Seneca M. Dorr

Seneca M. Dorr (August 14, 1820 – December 3, 1884) was a Vermont lawyer, judge and politician who served as President of the Vermont Senate. He was the husband of author Julia C. R. Dorr.

Biography

Julia C. R. Dorr, wife of Seneca M. Dorr.

Seneca Milo Dorr was born in Chatham Center, New York on August 14, 1820. An acquaintance of Martin Van Buren, he studied law, passed the bar, and practiced in Ghent. In 1857, he moved to Rutland, Vermont, where he practiced law and became active in the marble business. Dorr also became involved in banking and stockbrokerage.[1]

Originally a Democrat, Dorr opposed slavery and as a result joined the Free Soil movement and later became a Republican.[2]

In 1863 Dorr served on the Vermont Council of Censors, and he was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1863 to 1865.[3][4] From 1865 to 1866, Dorr served in the Vermont Senate, and was the Senate's President pro tempore.[5] From 1876 to 1877, Dorr served as Rutland County Assistant Judge.[6]

Dorr died in Rutland on December 3, 1884.[7] He was buried in Rutland's Evergreen Cemetery.[8]

Family

Seneca Dorr married Julia Caroline Ripley on February 22, 1847. Seneca and Julia Dorr were the parents of Russell, William, Zulma and Henry.[9]

Julia Dorr's half-brothers and Seneca Dorr's brothers-in-law were Edward H. Ripley and William Y. W. Ripley, both prominent officers in the American Civil War.[10]

References

1. Hiram Carleton, Editor, Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont, 1903, pages 586 to 587
2. The Nation, Summary of the Week's News, December, 1884, page 494
3. Vermont Council of Censors, Journal of the Council of Censors of the State of Vermont, 1862, page iii
4. Daily Kennebec Journal, Vermont's Loss: One of the State's Most Distinguished Men Dead, December 5, 1884
5. Clerk, Vermont House of Representatives, List of Vermont Senate Presidents Pro Tempore, 2011
6. Claremont Manufacturing Company, Vermont Year Book, Formerly Walton's Register, 1877, page 189
7. Marcus Davis Gilman, The Bibliography of Vermont, 1897, page 75
8. Find A Grave, Seneca Milo Dorr, accessed April 20, 2012
9. Hiram Carleton, Editor, Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont, 1903, pages 586 to 587
10. St. Albans Daily Messenger, W.Y.W. Riley Dead, December 21, 1905, reprinted at Vermont in the Civil War