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

File:Julia Dorr.jpg

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.[https://books.google.com/books?id=3wjt3eoLPF4C&dq=%22seneca+m.+dorr%22&pg=PA585 Hiram Carleton, Editor], Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont, 1903, pages 586 to 587

Originally a Democrat, Dorr opposed slavery and as a result joined the Free Soil movement and later became a Republican.[https://books.google.com/books?id=5ixMAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22seneca+m+dorr%22+democrat&pg=PA494 The Nation], Summary of the Week's News, December, 1884, page 494

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.[https://books.google.com/books?id=uWcpAAAAYAAJ&dq=seneca+dorr+vermont+censors&pg=PR12 Vermont Council of Censors], Journal of the Council of Censors of the State of Vermont, 1862, page iiiDaily Kennebec Journal, Vermont's Loss: One of the State's Most Distinguished Men Dead, December 5, 1884 From 1865 to 1866, Dorr served in the Vermont Senate, and was the Senate's President pro tempore.[http://www.leg.state.vt.us/HouseClerk/History%20of%20Elected%20Officials%20Site/Vermont%20Senate%20Presidents%20Pro%20Tempore.htm Clerk, Vermont House of Representatives], List of Vermont Senate Presidents Pro Tempore, 2011 From 1876 to 1877, Dorr served as Rutland County Assistant Judge.[https://books.google.com/books?id=Rt4GAQAAIAAJ&dq=seneca+dorr+rutland+county+judge&pg=PA189 Claremont Manufacturing Company], Vermont Year Book, Formerly Walton's Register, 1877, page 189

Dorr died in Rutland on December 3, 1884.[https://books.google.com/books?id=T1I0AAAAMAAJ&dq=%22seneca+m.+dorr%22&pg=PA75 Marcus Davis Gilman], The Bibliography of Vermont, 1897, page 75 He was buried in Rutland's Evergreen Cemetery.[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/29149059 Find A Grave], Seneca Milo Dorr, accessed April 20, 2012

Family

Seneca Dorr married Julia Caroline Ripley on February 22, 1847. Seneca and Julia Dorr were the parents of Russell, William, Zulma, Joseph (who died in infancy) and Henry.[https://books.google.com/books?id=3wjt3eoLPF4C&dq=%22seneca+m.+dorr%22&pg=PA585 Hiram Carleton, Editor], Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont, 1903, pages 586 to 587

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.St. Albans Daily Messenger, {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060622153132/http://vermontcivilwar.org/museum/moh/bios.php?input=4996 W.Y.W. Riley Dead]}}, December 21, 1905, reprinted at Vermont in the Civil War