Judah Dana

Judah Dana (April 25, 1772 – December 27, 1845) was an American lawyer, judge and politician. He served as a United States Senator from Maine and as Judge of the Maine Court of Common Pleas during the early 1800s.

Born in Pomfret, Vermont, Dana was the son of John Winchester and Hannah (Putnam) Dana. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1795 and then studied law. In 1798, he was admitted to the bar and began the practice of law in Fryeburg, Maine, which was then a part of Massachusetts.

Dana served as the district attorney for Oxford County, Maine from 1805-1811, and as judge of probate for Oxford County from 1811-1822. From 1811-1823, he was judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He was also a judge of the circuit court.

In 1819, Dana was a delegate to the convention that framed the state constitution of Maine, and was a trustee for Bowdoin College from 1820-1843. He was a bank commissioner from 1836-1837. In 1833, he was elected a member of the Governor's Council for Governor Samuel E. Smith., serving in 1834.

An adherent of the Jacksonian Democratic Party, Dana was appointed United States Senator upon the resignation of Ether Shepley when Shepley became Judge of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Dana served as Senator from December 21, 1836 to March 3, 1837, when a successor was elected and qualified.

He married Elizabeth Ripley in 1800 and they had eight children: Caroline Elizabeth Dana, Maria Annette Dana, John Winchester Dana, Francis Putnaman Dana, Abigail Ripley Dana, Catherine Putnam Dana, Emily Wheelock Dana, and Sarah Malleville Dana. Their son John became Governor of Maine. After Elizabeth's death in 1819, Dana married Mehitable Mcmillan.

Dana was the grandson (on his mother's side) of the American Revolutionary War General Israel Putnam.

Dana died in Fryeburg, Oxford County, Maine, on December 27, 1845 (age 73 years, 246 days). He is interred at Village Cemetery in Fryeburg, Maine.