William J. Kernan (1858 - 1899) was an alumnus of Georgetown College and a lawyer. He was the son of Francis Kernan (C 1836) and Hannah Deveraux Kernan.
William J. Kernan was born on August 23, 1858 in Utica, New York. After graduating from Georgetown he returned to Utica and studied law with his uncle and brother, William and Nicholas. He was admitted to the bar in 1883. He was also a member of the Utica Literary Society and the Fort Schuyler Club.
A Democrat, Kernan ran unsuccessfully for district attorney in 1895. In 1897 he contracted pneumonia. After temporarily recovering in Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona, he returned to Utica in May, 1899 where his health worsened and he died on December 9.1
While a student at Georgetown, Kernan won the Philodemic Society Medal for a debate titled "The responsibilities and duties of educated Catholics in the United States at present day."2
- 1James S. Easby-Smith, Georgetown University in the District of Columbia, 1789-1907, its founders, benefactors, officers, instructors and alumni. Vol. 2, New York: Lewis, 1907, pp. 221 - 222. https://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433076015860?urlappend=%3Bseq=237
- 2"Awards at the Late Commencement," Georgetown College Journal, August 1879, Vol. VII No. 10, p. 109. http://hdl.handle.net/10822/1044323
