Dwight Loomis

Dwight Loomis
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut's 1st district
In office 1859–1863
Preceded by	Ezra Clark, Jr.
Succeeded by	Henry C. Deming
Member of the Connecticut Senate
In office 1857–1859
Member of the Connecticut House of Representatives
In office 1851
Personal details
Born	(1821-07-27)July 27, 1821 Columbia, Connecticut
Died	September 17, 1903(1903-09-17) (aged 82)
Political party	Republican

Dwight Loomis (July 27, 1821 – September 17, 1903) was an American judge and politician from Connecticut who served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Connecticut's 1st congressional district from 1859 to 1863. He served as a judge of the Superior Court of Connecticut from 1864 to 1875 and as a justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court from 1875 to 1891.

Early life and education

He was born in Columbia, Connecticut, where he attended the common schools. He also attended the academies in Monson, Massachusetts, and Amherst, Massachusetts. In 1844, he began the study of law under John H. Brockway in Ellington, Connecticut. He entered school in the law department of Yale University and graduated in 1847. He was admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice at Rockville, Connecticut.

Career

Loomis served as a Whig member of the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1851. He switched to the Republican party after the dissolution of the Whig party and served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1856. In addition, he was a member of the Connecticut Senate from 1857 to 1859.

He was elected as a Republican to the Thirty-sixth and Thirty-seventh Congresses (March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1863). While in Congress, he served as chairman, Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Treasury (Thirty-sixth Congress). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1862.

After Congress, he served as judge of the Superior Court of Connecticut from 1864 to 1875 and a justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court from 1875 to 1891. He moved to Hartford, Connecticut, in 1892 and the general assembly elected him as State Referee in important cases. He taught classes at Yale University and the school conferred an LL.D. degree in 1896.

He died on September 17, 1903, in a train accident near Waterbury, Connecticut, and was interred in Grove Hill Cemetery in Rockville, Connecticut.

Dwight Loomis gravestone

References

• United States Congress. "Dwight Loomis (id: L000438)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Loomis, Dwight and J. Gilbert Calhoun, eds. The judicial and civil history of Connecticut. Boston: The Boston History Company, 1895.