Samuel Erskine Dimmick (December 24, 1822 – October 11, 1875) was a Pennsylvania lawyer, active in Republican politics. He served as state Attorney General, and died in office.
Biography and career
Dimmick was the son of
Alpheus Dimmick, a New York lawyer, judge, and state legislator, and Maria Carr. He studied law (1844–1846) with his cousin
William Harrison Dimmick. In 1846, Dimmick entered the bar and became partners with his cousin, until the latter's death in 1861. In 1856, the two Dimmicks ran for the same U. S. House seat, Samuel lost.
In addition to his regular practice, Dimmick was attorney for the
Delaware and Hudson Canal
The Delaware and Hudson Canal was the first venture of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, which would later build the Delaware and Hudson Railway. Between 1828 and 1899, the canal's barges carried anthracite coal from the mines of northeast ...
Company, county commissioners, and the
Honesdale Bank.
Dimmick was a state delegate to the national Republican conventions of 1860, 1864, and 1868. In 1872, Dimmick was an unaffiliated delegate at large to the state Constitutional Convention. In January 1873 he resigned upon being appointed state Attorney General. Despite falling ill, he continued to work until his death.
Notable relatives
Alpheus was the son of Deacon Oliver Dimmick and Sarah Gurley. Several of Alpheus' brothers were also lawyers, including Dan, two of whose sons,
Milo Melankthon and
William Harrison, served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Oliver's mother was Ann Bradford, daughter of Joseph, son of William, son of
William Bradford, of the ''Mayflower''. The direct Dimmock line in the Americas dates to as early as 1635, and claims descent from the British
Dymoke
The Dymoke family of the Manor of Scrivelsby in the parish of Horncastle in Lincolnshire holds the feudal hereditary office of King's Champion. The functions of the Champion are to ride into Westminster Hall at the (now defunct) coronation ...
family of hereditary
King's Champions.
After his death, first son Walter Erskine would marry
Mary Scott Lord, daughter of the chief engineer of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, but die of typhoid three months later.
[ Note: name given is Walker, not Walter.] Mary would later become former President
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a ...
's second wife. His second son
Joseph Benjamin would eventually be mayor of
Scranton
Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...
.
References
External links
Stele/Tombstone
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dimmick, Samuel Erskine
1822 births
1875 deaths
Pennsylvania attorneys general
Pennsylvania lawyers
Pennsylvania Republicans
19th-century American politicians
19th-century American lawyers