Cyrus Livingston Dunham (January 16, 1817 – November 21, 1877) was an attorney, soldier, and prominent
Indiana politician, serving most notably as a
U.S. Representative from
Indiana from 1849 to 1855.
Biography
Born in
Dryden, New York in 1817, Dunham attended public schools, and eventually taught school. After earning a law degree and being
admitted to the Bar, he moved to
Salem, Indiana in 1841 and began practicing law. Dunham was elected prosecuting attorney of
Washington County, Indiana in 1845 and then served as a member of the
Indiana State House of Representatives for one term from 1846 to 1847.
Dunham then successfully ran for
Congress, being elected to the
Thirty-first,
Thirty-second, and
Thirty-third Congresses (March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1855) as a
Democrat. He served as
Chairman
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
of the
Committee on Roads and Canals during the Thirty-third Congress. After his time in Congress, he was appointed by
Governor Ashbel P. Willard
Ashbel Parsons Willard (October 31, 1820 – October 4, 1860) was state senator, the 12th lieutenant governor, and the 11th governor of the U.S. state of Indiana. His terms in office were marked by increasingly severe partisanship leading to the ...
as
Secretary of State of Indiana, serving from 1859 to 1860.
During the
American Civil War, Dunham served in the
Union Army as
Colonel of the
50th Indiana Infantry Regiment
The 50th Regiment Indiana Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Service
The 50th Indiana Infantry was organized at Seymour, Indiana and mustered in for a three-year enlistment on Septe ...
. He was commissioned on December 1, 1861 and honorably discharged on November 4, 1863.
Dunham was again elected as a member of the Indiana State House of Representatives for another term from 1864 to 1865. He married Malvina B. Markwell on January 6, 1870. He also lived in
Jeffersonville, Indiana
Jeffersonville is a city and the county seat of Clark County, Indiana, Clark County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It lies directly across the Ohio River ...
while serving as Judge of
Clark County, Indiana Criminal Court from 1871 to 1874.
Work as an attorney
As an attorney Cyrus Livingston Dunham defended some of the notorious
Reno Gang members in
Brownstown, Indiana
Brownstown is a town within Brownstown Township and the county seat of Jackson County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,947 at the 2010 census. It was named for Jacob Brown, a general of the War of 1812.
History
The town of ...
. In addition, he was rumored to have shipped the skulls of two other criminals hung by vigilantes in the same town to New York City.
From an article in ''
The New York Times'' article:
Louisville (Kentucky), Tuesday, May 27, 1862:
Col. C.L. DUNHAM, of the Fiftieth Indiana, at Bowling Green, is suspected and criticised by Unionists of Warren, members of his regiment, and the Bedford (Ind.) Press. He is charged with disloyal sympathies, squinting at treason, neglecting his duty, giving up to "pleasurable indulgences," abusing and insulting his men. If he can exculpate himself, well. If not, he'll be cashiered.[FROM KENTUCKY.; Brigandage Bullies Arrested Cyrus L. Dunham The Cumberland Presbyterians comparison of Prices A Convert's Confessions, &c]
"''The New York Times'' Louisville, Tuesday, May 27, 1862"
Retrieved December 18, 2022.
References
''The New York Times'' Article1862
* ''American Civil War Soldiers Database'', Provo, Utah, USA
* ''W.P.A. Book 6, page 557'', Marriages in Floyd County, Indiana
* ''Anarchy in the Heartland'', 2008, by A. David Distler, page 66
* Retrieved on 2009-04-07
External links
*
Cyrus L Dunham commanding Union Forces.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunham, Cyrus Livingston
1817 births
1877 deaths
Secretaries of State of Indiana
People of Indiana in the American Civil War
Union Army colonels
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana
People from Dryden, New York
19th-century American politicians