By 1882, he had relocated to Hailey, Idaho Territory, losing Democratic nominations for Alturas County district attorney that year and in 1886.[6][7] On January 23, 1884, he was admitted to practice law in the Idaho Supreme Court, becoming one of the first hundred attorneys with that privilege.[8] He emerged as a local leader of the territory's Democratic Party, addressing the party's territorial convention in 1884 and securing nomination to represent Alturas County on the Idaho Territorial Council in 1888.[9][10] While he lost that election, he was selected by the county party's central committee as a delegate for the county to the Idaho Constitutional Convention.[11] While he attempted to resign this position,[12] he served as a delegate and was a signatory of the Idaho Constitution.[13][14]
Vineyard emerged as one of the most prominent lawyers in the newly established state of Idaho.[15][1] He relocated to Boise, and in 1892 chaired the Ada County Democratic convention.[16] After moving to Grangeville in 1899,[1] he was selected as a delegate to at least the 1900, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1912, and 1914 state Democratic conventions.[17][18][19][20][21][22] He was elected as the justice of the peace for North Grangeville as a Democrat in 1902, and was reelected at least in 1904 and 1912.[23][24][25][26] He became a prominent speaker for the Democratic party around the state.[27][28][29][30]
Vineyard married Sadie Bledsoe in 1888, and they had two children, Richard and Sadie, before she died in 1893.[1] Vineyard died at the age of 73 on March 14, 1919, in Lewiston, Idaho, from paralysis following a series of strokes.[31][32][a]
Notes
^Despite his obituaries stating that he had served in the state legislature, there is no evidence that Vineyard actually served in the Idaho legislature.[33]
