David Patterson Dyer (February 12, 1838 – April 29, 1924) was a
United States representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
from
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
and a
United States district judge
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
of the
.
Education and career
Born on February 12, 1838, in
Henry County,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
,
Dyer moved with his parents to
Lincoln County,
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
in 1841 and completed preparatory studies.
He attended
St. Charles College in Missouri and
read law and was admitted to the bar in March 1859, in
Bowling Green
A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls.
Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...
,
Pike County, Missouri.
[ He entered private practice in Pike County, Missouri from 1859 to 1875.][ He was prosecutor for the Third Judicial Circuit of Missouri in 1860.][ During the ]American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
, Dyer served as a private in Captain Hardin’s company, Pike County Regiment, Missouri Home Guard, and as lieutenant colonel and colonel in th
Forty-ninth Regiment, Missouri Volunteer Infantry
[ He was a member of the ]Missouri House of Representatives
The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...
from 1862 to 1865.[ He was Secretary of the ]Missouri Senate
The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 174,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two ye ...
in 1866.[ He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1868.][
]
Congressional service
Dyer was elected as a Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
from Missouri's 9th congressional district
Missouri's 9th congressional district was a US congressional district, dissolved in 2013, that last encompassed rural Northeast Missouri, the area known as " Little Dixie," along with the larger towns of Columbia, Fulton, Kirksville and Unio ...
to the United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
of the 41st United States Congress
The 41st United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 186 ...
, serving from March 4, 1869 to March 3, 1871.[ He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1870 to the ]42nd United States Congress
The 42nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1871, ...
.[
]
Later career
Following his departure from Congress, Dyer resumed private practice in St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
, Missouri from 1871 to 1902. He was the United States Attorney
United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...
for the Eastern District of Missouri from 1875 to 1876, and from March 9, 1902 to March 31, 1907.[ He was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for ]Governor of Missouri
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
in 1880.[
]
Federal judicial service
Dyer was nominated by President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
on February 27, 1907, to a seat on the vacated by Judge Gustavus A. Finkelnburg.[ He was confirmed by the ]United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
on March 1, 1907, and received his commission the same day.[ He assumed ]senior status
Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...
on November 3, 1919.[ His service terminated on April 29, 1924, due to his death in St. Louis.][ He was interred in ]Bellefontaine Cemetery
Bellefontaine Cemetery is a nonprofit, non-denominational cemetery and arboretum in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1849 as a rural cemetery, Bellefontaine is home to a number of architecturally significant monuments and mausoleums such as t ...
in St. Louis.[
]
Family
Dyer was the uncle of United States Representatives Leonidas C. Dyer
Leonidas Carstarphen Dyer (June 11, 1871 – December 15, 1957) was an American politician, reformer, civil rights activist, and military officer. A Republican, he served eleven terms in the U.S. Congress as a U.S. Representative from Missouri ...
.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dyer, David Patterson
1838 births
1924 deaths
Republican Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives
Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
United States district court judges appointed by Theodore Roosevelt
20th-century American judges
Union Army colonels
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri
United States Attorneys for the Eastern District of Missouri
People from Lincoln County, Missouri
People from Pike County, Missouri
People from Henry County, Virginia