Rodolphus (sometimes Robert) Holland Duell (December 20, 1824 – February 11, 1891) was an American lawyer and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He was elected to Congress and became United States Commissioner of Patents.

Life

Duell was born in

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

Herkimer County, New York Herkimer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,139. Its county seat is Herkimer. The county was created in 1791 north of the Mohawk River out of part of Montgomery County. It is named a ...

. He completed preparatory studies and subsequently studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1845 and commenced practice in

Fabius In Roman mythology, Fabius was the son of Hercules and an unnamed mother. In "The Life of Fabius Maximus" from the ''Parallel Lives'' by Plutarch, Fabius, the first of his name, was the son of Hercules by a nymph or a woman native to the country, ...

. He married Mary L. Cuyler (1822–1894), and they had two children: Louise C. Duell (1848–1872) and Judge Charles Holland Duell (1850–1920). Duell moved to Cortland in 1847, and was

district 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 l ...

Cortland County Cortland County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Cortland County was 46,809. The county seat is Cortland, New York, C ...

from 1850 to 1855. He was Judge of Cortland County from 1855 to 1859. Duell 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 ...

to the 36th and

37th United States Congress The 37th 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, 1861, ...

es, holding office from March 4, 1859, to March 3, 1863; during the 37th Congress, he was Chairman of the Committee on Revolutionary Claims. He resumed the practice of law in Cortland and was Assessor of Internal Revenue for the 23rd District of New York from 1869 to 1871. He was elected to the

42nd 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

and

43rd United States Congress The 43rd 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, 1873, ...

es, holding office from March 4, 1871, to March 3, 1875. During the 43rd Congress he was Chairman of the

Committee on Expenditures on Public Buildings The Committee on Oversight and Reform is the main investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one of the most influential and powerful panels in the ...

. Duell was appointed as

United States Commissioner of Patents The Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property, or USC(IP), is a senior official in the United States Department of Commerce and the principal advisor to the United States Secretary of Commerce on the intellectual property matters. In t ...

by President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

on October 1, 1875, and remained in office until January 30, 1877. He resumed the practice of law in Cortland, where he died in 1891; interment was in

Cortland Rural Cemetery The Cortland Rural Cemetery is located in Cortland, New York, United States. A non-profit, non-denominational cemetery established in 1853, the still operational cemetery has a physical footprint of approximately and features the attributes typi ...

Sources

*
Sackett family

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duell, R Holland 1824 births 1891 deaths People from Herkimer County, New York New York (state) state court judges County district attorneys in New York (state) People from Cortland, New York Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 19th-century American legislators 19th-century American judges