Thomas Ijams Dent (November 14, 1831 – December 25, 1924) was a prominent

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

lawyer.

Biography

Dent was born in

Hennepin, Illinois Hennepin is a village located on the Illinois River in Putnam County, Illinois, United States. The population was 757 in 2010, an increase of 50 since the 2000 census. It is the county seat and second largest village in Putnam County. Hennepin is ...

, the son of George Dent and Comfort (Ijams) Dent. George Dent held a number of elective offices in Putnam County, including clerk of the circuit and county courts, county judge, and member of the Illinois House of Representatives in 1853 and 1864. Thomas Dent was educated at public schools in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

and

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 ...

, and then, at age 15, became permanently employed as his father's assistant. After studying law on his own, Dent 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 1854, at which time he established a

law practice In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professi ...

. He moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1856, forming a legal partnership with Martin R. M. Wallace. Dent married Susan Strawn in 1857. Also in 1857, he moved to Peoria, Illinois, but was back in Chicago the next year, and in 1860 formed a partnership (Arrington & Dent) with Judge A. W. Arrington that would last until Arrington's death in 1867. At that point Dent joined forces with William P. Black to establish a new law firm, Dent & Black. Dent had a successful practice with many corporate clients, including banks, insurance companies, a railroad company, and the Chicago Board of Trade. Dent argued several cases to the Supreme Court of the United States.''The National Cyclopedia of American Biography'', volume XVII, James T. White & Company, New York: 1920, Biographical Sketch of Thomas Ijans Dent, p. 278 In 1879, Dent ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Supreme Court of Illinois 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 ...

ticket. Dent served as president of the Chicago Law Institute, the

Chicago Bar Association Founded in 1874, the Chicago Bar Association (CBA) is a voluntary bar association with over 20,000 members. Like other bar associations, it concerns itself with professional ethics, networking among members, and continuing legal education. It is ...

, and then, in 1888, as president of the

Illinois State Bar Association The Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) is among largest voluntary state bar associations in the United States. Approximately 28,000 lawyers are members of the ISBA. Unlike some state bar associations, in which membership is mandatory, ISBA me ...

. An elder of the

Presbyterian Church in the United States of America The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) was the first national Presbyterian denomination in the United States, existing from 1789 to 1958. In that year, the PCUSA merged with the United Presbyterian Church of North Americ ...

, Dent served as a director of the

McCormick Theological Seminary McCormick Theological Seminary is a private Presbyterian seminary in Chicago, Illinois. It shares a campus with the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, bordering the campus of the University of Chicago. A letter of intent was signed on May ...

for nearly 4 decades. He died in Chicago on December 25, 1924, and was buried at

Graceland Cemetery Graceland Cemetery is a large historic garden cemetery located in the north side community area of Uptown, in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Established in 1860, its main entrance is at the intersection of Clark Street and Ir ...

References

External links

* Arba Nelson Waterman, ''Historical Review of Chicago and Cook County and Selected Biography'' (1908)
''The Handbook of Chicago Biography'', ed. John J. Flinn (1893)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dent, Thomas Illinois state court judges Members of the Illinois House of Representatives 1831 births 1924 deaths People from Putnam County, Illinois People from Hennepin, Illinois Lawyers from Peoria, Illinois Burials at Graceland Cemetery (Chicago)