Littleton Dennis Jr. (1765–1833) ''Maryland Historic Magazine'' (Summer 1926). was a justice of the

Maryland Court of Appeals The Supreme Court of Maryland is the highest court of the U.S. state of Maryland. Its name was changed on December 14, 2022, from the Maryland Court of Appeals, after a voter-approved change to the state constitution. The court, which is composed ...

from 1801 to 1806. Born in

Worcester County, Maryland Worcester County is the easternmost county of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 52,460. Its county seat is Snow Hill. It is the only county of Maryland that borders the Atlantic Ocean, and the only c ...

, to Littleton Dennis and Susan (Upshur) Dennis, Dennis inherited Essex Farm in Rehobeth,

Somerset County, Maryland Somerset County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,620, making it the second-least populous county in Maryland. The county seat is Princess Anne. The county was named for Mary ...

, from his father in 1884, and over the next fourteen years had a large frame dwelling constructed there. Dennis was appointed to the state court of appeals, then the highest court in the state, on October 22, 1801, after William Cooke of Baltimore County declined the appointment. Dennis was appointed from Somerset County, along with Richard Potts of Frederick County. While other judges were appointed around the same time, only Dennis and Potts took oaths of office, on November 3, 1801. In 1806, the state courts were restructured so that district court judges would also constitute the court of appeals.Thomas Waters Griffith, ''Sketches of the Early History of Maryland'' (1821), p. 180. Dennis married a cousin, Elizabeth Upsher, with whom he had several children, and died at Essex Farm around the age of 68. The house was later listed on the National Register of Historic Places under the name Caldicott (the original name of the tract of land).

References

1765 births 1833 deaths People from Maryland Judges of the Supreme Court of Maryland {{Maryland-state-judge-stub