Lyman Decatur Norris
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Lyman Decatur Norris (May 4, 1823 to January 6, 1894) was a lawyer, member of the Michigan Constitutional Convention of 1867, and a State Senator from Washtenaw County, Michigan from 1869 to 1871. He was involved in Dred Scott Case when it was argued in St. Louis Circuit Court.
Early life
[edit]He was born in Covington, New York to Mark Norris (1796–1862), a businessman, mason, and an anti-slavery Whig, and Roccena B. Vaill (1797–1876).[1] In 1828 Mark Norris relocated his family to Ypsilanti, Michigan. In 1841 Lyman Norris enrolled at the University of Michigan. He transferred to Yale University after three years and received a law degree. Norris read law with Alexander D. Fraser in Detroit and was admitted to the Bar in Michigan in 1847.[2][3]
Career
[edit]In 1848–1853, Lyman Norris practiced law in St. Louis, Missouri, where he became engaged in politics as Democrat. He co-owned and served as political editor of the St. Louis Daily Times.[3]
In 1849, Norris and Hugh A. Garland represented pro-slavery client in the Missouri's Dred Scott Case, Scott v. Emerson, 15 Mo. 576 (1852).[4][5][6] They were successful in arguing that Dred Scott's free-soil residence did not entitle him to sue for freedom. Oddly, Lyman Norris offered Dred Scott a loan to purchase freedom.[3]
In 1854, Norris returned to Ypsilanti, Michigan. In 1867 Norris attended the Michigan Constitutional Convention. In 1871 he moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan. He ran as a candidate for the Michigan Supreme Court in 1875. He was appointed a Regent of the University of Michigan in 1883.[7] He died at Grand Rapids on January 6, 1894.
Family
[edit]In 1854 Lyman Norris married Lucy Alsop Whittelsey from Middletown, Connecticut. Mark Norris (1857–1943) and Maria W. Norris (1858–1938) were their surviving children; Mark Norris became a lawyer and Maria Norris became a physician.
References
[edit]- ^ Grand Rapids and Kent County Michigan: Historical Account of Their Progress from First Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. 2. Edited by Ernest B. Fisher. Chicago, 1918, p. 279
- ^ Norris Family Papers: 1815-1960, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan
- ^ a b c Janice Anschueltz. A Tale of Two River Street Men: Justus and Lyman Decatur Norris, Ypsilanti History, 13 (Spring 2015).
- ^ Walter Ehrlich. They Have No Rights: Dred Scott's Struggle for Freedom. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1979
- ^ Missouri's Dred Scott Case, 1846-1857, Missouri State Archives
- ^ Scott v. Emerson, 15 Mo. 576 (1852)
- ^ History of the University of Michigan, by Burke Aaron Hinsdale and Isaac Newton Demmon. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 1906, pp.200-201.