Dorrington was born in
Utica, New York, to David and Ann (Wood) Dorrington on June 16, 1843. He attended local schools and the nearby Elmira Academy. He moved to
Falls City, Nebraska, in 1859, joining his parents who had moved there two year earlier. From 1862 till 1864, Dorrington was a member of the
2nd Nebraska Cavalry and saw action in
Dakota Territory as part of the
American Indian Wars. After leaving the military, Dorrington became a
postal carrier and served a route between
Topeka, Kansas, and
Falls City, Nebraska. His importance in Falls City grew and he served as
councilman, mayor and acting sheriff of the town. Dorrington moved to
Yuma, Arizona Territory with his brother-in-law, Justice
Isham Reavis, in 1869. Following his arrival, he worked as an assistant to the court and United States commissioner. The same year he arrived in Yuma, Dorrington acquired a partial interest in the
Arizona Sentinel and became a journalist. In 1881, he purchased full control of the
Sentinel and became the paper's editor and publisher. Politically, Dorrington was active in
Republican politics. He was elected to the House of Representatives (
lower house) during the
1877 and
1883 sessions of the
territorial legislature. He was a member of the Council (
upper house) during the
1881,
1885, and
1889 sessions. Dorrington represented Arizona Territory as a delegate to the
1896,
1900,
1904, and
1908 Republican National Conventions. In July 1897, Governor
Myron H. McCord appointed him Superintendent of prisons. Socially, Dorrington was a
33rd degree Mason. In addition to his newspaper, Dorrington had a variety of other business interests and real estate holdings. This included his position as Director of the First National Bank of Yuma. Sold the newspaper on July 1, 1911 He sold the
Sentinel in July 1911. He died on September 18, 1916, while visiting
Honolulu, Hawaii, with his sister. His body was interred in a family mausoleum in Falls City, Nebraska's Steele Cemetery. ==References==