Tilton Edwin Doolittle (July 31, 1825 – March 21, 1896) was an American attorney who served as the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut under President Buchanan. He also served as the speaker of the house of the Connecticut House of Representatives.

Biography

Tilton Edwin Doolittle was born on July 31, 1825, to Elizabeth A. Benham and Ambrose E. Doolittle a farmer, in

Riverton, Connecticut Riverton is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Barkhamsted, Connecticut, Barkhamsted, Litchfield County, Connecticut, Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is in the northwes ...

. His mother was on a short visit at the time, and he was brought home to

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

soon after where he would grow up. He attended the

Protestant Episcopal Academy The Episcopal Academy, founded in 1785, is a private, co-educational school for grades Pre-K through 12 based in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. Prior to 2008, the main campus was located in Merion Station and the satellite campus was located in ...

, in 1840 he entered

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

(at that point known as Washington College) graduating A. B. 1844; afterwards rec'd A. M. degree. He studied at

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

graduating 1846 the same year he was admitted to the

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all before he was 21. He practiced law from 1846 until 1850 in Cheshire, from 1850 to 1858 in Meriden, and thereafter in

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

, where he resided until his death on March 21, 1896. In 1860 Mr. Doolittle was appointed

United States District Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the United States Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 United States federal judicial district, U.S. federal judici ...

for the

District of Connecticut The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (in case citations, D. Conn.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Connecticut. The court has offices in Bridgeport, Hartford, and New Haven. Appeals ...

by President Buchanan, but relinquished the office the following year. In 1866, 1867 and 1870 his fellow citizens, appreciating his quality, elected him a representative from New Haven in the

State Legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...

. On being again elected in 1874. he was chosen Speaker of the House. In 1861 Doolittle formed a partnership with Judge Samuel L. Bronson, which lasted until 1870. The next 4 years he practiced law alone only to be followed in 1874 by an association with Judge Henry Stoddard. In 1876 Mr. William L. Bennett was added to the firm. Mr. Doolittle was appointed by Richard D. Hubbard States Attorney for New Haven, Connecticut 1879, succeeding O. H. Piatt. He resigned January 1, 1896. He would hold this position until his death in 1896.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doolittle, Tilton E. 1825 births 1896 deaths 19th-century American lawyers Connecticut lawyers Members of the Connecticut House of Representatives People from Cheshire, Connecticut People from Litchfield County, Connecticut Trinity College (Connecticut) alumni United States attorneys for the District of Connecticut Yale Law School alumni 19th-century members of the Connecticut General Assembly