Robert Denniston was an American lawyer and politician.

Life

He was the son of James Denniston (ca. 1770-1825) and Prudence Morrison Denniston. On September 24, 1823, he married Julianna Howell (d. 1825). Afterwards he married Mary Scott, and they had five sons and six daughters.

He served as an officer of the New York State Militia and as a Justice of the Peace

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

 in Blooming Grove. He was appointed by Governor William L. Marcy

William L. Marcy

William Learned Marcy was an American statesman, who served as U.S. Senator and the 11th Governor of New York, and as the U.S. Secretary of War and U.S. Secretary of State.-Early life:...

 a judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Orange County

He was a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly

New York State Assembly

The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...

 in 1835, 1839 and 1840. He was a member of the New York State Senate

New York State Senate

The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...

 from 1841 to 1847. In the Senate, he was Chairman of the Committee on Canals.

As a Republican, he ran for New York State Comptroller

New York State Comptroller

The New York State Comptroller is a state cabinet officer of the U.S. state of New York. The duties of the comptroller include auditing government operations and operating the state's retirement system.-History:...

 in 1857

New York state election, 1857

The 1857 New York state election was held on November 3, 1857, to elect the Secretary of State, the State Comptroller, the Attorney General, the State Treasurer, the State Engineer, a Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, a Canal Commissioner and an Inspector of State Prisons, as well as all...

 but was defeated by Democrat Sanford E. Church

Sanford E. Church

Sanford Elias Church was an American lawyer and Democratic politician...

. He ran again in 1859

New York state election, 1859

The 1859 New York state election was held on November 8, 1859, to elect the Secretary of State, the State Comptroller, the Attorney General, the State Treasurer, the State Engineer, a Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, a Canal Commissioner, an Inspector of State Prisons and the Clerk of the...

 and was elected, being in office from 1860 to 1861.

Sources

• http://home.netcom.com/~cburrow/denniston_ruttenber.htm Bio from History of The Town of New Windsor, Orange County, N.Y. by Edward M. Ruttenber (Newburgh NY, 1911, printed for The Historical Society of Newburgh Bay and the Highlands), at netcom
• http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9B03E0D7163BE63BBC4053DFB467838C679FDE Obit from Albany Evening Journal, in NYT on December 8, 1867
• http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/denniston-denson.html Political Graveyard
• http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/dennison.html Political Graveyard (doubled entry, giving surname as Dennison)
• Google Book The New York Civil List compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 140, 269f; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)