# Lyman Decatur Norris > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lyman_Decatur_Norris > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lyman_Decatur_Norris.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyman_Decatur_Norris > Source revision: 1301487629 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American lawyer (1823–1894)}} {{Cleanup MOS|date=March 2019}} thumb|Lyman D. Norris '''Lyman Decatur Norris''' (May 4, 1823 to January 6, 1894) was a lawyer, member of the Michigan Constitutional Convention of 1867, and a State Senator from [Washtenaw County, Michigan](/source/Washtenaw_County%2C_Michigan) from 1869 to 1871. He was involved in [Dred Scott Case](/source/Dred_Scott_v._Sandford) when it was argued in St. Louis Circuit Court. ==Early life== He was born in [Covington, New York](/source/Covington%2C_New_York) to Mark Norris (1796–1862), a businessman, mason, and an anti-slavery Whig, and Roccena B. Vaill (1797–1876).[https://books.google.com/books?id=IOcBAAAAMAAJ&dq=Lucy%20Whittelsey%20Norris&pg=PA279 ''Grand Rapids and Kent County Michigan: Historical Account of Their Progress from First Settlement to the Present Time''], Vol. 2. Edited by Ernest B. Fisher. Chicago, 1918, p. 279 In 1828 Mark Norris relocated his family to [Ypsilanti, Michigan](/source/Ypsilanti%2C_Michigan). In 1841 Lyman Norris enrolled at the [University of Michigan](/source/University_of_Michigan). He transferred to [Yale University](/source/Yale_University) after three years and received a law degree. Norris read law with Alexander D. Fraser in [Detroit](/source/Detroit) and was admitted to the Bar in Michigan in 1847.[https://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/bhlead/umich-bhl-85830?rgn=main;view=text Norris Family Papers: 1815-1960], ''Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan''Janice Anschueltz. [https://aadl.org/ypsigleanings/327824 A Tale of Two River Street Men: Justus and Lyman Decatur Norris], ''Ypsilanti History'', 13 (Spring 2015). ==Career== In 1848–1853, Lyman Norris practiced law in [St. Louis, Missouri](/source/St._Louis%2C_Missouri), where he became engaged in politics as Democrat. He co-owned and served as political editor of the ''St. Louis Daily Times''. In 1849, Norris and [Hugh A. Garland](/source/Hugh_A._Garland) represented [pro-slavery](/source/Slavery_in_the_United_States) client in the [Missouri's Dred Scott Case](/source/Dred_Scott), ''Scott v. Emerson, 15 Mo. 576 (1852)''.Walter Ehrlich. ''They Have No Rights: Dred Scott's Struggle for Freedom''. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1979[https://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/africanamerican/scott/scott.asp Missouri's Dred Scott Case, 1846-1857], ''Missouri State Archives''[https://cite.case.law/mo/15/576/ ''Scott v. Emerson, 15 Mo. 576 (1852)''] They were successful in arguing that Dred Scott's ''free-soil'' residence did not entitle him to sue for freedom. Oddly, Lyman Norris offered Dred Scott a loan to purchase freedom. In 1854, Norris returned to [Ypsilanti, Michigan](/source/Ypsilanti%2C_Michigan). In 1867 Norris attended the Michigan Constitutional Convention. In 1871 he moved to [Grand Rapids, Michigan](/source/Grand_Rapids%2C_Michigan). He ran as a candidate for the [Michigan Supreme Court](/source/Michigan_Supreme_Court) in 1875. He was appointed a Regent of the University of Michigan in 1883.[https://archive.org/details/cu31924030622553/page/n218 ''History of the University of Michigan''], by Burke Aaron Hinsdale and Isaac Newton Demmon. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 1906, pp.200-201. He died at Grand Rapids on January 6, 1894. ==Family== In 1854 Lyman Norris married Lucy Alsop Whittelsey from [Middletown, Connecticut](/source/Middletown%2C_Connecticut). Mark Norris (1857–1943) and Maria W. Norris (1858–1938) were their surviving children; Mark Norris became a lawyer and Maria Norris became a physician. ==References== {{reflist}} ==Further reading== * [https://archive.org/details/earlyhistoryofmi00lansuoft/page/494 Early history of Michigan, with biographies of state officers, members of Congress, judges and legislators; published pursuant to Act 59, 1887 (1908), p. 494] ==External links== *{{Find a Grave|16338303}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Norris, Lyman}} Category:1823 births Category:1894 deaths Category:19th-century American lawyers Category:People from Genesee County, New York Category:Lawyers from Detroit Category:People from Ypsilanti, Michigan Category:University of Michigan alumni --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lyman Decatur Norris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyman_Decatur_Norris) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyman_Decatur_Norris?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.