Robert Dollard

Robert Dollard (March 14, 1842 - April 28, 1912) was an American attorney and politician. A native of Massachusetts, he was a Union Army veteran of the American Civil War and attained the rank of major. After the war, he moved to Illinois, where he studied law and was admitted to the bar. He later moved to South Dakota and served as its first attorney general.

Early life

Dollard was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, on March 14, 1842,Template:Sfn the son of Thomas Dollard and Mary (Collyer) Dollard.Template:Sfn His mother died when he was two years old, and his father soon remarried.Template:Sfn Dollard was raised by his father and stepmother Ann, and according to an 1855 state census, his siblings included an older sister named Mary and a younger half-sister named Elisabeth.Template:Sfn Dollard was educated through the high school grades in the public schools of Fall River and StoughtonTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn and by the time of the 1860 federal census, Mary and Robert Dollard were living in Easton, Massachusetts, where Mary worked in a thread factory and Robert was employed as a moulder.Template:Sfn

American Civil War

On April 16, 1861, Dollard enlisted as a private in Company B, 4th Massachusetts Volunteer Militia.Template:Sfn During the regiment's three months of Union Army service at the start of the American Civil War, it performed garrison duty at Fort Monroe and took part in the Battle of Big Bethel. The 4th Massachusetts Volunteers were mustered out in late July, and in September Dollard returned to service when he enlisted in Company E, 23rd Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn He attained the rank of sergeant before receiving his commission as a second lieutenant, and he later received promotion to first lieutenant.Template:Sfn The 23rd Massachusetts was part of Burnside's North Carolina Expedition, and engagements in which Dollard took part included the battles of Roanoke Island, New Bern, and Fort Macon.Template:Sfn

Following the North Carolina expedition, the 23rd Massachusetts was part of a Union force sent to South Carolina, where it performed occupation duty before returning to North Carolina to perform occupation duty there.Template:Sfn In the summer of 1863, the 23rd Massachusetts left North Carolina and bivouacked at Fort Monroe, Virginia.Template:Sfn

Dollard left the 23rd Massachusetts in December 1863 for promotion to captain in the 2nd United States Colored Cavalry Regiment.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Battles in which Dollard was a participant included the Siege of Suffolk and Second Battle of Suffolk,Template:Sfn and the Siege of Petersburg.Template:Sfn

In September 1864, Dollard received a head wound during the Battle of Chaffin's Farm, and his heroism and coolness under fire while directing troops to maintain their lines resulted in his promotion to major.Template:Sfn After the war ended, Dollard's regiment performed occupation duty in Texas, and he was mustered out at Brazos Island on February 12, 1866.Template:Sfn After the war, Dollard was an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and other veterans groups.Template:Sfn He took part in numerous reunions and other public events to commemorate the war, and published several newspaper articles and other writings about his experiences.Template:Sfn

Post-Civil War

After the war, Dollard decided to move to Chicago and go into business with a friend and former officer who had served with him during the war.Template:Sfn They moved from Chicago to Galesburg, but soon had a falling out.Template:Sfn Dollard traveled to San Antonio, Texas and New Orleans, Louisiana in search of other opportunities, but returned to Galesburg several months later to begin studying law with a local attorney.Template:Sfn He was admitted to the bar in 1870 and practiced throughout Knox, Peoria, and Fulton Counties.Template:Sfn In 1876 he was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for State's Attorney of Knox County.Template:Sfn

Move to Dakota Territory

In 1878, Dollard traded parcels with another landowner and later that year he visited the one he had acquired in the Dakota Territory.Template:Sfn Deciding to relocate to Dakota in 1879, Dollard filed for five claims under the Homestead Acts in what is now Douglas County, South Dakota, where he began to farm.Template:Sfn According to the records of the U.S. Land Office, Dollard was the first permanent settler in the county.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn While farming most of the year, Dollard resided in Scotland, South Dakota during the winter and practiced law, including travel to the territorial capital of Yankton for trials.Template:Sfn

Continued career

In 1881, Dollard gave up farming and settled in Scotland, where he developed a law practice that covered Bon Homme, Hutchinson, and several adjoining counties.Template:Sfn By now a Republican, Dollard was elected to several local offices and participated in the statehood conventions of 1883Template:Sfn and 1885.Template:Sfn In 1883, he received appointment as U.S. Commissioner for the Second Judicial District.Template:Sfn In 1884, he was elected State's Attorney of Bon Homme CountyTemplate:Sfn and he was chosen to serve as attorney general of South Dakota's interim state government in 1885.Template:Sfn In 1888, Dollard was elected to the Territorial Council, the upper house of the legislature, and he served until South Dakota attained statehood in November 1889.Template:Sfn

In 1889, he was elected as the first state attorney general and he was reelected in 1890.Template:Sfn In 1892, Dollard was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for governor.Template:Sfn Later that year he was elected to a term in South Dakota Senate and in 1896 he won a term in the South Dakota House of Representatives.Template:Sfn In 1898, Dollard was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress at the state Republican convention;Template:Sfn the nominations were won by Charles H. Burke and Robert J. Gamble, who went on to win the general election.Template:Sfn During the Spanish–American War, Dollard undertook recruiting efforts in South Dakota, and succeeded in raising 1,200 volunteers for the army.Template:Sfn

Later life

In 1905, Dollard left South Dakota and settled in Santa Monica, California, where he lived in retirement.Template:Sfn His wife and he traveled extensively throughout the western United States as tourists.Template:Sfn In 1909, he entered the race for mayor of Santa Monica, but he withdrew his candidacy before election day.Template:Sfn

Death

He died in Santa Monica on April 28, 1912.Template:Sfn He was buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Scotland, South Dakota.Template:Sfn

Family

In 1875, Dollard married Carrie E. Dunn of Yates City, Illinois.Template:Sfn She was a school teacher and librarian, activist for women's suffrage, and participant in other civic causes; in addition to serving as the first teacher in Scotland's public school, she organized and managed the town's library for many years.Template:Sfn They were the parents of a son, Archie, who they adopted when he was an infant, and who died at the age of nine.Template:Sfn A daughter, Maud, was born and died in 1889.Template:Sfn

External links

• Template:PAGENAMEBASE at Find a GraveTemplate:EditAtWikidata