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

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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 university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

in 1860. Then he studied law at

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, was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in

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. From 1866 to 1869, he was an Assistant

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and removed to

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

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

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

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

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on him. In November 1887, he ran for the

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(1st D.) but was defeated. Afterwards he resumed his private practice. One of his last cases was the defense of the owners of the

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

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

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

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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