Daniel Gustavus Rollins (October 18, 1842 – August 30, 1897) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

Life

He was the son of Daniel G. Rollins, Judge of Probate of Strafford Co. 1857-66, and Susan Binney (Jackson) Rollins. He graduated from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

in 1860. Then he studied law at Harvard Law School, was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

. From 1866 to 1869, he was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and removed to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Afterwards he resumed his private practice. In 1873, his former fellow Asst. U.S. Attorney Benjamin K. Phelps took office as

New York County District Attorney The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County (Manhattan), New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws ...

and appointed Rollins an Assistant D.A. On December 31, 1879, Rollins was the Republican candidate for

Recorder of New York City The Recorder of New York City was a municipal officer of New York City from 1683 until 1907. He was at times a judge of the Court of General Sessions, the Court of Special Sessions, and the New York Court of Common Pleas; Vice-President of the Boar ...

, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John K. Hackett, but the Board of Supervisors elected

Tammany Tamanend (historically also known as Taminent, Tammany, Saint Tammany or King Tammany, "the Affable," ) (–) was the Chief of Chiefs and Chief of the Turtle Clan of the Lenni-Lenape nation in the Delaware Valley signing the Peace Treaty with ...

man Frederick Smyth. In November 1880, Rollins ran on the

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 ...

and the German Independent tickets for Recorder of New York, but was again defeated by the incumbent Recorder Smyth. On January 10, 1881, Rollins was appointed by Gov.

Alonzo B. Cornell Alonzo Barton Cornell (January 22, 1832 – October 15, 1904) was a New York (state), New York politician and businessman who was the List of Governors of New York, 27th Governor of New York from 1880 to 1882. Early years Cornell was born i ...

as D.A. of New York to fill the vacancy caused by the death of D.A. Phelps, and remained in office until the end of 1881. In November 1881, Rollins declined to run to succeed himself as D.A., and was instead elected Surrogate of New York County. He was re-elected in 1884, and remained in office until the end of 1887. In 1884, Dartmouth College conferred an honorary degree of

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

on him. In November 1887, he ran for the New York Supreme Court (1st D.) but was defeated. Afterwards he resumed his private practice. One of his last cases was the defense of the owners of the

American Tobacco Company The American Tobacco Company was a tobacco company founded in 1890 by J. B. Duke through a merger between a number of U.S. tobacco manufacturers including Allen and Ginter and Goodwin & Company. The company was one of the original 12 members ...

who were charged with "conspiracy and violation of the Penal Code", meaning that they had formed a monopoly. Rollins died from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

at the place of his birth which he used then as his summer home, on Beacon Street in Somersworth, N.H. (previously named Great Falls), and was buried in that city. His brother Edward Ashton Rollins was Speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1861 and 1862. Congressman Edward H. Rollins was a distant cousin, all descended from Judge Ichabod Rollins (1722–1800).

Sources

''Life of Edward H. Rollins: A Political Biography''
by James Otis Lyford (page 120)
''Sketches of the Alumni of Dartmouth College''
by George Thomas Chapman (page 453)
''MR. SMYTH THE RECORDER''
in NYT on January 1, 1880
''THE STATE AND LOCAL NOMINATIONS''
in NYT on October 31, 1880
''MR. PHELPS'S SUCCESSOR''
in NYT on January 11, 1881
''THE REPUBLICAN TICKET''
in NYT on October 27, 1881
''DANIEL G. ROLLINS''
in NYT on November 3, 1887
''AMERICAN TOBACCO COMPANY.; Trial of Its Officers for Conspiracy and Violation of the Penal Code to Begin To-day''
in NYT on June 8, 1897
''DANIEL G. ROLLINS DEAD''
in NYT on August 31, 1897 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rollins, Daniel Gustavus 1842 births 1897 deaths People from Somersworth, New Hampshire New York City Recorders New York County District Attorneys Dartmouth College alumni Deaths from diabetes in the United States New York (state) Republicans Harvard Law School alumni 19th-century American politicians