James Doty | |
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| 5thGovernor of the Utah Territory | |
| In office June 22, 1863 – June 13, 1865 | |
| Appointed by | Abraham Lincoln |
| Preceded by | Stephen S. Harding |
| Succeeded by | Charles Durkee |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromWisconsin's3rd district | |
| In office March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1853 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | John B. Macy |
| 2ndGovernor of the Wisconsin Territory | |
| In office September 30, 1841 – June 21, 1844 | |
| Appointed by | John Tyler |
| Preceded by | Henry Dodge |
| Succeeded by | Nathaniel P. Tallmadge |
| Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives from theWisconsin Territory's at-large district | |
| In office January 14, 1839 – March 3, 1841 | |
| Preceded by | George Wallace Jones |
| Succeeded by | Henry Dodge |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James Duane Doty (1799-11-05)November 5, 1799 Salem, New York, U.S. |
| Died | June 13, 1865(1865-06-13) (aged 65) Salt Lake City,Utah, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic (Before 1851) Independent (1851–1853) Whig (1853–1854) Republican (1854–1865) |
| Spouse | Sarah Collins |
| Children | 2 |
| Signature |  |
James Duane Doty (November 5, 1799 – June 13, 1865) was an American land speculator, politician, and pioneer. He served as the 2ndgovernor (1841–1844) of theWisconsin Territory and 5thgovernor (1863–1865) of theUtah Territory, and played a significant role in the early development of both territories. He also served two terms in theU.S. House of Representatives, representingWisconsin's 3rd congressional district from 1849 to 1853.
He was a member of theLewis Cass expedition in 1820, which made the first American surveys of the territory now comprising the state ofWisconsin, and was then appointed federal district judge over that region. Doty was the original owner of much of the land that is now downtownMadison, Wisconsin; he was largely responsible for establishing the site of the city and securing its status as thecapital city of Wisconsin.
A descendant ofMayflower immigrantEdward Doty,[1] Doty was born inSalem, New York, in 1799. He was less than three years old when his family moved toMartinsburg, New York, which was founded by his mother's brotherGeneral Walter Martin. Doty attended the Lowville Academy several miles north of Martinsburg inLowville, New York.[2]: pp.35–36
In 1818, Doty moved toDetroit, the capital ofMichigan Territory, where he became an apprentice toCharles Larned, the attorney general. On November 20, 1818, he was admitted to thebar inWayne County and Michigan Territory.[2]: p.6 He practiced law until September 29, 1819, when he was appointed clerk of court for Michigan Territory. In June 1820 he resigned the clerkship in order to serve as secretary to theLewis Cass expedition, a summer-long exploration of the part of Michigan Territory lying west ofLake Michigan as far as the headwaters of theMississippi River. Upon his return to Detroit, Doty resumed his legal practice.[2]: p.21 In the winter of 1822 Doty traveled toWashington, D.C., where on March 13, with the sponsorship ofHenry Wheaton, he was admitted to practice before theSupreme Court of the United States.[2]: p.25
In 1823, a newfederal judicial district was created for northern and western Michigan Territory, covering what is now the state of Wisconsin and theUpper Peninsula of Michigan. Doty was appointed as the federal judge for the district by PresidentJames Monroe.[2]: pp.30–31 Before taking up his new duties, on April 14, 1823, Doty married Sarah Collins atWhitesboro, New York.[2]: p.39 Because he was required to live within his district, Doty and his new wife moved from Detroit toPrairie du Chien in 1823. Doty regularly held court at Prairie du Chien,Green Bay, andMackinac.[2]: p.48 He also served as the first postmaster of Prairie du Chien from 1823 to 1824.[2]: p.54 In 1824, Doty moved to Green Bay, where he lived until 1841. Doty remained the district judge until he was replaced byDavid Irvin in 1832.[3]
Following his career as a judge, Doty served as a member of theMichigan Territorial Council from 1834 to 1835, representing the western part of the territory. In this capacity Doty argued for the creation of a new territorial government for Wisconsin, sending petitions toCongress in favor of splitting Michigan Territory into two parts, one east and one west ofLake Michigan. Doty had supported this idea as early as 1824, and argued that the growing number of residents in Wisconsin were not adequately provided for by the territorial government in Detroit, which was hundreds of miles away from any settlement in Wisconsin. Doty claimed that votes sent by residents west of Lake Michigan could not be sent to Detroit in time to be counted, and that the residents in Lower Michigan cared little about the affairs west of the lake. In 1835, his wishes were partially granted when the Governor of Michigan Territory created a separate legislature to govern the western part of the territory as Michigan prepared for statehood.
