Robert Denniston (October 15, 1800, in Blooming Grove,

Orange County, New York Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 401,310. The county seat is Goshen. This county was first created in 1683 and reorganized with its present boundaries in 1798. Orange ...

– December 2, 1867, in Salisbury Mills,Salisbury Mills is a hamlet that lies partly in the towns of Blooming Grove and

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. He died at the same place where he was born, in that part of the hamlet of Salisbury Mills which lies within the Town of Blooming Grove.

) was an American lawyer and politician.

Life

He was the son of James Denniston (ca. 1770–1825) and Prudence Morrison Denniston. On September 24, 1823, he married Julianna Howell (d. 1825). Afterwards he married Mary Scott, and they had five sons and six daughters. He served as an officer of the New York State Militia and as a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

in Blooming Grove. He was appointed by Governor

William L. Marcy William Learned Marcy (December 12, 1786July 4, 1857) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge who served as U.S. Senator, Governor of New York, U.S. Secretary of War and U.S. Secretary of State. In the latter office, he negotiated the Gad ...

to be a judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Orange County. He was a Democratic member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

(Orange Co.) in

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and

1840 Events January–March * January 3 – One of the predecessor papers of the ''Herald Sun'' of Melbourne, Australia, ''The Port Phillip Herald'', is founded. * January 10 – Uniform Penny Post is introduced in the United Kingdom. * Janua ...

. He was a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

(2nd D.) from 1841 to 1847, sitting in the 64th, 65th, 66th, 67th, 68th, 69th and

70th New York State Legislature The 70th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5 to December 15, 1847, during the first year of John Young's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the provisio ...

s. In the Senate, he was Chairman of the Committee on Canals. As a Republican, he ran for

New York State Comptroller The New York State Comptroller is an elected constitutional officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the New York state government's Department of Audit and Control. The New York State Comptroller is the highest-paid state auditor or ...

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but was defeated by Democrat

Sanford E. Church Sanford Elias Church (April 18, 1815 – May 14, 1880) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician. He served as Lieutenant Governor of the state of New York and chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals. Early life Born in Milford, Ot ...

. He ran again in

1859 Events January–March * January 21 – José Mariano Salas (1797–1867) becomes Conservative interim President of Mexico. * January 24 ( O. S.) – Wallachia and Moldavia are united under Alexandru Ioan Cuza (Romania since 1866, final u ...

and was elected, being in office from 1860 to 1861.

Notes

Sources

Bio from History of The Town of New Windsor, Orange County, N.Y.
by Edward M. Ruttenber (Newburgh NY, 1911, printed for The Historical Society of Newburgh Bay and the Highlands), at netcom

Obit from '' Albany Evening Journal'', in NYT on December 8, 1867

Political Graveyard
Political Graveyard (doubled entry, giving surname as Dennison)Google Books
''The New York Civil List'' compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 140, 269f; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858) {{DEFAULTSORT:Denniston, Robert 1800 births 1867 deaths People from Blooming Grove, New York New York State Comptrollers Members of the New York State Assembly New York (state) state senators New York (state) state court judges New York (state) Republicans New York (state) Democrats 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges