Dutton S. Peterson


Dutton Stiles Peterson was an American Methodist minister and politician from New York.

Background

He was born in Costello, Potter County, Pennsylvania. His father, Chris Peterson, was an immigrant from Holla, Telemark, Norway.
The family removed in 1911 to Steuben County, New York. In 1917, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and fought in World War I in France. After the war he graduated from Practical Bible Training School in 1922 and King's School of Oratory.
He graduated B.A. from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1924; and from Boston University School of Theology in 1927. He became a Methodist minister, and was the pastor of the Methodist Church in Odessa, Schuyler County, New York, from 1937 to 1960.

Political career

He entered politics as a Republican. Peterson was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1937, 1938, 1939–40 and 1941–42. He was a member of the New York State Senate from 1953 until his death in 1964, sitting in the 169th, 170th, 171st, 172nd, 173rd and 174th New York State Legislatures.

Personal life

In 1922, he married Martha Melintha Robinson. The couple had six children. He died in Schuyler Hospital in Montour Falls, New York, of a heart attack; and was buried at the Laurel Hill Cemetery in Odessa.