Elmer Scipio Dundy (March 5, 1830 – October 28, 1896) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of Nebraska The United States District Court for the District of Nebraska (in case citations, D. Neb.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Nebraska. Court offices are in Omaha and Lincoln. Appeals from the District of Nebraska ...

. He was the namesake of Dundy County,

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

Biography

Born on March 5, 1830, in

Trumbull County Trumbull County is a County (United States), county in the far northeast portion of U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 201,977. Its county seat is Warren, Ohio, Warren, which developed indust ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, Dundy

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

in 1853. He entered private practice in Clearfield,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, and Falls City,

Nebraska Territory The Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Nebraska. The Nebraska ...

(

unorganized territory Unorganized territory may refer to: * An unincorporated area in any number of countries * One of the current or former territories of the United States that has not had a government "organized" with an "organic act" by the U.S. Congress * Unorganize ...

until May 30, 1854) from 1853 to 1858. He was a member of the Council of the Territory of Nebraska from 1858 to 1862. In June, 1861 Elmer Dundy married Ohio native Mary H. Robison and they had a son a year later, Elmer Scipio Dundy Jr., followed by 3 daughters: Mary Mae, Luna, and Enid Alva (died at one year of age). He resumed private practice in Falls City from 1862 to 1863. He was a Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska Territory from 1863 to 1868.

Federal judicial service

Following the admission of the State of

to the Union on March 1, 1867, Dundy was nominated by President

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...

on April 4, 1868, to the

, to a new seat authorized by 15 Stat. 5. 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 April 9, 1868, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on October 28, 1896, due to his death in

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

, Nebraska, at which time Dundy was the longest-serving judge appointed by Johnson.

Notable cases

On May 12, 1879, Dundy ruled in the case ''

Standing Bear v. Crook Standing Bear (c. 1829–1908) (Ponca official orthography: Maⁿchú-Naⁿzhíⁿ/Macunajin;U.S. Indian Census Rolls, 1885 Ponca Indians of Dakota other spellings: Ma-chú-nu-zhe, Ma-chú-na-zhe or Mantcunanjin pronounced ) was a Ponca chief a ...

'' that

Standing Bear Standing Bear (c. 1829–1908) (Ponca official orthography: Maⁿchú-Naⁿzhíⁿ/Macunajin;U.S. Indian Census Rolls, 1885 Ponca Indians of Dakota other spellings: Ma-chú-nu-zhe, Ma-chú-na-zhe or Mantcunanjin pronounced ) was a Ponca chief a ...

and other

Ponca The Ponca ( Páⁿka iyé: Páⁿka or Ppáⁿkka pronounced ) are a Midwestern Native American tribe of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan language group. There are two federally recognized Ponca tribes: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca ...

were "people" who able to bring petitions for habeas corpus, and that Indians who had severed their relationships with their tribes could not be ordered to a reservation against their will. The next year, Dundy was part of the lower court panel that heard ''

Elk v. Wilkins ''Elk v. Wilkins'', 112 U.S. 94 (1884), was a United States Supreme Court landmark 1884 decision respecting the citizenship status of Indians. John Elk, a Winnebago Indian, was born on an Indian reservation within the territorial bounds of Unite ...

'', which asserted that Indians who had left their tribes and submitted to the jurisdiction of the United States were American citizens. In 1884, the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

rejected Elk's petition, holding that Indians born in tribal relations in the United States could only become citizens under specific federal laws.Elk v. Wilkins, 112 U.S. 94, 99 (1884). It was not until 1924 that all Indians born in the United States were declared citizens with the passing of the

Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, (, enacted June 2, 1924) was an Act of the United States Congress that granted US citizenship to the indigenous peoples of the United States. While the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution ...

Dundy County

Dundy was the namesake of Dundy County, Nebraska.

"Skip" Dundy

Dundy's son, Elmer Scipio Dundy Jr., better known as "Skip" Dundy, was born in

Falls City, Nebraska Falls City is a city and county seat of Richardson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 4,133 at the 2020 census, down from 4,325 in 2010 and 4,671 in 2000. History Falls City was founded in the summer of 1857 by James Lane, John ...

in 1862. Skip Dundy grew up to become a promoter on

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...

, due to in part the stories told by

Buffalo Bill Cody William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but he lived for several years in ...

who was a familiar visitor in the Dundy home.

References

Sources

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dundy, Elmer Scipio 1830 births 1896 deaths Nebraska state court judges Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska United States federal judges appointed by Andrew Johnson 19th-century American judges People from Trumbull County, Ohio Dundy County, Nebraska