Dudley Chase Denison (September 13, 1819 – February 10, 1905) was a nineteenth-century politician and lawyer from

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. He served as a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

for two terms from 1875 to 1879 and was also a member of the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives a ...

(1860 to 1864) and

Vermont State Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members elected from multi-member districts. Each senator represents at least 20,300 citizens. ...

(1853 to 1854).

Early life and career

Denison was born in

Royalton, Vermont Royalton is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,750 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of Royalton, South Royalton, and North Royalton. Vermont Law School, the state's only accredited law school, ...

, son of Dr. Joseph Adam Denison and Rachel (Chase) Denison. He attended Royalton Academy and graduated third in his class from the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

in 1840. He later received a Master of Arts degree from the University of Vermont. He studied law and 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 1845. He began the practice of law in Royalton.

Political career

Denison served as a member of the Vermont State Senate in 1853 and 1854 and served as the

State's Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

for Windsor County from 1858 until 1860. He was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1860 until 1864. He was a trustee for

Norwich University Norwich University is a private university in Northfield, Vermont, United States. The university was founded in 1819 as the "American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy". It is the oldest of six senior military college, senior militar ...

from 1850 until 1887, and a trustee for the University of Vermont from 1862 to 1865. From 1864 to 1869, Denison served as the

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the District of Vermont. He also served as a director of the National Life Insurance Company.

Congress

He was elected as an Independent Republican candidate to the

44th United States Congress The 44th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1875, ...

and reelected as a Republican candidate to the

45th United States Congress The 45th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1877, ...

, serving from March 4, 1875, until March 3, 1879. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1878.

Later career and death

After serving in Congress, Denison resumed the practice of law in Royalton. He died in Royalton on February 10, 1905, and is interred in the

North Royalton North Royalton is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb of Cleveland. The population was 31,322 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Originally incorporated as a village in 1927, it achi ...

cemetery.Dudley Chase DENISON — Infoplease.com
at www.infoplease.com

Personal life

Denison married Eunice Dunbar on December 22, 1846. They had seven children. He was the nephew of

Dudley Chase Dudley Chase (December 30, 1771February 23, 1846) was a U.S. Senator from Vermont who served from 1813 to 1817 and again from 1825 to 1831. He was born in Cornish, New Hampshire. Career After graduating from Dartmouth College in 1791, he stu ...

and

Philander Chase Philander Chase (December 14, 1775 – September 20, 1852) was an Episcopal Church bishop, educator, and pioneer of the United States western frontier, especially in Ohio and Illinois. Early life and family Born in Cornish, New Hampshire, t ...

, and the cousin of

Salmon P. Chase Salmon Portland Chase (January 13, 1808May 7, 1873) was an American politician and jurist who served as the sixth chief justice of the United States from 1864 to his death in 1873. Chase served as the 23rd governor of Ohio from 1856 to 1860, r ...

References

External links

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
*

Govtrack.us: Rep. Dudley Denison

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denison, Dudley Chase 1819 births 1905 deaths Members of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont Members of the Vermont House of Representatives Vermont state senators Vermont lawyers University of Vermont alumni United States attorneys for the District of Vermont Vermont independents Vermont Republicans Independent Republican members of the United States House of Representatives State's attorneys in Vermont 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly