Samuel King Dennis Jr. (September 28, 1874 – January 11, 1953) was an American politician, judge and lawyer from Maryland. He served as a member of the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

, representing Worcester County, from 1904 to 1906.

Early life and education

Samuel King Dennis Jr. was born on September 28, 1874, at Beverly in

Pocomoke City, Maryland Pocomoke City, dubbed "the friendliest town on the Eastern Shore", is a city in Worcester County, Maryland, United States. Although renamed in a burst of civic enthusiasm in 1878, the city is regularly referred to by its inhabitants simply as P ...

, to Sally Handy (née Crisfield) and

Samuel K. Dennis Samuel King Dennis (died May 12, 1892) was an American politician from Maryland. He served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, representing Worcester County, Maryland, Worcester County, from 1870 to 1872 and 1878 to 1880. He served ...

. His uncle was

Henry Page Henry Page (June 28, 1841 – January 7, 1913) was an American politician. Biography Page was born in Princess Anne, Maryland, and received preparatory instruction at the school of Anthony Bolivar in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He attended t ...

and his half-uncles were

George R. Dennis George Robertson Dennis (April 8, 1822 – August 13, 1882), a Democrat, was a United States Senator from Maryland, serving from 1873 to 1879. He also served in the Maryland State Senate and the Maryland House of Delegates. Early life Dennis ...

and James U. Dennis. He attended local public schools and Blairstown Academy in

Blairstown, New Jersey Blairstown is a township in Warren County, New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Blairstown's population was 5,704. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 5,967 Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, but did not attend due to his father's illness. He returned to the family farm and he later studied stenography. He graduated from the

University of Maryland School of Law The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law (formerly University of Maryland School of Law) is the law school of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and is located in Baltimore City, Maryland, U.S. Its location places Maryland ...

in 1903. 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 ...

on June 30, 1904, and started practicing law in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. Later in life, Dennis received a

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

degree from Loyola College.

Career

Dennis served as private secretary to congressman

John Walter Smith John Walter Smith (February 5, 1845April 19, 1925), was an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party in the United States, held several public offices representing the state of Maryland. From 1899 to 1900, he was a U.S. congres ...

from 1900 to 1904. He would remain friends with Smith until Smith's death in 1925. He was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the

, representing Worcester County, in 1904. Dennis practiced law in partnership with his cousin John Upshur Dennis. In 1915, he was appointed by President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

as U.S. Attorney for Maryland. He served from 1915 to 1920. He was appointed chief judge of the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City in August 1928 by Governor

Albert Ritchie Albert Cabell Ritchie (August 29, 1876 – February 24, 1936) was an American lawyer and politician. A Democrat, he was the 49th governor of Maryland from 1920 to 1935. Ritchie was a conservative who campaigned for, but did not win, the preside ...

, succeeding James P. Gorter. He retired from the bench on September 28, 1944, after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70 and returned to private practice. Dennis was secretary of the Maryland commission to the

Louisiana Purchase Exposition The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an World's fair, international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds tota ...

in 1904 and secretary of the Baltimore Jubilee Commission in 1905. He helped found the Maryland Tuberculosis Sanitarium in

Sabillasville, Maryland Sabillasville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 354. The Victor Cullen School Power House was listed on the National Register o ...

. He served as secretary, treasurer and president of the organization for 23 years. Dennis served as president of the Maryland State Bar Association from 1933 to 1934. He served as the chairman of the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

, Baltimore chapter, from 1942 to 1945. He also served as vice president of the Maryland Historical Society and director of the Fidelity Trust Company, Eutaw Savings Bank and Fidelity and Deposit Company. He was a Presbyterian and served as trustee of the First Presbyterian Church of Baltimore.

Personal life

Dennis married Helen Gordon Moore in 1911. They had no children. His friends would call him Sam Dennis. Dennis died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

on January 11, 1953, at his home at 100-B Ridgewood Road in

Roland Park, Baltimore Roland Park is a community located in Baltimore, Maryland. It was developed between 1890 and 1920 as an upper-class streetcar suburb. The early phases of the neighborhood were designed by Edward Bouton and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. History J ...

. He was buried at

Druid Ridge Cemetery Druid Ridge Cemetery is located in Pikesville, Maryland, just outside the city of Baltimore. Among its monuments and graves are several noted sculptures by Hans Schuler and the final resting places of: *Felix Agnus, American Civil War general a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dennis, Samuel K. Jr. 1874 births 1953 deaths People from Pocomoke City, Maryland University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law alumni Loyola University Maryland alumni Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates Democratic Party Maryland state senators Maryland lawyers Presbyterians from Maryland