David Adam Secombe (May 25, 1827 – March 25, 1892) was a lawyer and Republican politician in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. He served as mayor of St. Anthony, as a delegate at the state's constitutional convention and in the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the U.S. state of Minnesota's Minnesota Legislature, legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper chamber, to write and pass legislation, whic ...

Life and career

Secombe was born in

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

in 1827. He attended local schools and entered

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 1847, but left before graduating to study law under Daniel Clark. In 1851, he relocated to Minnesota and settled in St. Anthony; he 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 ...

the next year. He briefly worked in partnership with

John W. North John Wesley North (January 4, 1815 – February 22, 1890) was an American Abolitionism, abolitionist, lawyer, and politician. A founder of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party of Minnesota, North also served in Minnesota's const ...

but later left to pursue an independent practice. Secombe remained an active lawyer in

Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,281,565, and was estimated to be 1,273,334 in 2024, making it the List of counties in ...

for the next four decades. He was briefly active in Republican politics. In 1856 he was elected as an alderman in St. Anthony. When Alvaren Allen resigned as mayor, Secombe served out the remainder of his term. He attended Minnesota's Republican Constitutional Convention in 1858 and served one term in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1859 to 1861. After serving briefly as Hennepin County Attorney from 1871 to 1872, he withdrew from politics to focus on his law practice. Secombe died in Minneapolis in 1892.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Secombe, David A. 1827 births 1892 deaths Burials at Lakewood Cemetery Minnesota lawyers People from Milford, New Hampshire Minnesota city council members Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the Minnesota Legislature