Dudley Chase Denison (September 13, 1819 – February 10, 1905) was a nineteenth-century politician and lawyer from
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
. He served as a member of 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
two terms, and was also a member of the
Vermont House of Representatives
The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives ar ...
and
Vermont State Senate
The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members. Senate districting divides the 30 members into three single-member districts, six two-m ...
.
Biography
Denison was born in
Royalton, Vermont
Royalton is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,750 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of Royalton, South Royalton, and North Royalton. Vermont Law School, the state's only accredited law school, i ...
, son of Dr. Joseph Adam Denison and Rachel (Chase) Denison. He attended Royalton Academy and graduated third in his class from the
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...
in 1840. He later received a Master of Arts degree from the University of Vermont. He studied law and was
admitted to the bar
An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...
in 1845. He began the practice of law in Royalton.
Denison served as a member of the Vermont State Senate in 1853 and 1854, and served as the
State's Attorney
In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...
for
Windsor County from 1858 until 1860. He was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1860 until 1864. He was a trustee for
Norwich University
Norwich University – The Military College of Vermont is a private senior military college in Northfield, Vermont. It is the oldest private and senior military college in the United States and offers bachelor's and master's degrees on-campus ...
from 1850 until 1887, and a trustee for the University of Vermont from 1862 to 1865.
From 1864 to 1869, Denison served as 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 c ...
for the
District of Vermont. He also served as a director of the
National Life Insurance Company.
He was elected as an
Independent Republican candidate to the
44th United States Congress
The 44th 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.
)
, image_sk ...
and reelected 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 ...
candidate to the
45th United States Congress
The 45th 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, 1877, ...
, serving from March 4, 1875, until March 3, 1879. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1878.
After serving in Congress, Denison resumed the practice of law in Royalton. He died in Royalton on February 10, 1905, and is interred in the
North Royalton
North Royalton is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb of Cleveland. The population was 31,322 as of the 2020 Census. Originally incorporated as a village in 1927, it achieved the status of city in 1961.
History
North Ro ...
cemetery.
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Personal life
Denison married Eunice Dunbar on December 22, 1846. They had seven children: Joseph Dudley Denison, Catherine Amanda Denison, John Henry Denison, Gertrude May Denison, Lucy Dunbar Denison, Edward Denison and Elizabeth Denison.
He was the nephew of
Dudley Chase
Dudley Chase (December 30, 1771February 23, 1846) was a U.S. Senator from Vermont who served from 1813 to 1817 and again from 1825 to 1831. He was born in Cornish, New Hampshire.
Career
After graduating from Dartmouth College in 1791, he st ...
and
Philander Chase
Philander Chase (December 14, 1775 – September 20, 1852) was an Episcopal Church bishop, educator, and pioneer of the United States western frontier, especially in Ohio and Illinois.
Early life and family
Born in Cornish, New Hampshire to o ...
, and the cousin of
Salmon P. Chase
Salmon Portland Chase (January 13, 1808May 7, 1873) was an American politician and jurist who served as the sixth chief justice of the United States. He also served as the 23rd governor of Ohio, represented Ohio in the United States Senate, a ...
.
See also
*
Chase family
The Chase family is an American family whose members included early American pioneers and those involved in politics, the clergy, business and the military. Originating in Chesham, England, brothers Aquila Chase II and Thomas Chase journeyed to N ...
References
Further reading
* "Men of Vermont: an illustrated biographical history of Vermonters and sons of Vermont" by Redfield Proctor, Charles H. Davenport and Levi Knight Fuller, published by the Transcript publishing company, 1894.
External links
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress*
Govtrack.us: Rep. Dudley Denison
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denison, Dudley Chase
1819 births
1905 deaths
Members of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont
Members of the Vermont House of Representatives
Vermont state senators
Vermont lawyers
University of Vermont alumni
United States Attorneys for the District of Vermont
Vermont Independents
Vermont Republicans
Independent Republican members of the United States House of Representatives
19th-century American politicians
State's attorneys in Vermont