Dudley Goodall Wooten (June 19, 1860 – February 7, 1929) was a U.S. Representative from

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

Early years

Born near

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an esti ...

, Wooten moved in infancy with his parents to Texas during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

Education

He attended private schools in

Paris, Texas Paris is a city and county seat of Lamar County, Texas, United States. Located in Northeast Texas at the western edge of the Piney Woods, the population of the city was 24,171 in 2020. History Present-day Lamar County was part of Red River ...

, and graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

in 1875. He attended

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore wa ...

, and graduated from the law department of the

University of Virginia at Charlottesville The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ...

, where he won the school's highest awards for writing and debate and was a member of

Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity Phi Kappa Psi (), commonly known as Phi Psi, is an American collegiate social fraternity that was founded by William Henry Letterman and Charles Page Thomas Moore in Widow Letterman's home on the campus of Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pe ...

. Texas State Historical Association

Career

He 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 1880 and practiced in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

. He served as prosecuting attorney of Austin 1884–1886. He moved to

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, in 1888. He served as judge of the Dallas County district court 1890–1892. He served as member of the State house of representatives in 1898 and 1899. As a member of the Texas legislature, Wooten served as delegate to the National Antitrust Conference at Chicago in 1899. He served as member of the executive council of the National Civic Federation in 1900. He served as delegate to the National Tax Conference at Buffalo in 1901. Congressman Wooten traveled to

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...

in 1902 to make a Congressional study of the needs of the territory. Wooten was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-seventh Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Robert Emmet Burke and served from July 13, 1901, to March 3, 1903. In 1902 Wooten lost in his attempt to be nominated as the Democratic candidate for the house seat.

Later years

After leaving the house, Wooten resumed his law practice in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

. He served as special judge of the superior court at various times. He served as delegate to the National Rivers and Harbors Congress in 1912. He served as delegate to the

National Conservation Congress The National Conservation Commission was appointed on June 8, 1908 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 poli ...

in 1913. He was appointed a member of the State board of higher curricula by the Governor in 1919. Wooten worked as a professor of law at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main c ...

Notre Dame, Indiana Notre Dame is a census-designated place and unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend in St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. It includes the campuses of three colleges: the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's C ...

from 1924 to 1928. He died, while on a visit, in

, on February 7, 1929.

Fraternal memberships

Phi Kappa Psi Phi Kappa Psi (), commonly known as Phi Psi, is an American collegiate social fraternity that was founded by William Henry Letterman and Charles Page Thomas Moore in Widow Letterman's home on the campus of Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pen ...

Bibliography

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References

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wooten, Dudley Goodall 1860 births 1929 deaths Princeton University alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni University of Notre Dame faculty Notre Dame Law School faculty Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas 19th-century American lawyers Texas State Historical Association presidents Texas State Historical Association charter members