinkaid entered Congress, the 1862 Homestead Act allowed settlers to obtain a quarter-section (160 acres, or 65 ha) of government land for a nominal fee; the 1873 Timber Culture Act allowed them to claim an additional quarter-section. However, in much of the Sandhills, a half-section was not enough land to sustain a family. Instead, the pattern of development was one of large cattle ranches on federal land, with the ranchers using the homestead laws to secure lakes and streams for their operations.

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