William Earle DODGE, Congress, NY (1805-1883)

DODGE, William Earle, a Representative from New York; born in Hartford, Conn., September 4, 1805; completed preparatory studies; moved to New York City in 1818; became a clerk; in 1826 established the house of Phelps, Dodge & Co., of which he was the head for forty years; delegate to the peace convention of 1861 held in Washington, D.C., in an effort to devise means to prevent the impending war; successfully contested as a Republican the election of James Brooks to the Thirty-ninth Congress and served from April 7, 1866, to March 3, 1867; declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1866; resumed business interests; died in New York City February 9, 1883; interment in Woodlawn Cemetery.

Bibliography

Lowitt, Richard. A Merchant Prince of the Nineteenth Century: William E. Dodge. New York: Columbia University Press, 1954.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present