Eliphalet Dyer (September 14, 1721 – May 13, 1807) was an American lawyer, jurist, and statesman from

Windham, Connecticut Windham is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. It contains the former city of Willimantic as well as the boroughs of Windham Center, North Windham, and South Windham. Willimantic, an incorporated city since 1893, was consol ...

. He was a delegate for

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

to many sessions of the Continental Congress, where he signed the 1774

Continental Association The Continental Association, also known as the Articles of Association or simply the Association, was an agreement among the American colonies adopted by the First Continental Congress on October 20, 1774. It called for a trade boycott against ...

Early life and education

Dyer was born in Windham and attended

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

where, he graduated in 1740. He read law and was admitted to the bar in 1746.

Career

After completing his legal education, Dyer became a member of the militia. In 1747, he was elected justice of the peace and a member of the colonial assembly. He was also involved in several of the land development schemes for the Susquehanna and

Wyoming Valley The Wyoming Valley is a historic industrialized region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The region is historically notable for its influence in helping fuel the American Industrial Revolution with its many anthracite coal-mines. As a metropolitan ...

areas. During the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

, Dyer served as a lieutenant colonel in the militia. He participated in the expedition that captured Crown Point from the French, as a Colonel of the Third Connecticut Provincial Regiment in 1755. In 1758, he led his regiment to Canada in support of Amherst’s and Wolfe’s operations. In 1763, he visited

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

as an agent for the ''Susquehanna Land Company'' in a failed attempt to gain title for a colonial venture to the Wyoming region. Connecticut sent Dyer 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 ...

for the

Stamp Act Congress The Stamp Act Congress (October 7 – 25, 1765), also known as the Continental Congress of 1765, was a meeting held in New York, New York, consisting of representatives from some of the British colonies in North America. It was the first gat ...

. This Congress of protest was an important precursor to the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

. In 1766, he was elected a justice of Connecticut’s superior court. He held that post until 1793, serving as chief justice after 1789. As the Revolution began, Dyer was named to the state’s Committee of Safety and named a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1774. He served in the Congress during 1774–1775, 1777–1779, and 1782–1783.

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...

, in his diary, characterized Dyer as "...longwinded and roundabout, obscure and cloudy, very talkative and very tedious, yet an honest, worthy man; means and judges well."

Personal life

Dyer retired from public life in 1793. He died at home in Windham on May 13, 1807, and is buried in the Windham Cemetery. His daughter Amelia was married to Joseph Trumbull, who officially served with Dyer in the Continental Congress but did not attend any sessions.

References

External links

Dyer's Congressional biography
1721 births 1807 deaths People from Windham, Connecticut People of colonial Connecticut Yale University alumni Military personnel from Connecticut Continental Congressmen from Connecticut Chief Justices of the Connecticut Supreme Court 18th-century American politicians Members of the Connecticut General Assembly Council of Assistants (1662–1818) People of Connecticut in the French and Indian War Speakers of the Connecticut House of Representatives Burials at Windham Cemetery Signers of the Continental Association {{Connecticut-state-judge-stub