Representative David Miller De Witt

David Miller De Witt (November 25, 1837 – June 23, 1912) was an American lawyer, author, and Democratic politician who served one term as a U.S. Representative from New York from 1873 to 1875. His congressional service occurred during a significant period in American history, as he participated in the legislative process and represented the interests of his New York constituents in the Forty-third Congress.

De Witt was born in Paterson, Passaic County, New Jersey, on November 25, 1837, the son of Moses Edwards DeWitt and Lydia Ann (Miller) DeWitt. His father, originally from Rosendale, Ulster County, New York, was a merchant who had moved to New Jersey around 1823 or 1824. Moses DeWitt’s first wife, Margaret Salome Goetschius (1791–1833), an Ulster County native and his third cousin, married him on October 4, 1826, in Paterson; they had two children, Charles DuBois DeWitt and Catherine DeWitt. After Margaret’s death, Moses married Lydia Ann Miller on September 8, 1835, in Clinton, Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Lydia was the daughter of David and Elizabeth (Welsh) Miller and the younger sister of Jacob W. Miller, who later served as a United States Congressman from New Jersey. David was the eldest of the children born to Moses and Lydia, with younger full siblings William Cantine DeWitt, John Henry DeWitt, Thomas DeWitt, and Elizabeth DeWitt.

De Witt’s family background was deeply rooted in New York’s political and civic life. His grandfather, John Charles DeWitt (1755–1833), served multiple terms in the New York State Assembly and was repeatedly town supervisor of Hurley, New York. His great-grandfather was Charles DeWitt, a prominent figure in colonial and Revolutionary-era New York. Through the DeWitt family line he was a distant cousin of New York Governor DeWitt Clinton and a descendant of the Huguenot settler Louis DuBois. His uncle Matthew Cantine DeWitt served as town supervisor of Marbletown, New York, in 1843, and another uncle by marriage, William Henry Romeyn—who married his aunt Mary Margaret DeWitt—was postmaster of Kingston, New York, from 1849 to 1853. Among his extended relations was his first cousin George Macculloch Miller, further reflecting the family’s broad connections in law and public affairs.

In 1845 De Witt moved with his parents from New Jersey to New York, where the family settled in Brooklyn. As a youth he attended the public schools of Brooklyn, then a select school at Saugerties, and later the local academy at Kingston, New York, reflecting an education that combined both urban and upstate influences. He pursued higher education at Rutgers College in New Brunswick, New Jersey, from which he graduated in 1858. While at Rutgers he studied law, preparing for a professional career in the legal field. In the same year he completed his college studies, he was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in Kingston, Ulster County, New York, which would remain his principal professional and political base for the rest of his life.

De Witt’s early career combined legal practice with educational and prosecutorial responsibilities. In 1861 and 1862 he served as principal of New Paltz Academy in New Paltz, New York, an institution that later became a State normal school, indicating his early engagement with public education and teacher training. He was elected district attorney of Ulster County and served in that capacity from 1863 to 1870, overseeing criminal prosecutions during and immediately after the Civil War era. After seven years in office he was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection, returning thereafter to private legal practice while remaining active in local Democratic politics.

On April 10, 1867, De Witt married Mary Antoinette MacDonald (1844–1923) in New Brunswick, New Jersey. She was the daughter of Richard MacDonald (1803–1894), who served as mayor of New Brunswick from 1863 to 1865, thus linking De Witt by marriage to another family with a tradition of municipal leadership. David and Mary De Witt had four sons: Richard De Witt (1871–1903); William Cantine De Witt (1873–1951), who later served as Ulster County Clerk from 1913 to 1916; David Miller De Witt Jr. (1876–1918); and Macdonald De Witt (1878–1967). Macdonald De Witt graduated from New York Law School in 1901, practiced law in Kingston, and became instrumental in the establishment of SUNY Ulster; the college library was later named in his honor, extending the family’s civic legacy into the twentieth century.

De Witt was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-third Congress and served from March 4, 1873, to March 3, 1875, representing New York in the U.S. House of Representatives. His single term in Congress fell in the post–Civil War Reconstruction period, a time of intense national debate over federal authority, civil rights, and the reintegration of the Southern states. As a member of the Democratic Party, he participated in the legislative process and contributed to the deliberations of the House on issues affecting both his Ulster County constituency and the broader interests of New York State. He was not a candidate for renomination at the end of his term, concluding his congressional service after one term.

After leaving Congress, De Witt resumed the practice of law and increasingly devoted himself to literary and historical pursuits. From 1878 to 1881 he served as assistant corporation counsel of Brooklyn, New York, providing legal advice and representation to the city government during a period of rapid urban growth. He returned to elective office as a member of the New York State Assembly, representing Ulster County’s 2nd District in 1883. In 1884 he served as corporation counsel of Kingston, New York, further solidifying his role as a leading municipal attorney. From November 20, 1885, to December 31, 1886, he held the office of surrogate of Ulster County, presiding over probate matters and the administration of estates. Following his term as surrogate, he again engaged in private legal practice while continuing his writing.

In his later years De Witt became known for his historical and legal writings, particularly on controversial episodes in American political and constitutional history. His works included “The Judicial Murder of Mary E. Surratt” (1895), a critical examination of the trial and execution of one of the Lincoln assassination conspirators; “The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln” (1898), which explored the broader context and legal aftermath of the president’s murder; and “The Impeachment and Trial of Andrew Johnson” (1903), a detailed study of the constitutional crisis surrounding the postwar presidency. These publications reflected his enduring interest in the intersection of law, politics, and national governance and contributed to contemporary and later understandings of these pivotal events.

David Miller De Witt died in Kingston, New York, on June 23, 1912. He was interred in Wiltwyck Rural Cemetery in Kingston, where many members of his extended family were also buried. His life and career spanned local, state, and national public service, combining legal practice, legislative work, municipal counsel, and historical scholarship, and he remained closely identified with Kingston and Ulster County throughout his long professional life.