Representative Dudley Marvin

Dudley Marvin (May 9, 1786 – June 25, 1852) was an American attorney, inventor, militia officer, and politician from New York who served four terms in the United States House of Representatives between 1823 and 1829 and again from 1847 to 1849. He was born in Lyme, Connecticut, on May 9, 1786, a son of Elisa Marvin and Elizabeth (Selden) Marvin. He was educated locally in Lyme and later attended Colchester Academy in Colchester, Connecticut, receiving a classical education that prepared him for the study of law.

In 1807 Marvin moved to Canandaigua, New York, then an important legal and commercial center in western New York. He studied law in the office of Nathaniel W. Howell & Greig, and after several years of preparation he was admitted to the bar in 1811. He initially commenced practice in Erie, Pennsylvania, but returned later that year to Canandaigua, where he continued to practice law. In Canandaigua he formed a partnership with Mark H. Sibley, who had studied law in Marvin’s office and who, like Marvin, would later enter public life. In 1818 Marvin married Mary Jepson Whalley; they were the parents of one son, Selden Marvin, who became an attorney and politician and later served as judge of Chautauqua County, New York, and as mayor of Erie, Pennsylvania.

Marvin’s legal career was accompanied by military service during and after the War of 1812. He joined the New York Militia in 1812 as a first lieutenant in the 11th Regiment from Ontario County and served with his unit in the vicinity of Rochester, New York, when it was called up in anticipation of a British attack from Canada. Remaining in the militia after the war, he advanced steadily through the ranks: he became regimental quartermaster with the rank of captain in 1818, regimental adjutant in 1819, a major in 1820, and in 1821 he was promoted to colonel and assumed command of the regiment. He was subsequently promoted to brigadier general as commander of the 24th Brigade, and in 1830 he attained the rank of major general as commander of the 22nd Division of the New York Militia.

Marvin entered national politics as a supporter of the emerging Adams-Clay faction. In 1822 he was elected to the United States House of Representatives as an Adams-Clay Republican and was reelected in 1824 and 1826 as an Adams Republican. He served in the 18th, 19th, and 20th Congresses from March 4, 1823, to March 3, 1829. During his first period in Congress he became friendly with Henry Clay and supported Clay’s American System, including the use of protective tariffs to foster domestic industry. He was also a supporter of John Quincy Adams for president in the contested election of 1824 and again in 1828, aligning himself with the National Republican elements opposed to Andrew Jackson. At the conclusion of his third consecutive term, Marvin declined further immediate service and returned to private life.

After leaving Congress in 1829, Marvin resumed the practice of law in Canandaigua and also turned his attention to mechanical innovation. He invented several farm machines and implements, securing patents for his designs. Among the devices for which he obtained patents were a furnace for heating the iron hoops used in constructing wagon wheels and an inclined plane excavator designed for excavating and removing soil, reflecting his interest in practical improvements in agriculture and transportation. During this period he lived for a time in Maryland and Virginia before returning to New York. In 1836 he moved to New York City, and in 1837 he relocated to Brooklyn. He became active in the American Institute of the City of New York, an organization that promoted industry, agriculture, and the mechanical arts, and he also participated in the activities of the Chautauqua County Agricultural Society, underscoring his engagement with agricultural and industrial advancement.

In 1843 Marvin moved to Ripley, in Chautauqua County, New York, intending to retire from active practice. His reputation and long experience in the courts of western New York, however, led clients and fellow attorneys to continue to seek his services as counsel and co-counsel, and he maintained a substantial legal practice. In 1844 he supported Henry Clay as the Whig nominee for president, continuing his long-standing political affinity with Clay’s principles. In 1846 he was nominated as a delegate to the New York State constitutional convention, but when it was determined that Chautauqua County was entitled to only two delegates, he withdrew his candidacy so that George W. Patterson and Richard P. Marvin could serve.

Later in 1846 Marvin returned to national office when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Whig. He served in the 30th Congress from March 4, 1847, to March 3, 1849. During this term he participated in the debates arising from the Mexican–American War and the status of slavery in newly acquired territories. In a notable speech, he argued that the federal government possessed the constitutional authority to prohibit slavery in territory acquired as a result of the war, placing him among those northern Whigs who favored restricting the expansion of slavery. At the close of his term in 1849 he did not seek reelection and again returned to his legal practice in Ripley.

In his later years Marvin remained active in professional, civic, and religious affairs. He continued to practice law in Ripley and was involved in the life of the local Presbyterian church. He was an advocate of the temperance movement, reflecting the moral and social reform currents of his time. Alongside his legal and political work, he sustained his interest in invention and agricultural improvement through his association with the American Institute of the City of New York and the Chautauqua County Agricultural Society. Dudley Marvin died in Ripley, New York, on June 25, 1852. He was interred in East Ripley Cemetery in Ripley.