In 1835, Doty campaigned to represent western Michigan Territory as a delegate in Congress, but he lost in a three-way election toGeorge Wallace Jones. Both Doty and Jones were running asDemocrats, but Doty had little true loyalty to any political party. He was conservative in view and usually aligned himself with whichever people were most popular at any given time. After losing the election, Doty turned tolandspeculation and bought thousands of acres of land across the region, some of which he began developing into the city ofMadison, Wisconsin.
In 1836,Wisconsin Territory was officially created. Doty hoped to be the territorial governor, but PresidentAndrew Jackson appointedHenry Dodge, Doty's longtime political rival, to the post. With no public title, Doty worked to improve his land holdings in what would become the city of Madison. Doty had this land surveyed and platted, and made plans to create a city onthe isthmus between lakes Mendota and Monona. To gain recognition for the planned city, Doty lobbied the new territorial legislature to select his proposed city as the capital of Wisconsin. A temporary capital had already been established atBelmont, Wisconsin, but its distance fromMilwaukee and Green Bay coupled with the dissatisfaction of many legislators towards the facilities at Belmont made it likely that the capital would be moved. Doty used numerous tactics to ensure that Madison would be made the capital city, wooing legislators with plans for canals and railroads and offering legislators who voted to make Madison the capital choice lots in the new city. Madison was declared the permanent capital in November, 1836, and construction at the new city began in 1837.
In 1838, Doty was elected as the Wisconsin Territory's congressional delegate, defeating George W. Jones in a rematch of the 1835 election. Despite being elected as a Democrat, Doty formed personal friendships with severalWhigs in Washington, D.C., includingHenry Clay. In 1840, Whig Party candidateWilliam Henry Harrison was elected president, and he made plans to appoint Doty to the governorship of the Wisconsin Territory despite Doty's status as a Democrat. Harrison died before he could make the appointment, but vice presidentJohn Tyler fulfilled Harrison's desire after ascending to the presidency in 1841. Doty was largely unsuccessful as territorial governor; the Dodge supporters in the territorial legislature rejected most of the legislation Doty supported, and Doty failed on four separate occasions to get public support for Wisconsin statehood. Doty's term ended in 1844, and he was not reappointed by Tyler, who instead selectedNathaniel P. Tallmadge to the post. This left Doty to once again return to his private life.
In 1846, Doty returned to politics, this time as a delegate to the First Wisconsin Constitutional Convention. Doty came to the convention as an independent, but sided with the Whigs on most issues and emerged as the opposition leader at the convention, which had a clear Democratic majority. After much debate, the convention produced a constitution, but the state's residents considered the document to be too radical and voted it down in a referendum, despite public campaigns for the constitution led by Doty and other delegates. A second convention called in late 1847 produced a constitution that was accepted by the people, and this enabled Wisconsin to achieve statehood in 1848. Doty was elected to theUnited States House of Representatives shortly after Wisconsin became a state, and served from 1849 to 1853 as the representative of Wisconsin's newly created3rd congressional district and served as part of the31st and32nd Congresses. He was replaced byJohn B. Macy. After leaving Congress, Doty left public life and retired to his home on an island (now namedDoty Island) betweenNeenah andMenasha, Wisconsin.[4] His log-cabin home, relocated from the east end of the island, is located in Doty Park on the southeastern riverfront of Doty Island (on the island'sNeenah side).[5] It is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.
In 1861, Doty returned to public service whenRepublican PresidentAbraham Lincoln appointed him to the position of Superintendent of Indian Affairs forUtah Territory. Doty was successful in this position. In 1863,Stephen Selwyn Harding, Utah's territorial governor, was removed from office after public backlash from his criticism of theLDS Church and the practice ofpolygamy.[6] Lincoln appointed Doty to the governorship shortly thereafter. As governor, Doty was able to repair the relationship between the federal government and the territory'sMormons.[6] Doty also promoted the construction of schools and negotiations with local Native American tribes.
Doty died in office at age 65 on June 13, 1865, shortly after the outbreak ofUtah's Black Hawk War. He was buried at theFort Douglas Cemetery inSalt Lake City, Utah.[7] Both the community ofDotyville, Wisconsin and town ofDoty, Wisconsin were named in his honor. Doty Street in Madison is named after him.Doty Island, divided by the cities ofNeenah andMenasha; and James Island inMenasha are named after him. In addition, Doty Park in Neenah takes his name.
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| Preceded by | Delegate to theU.S. House of Representatives from theWisconsin Territory's at-large congressional district 1839–1841 | Succeeded by |
| New constituency | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromWisconsin's 3rd congressional district 1849–1853 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | Governor of the Wisconsin Territory 1841–1844 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of the Utah Territory 1863–1865 | Succeeded by |
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