[1] Dana attended the local public schools and later studied law in the office of United States District Court Judge John Lowell, and was then admitted to the bar in 1789.
[2] On October 14, 1811 Dana also was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Court of Common Pleas, he held that position for nine years.
[3] Dana was appointed postmaster January 1, 1801, he served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1803[3] in the State senate and served as President of the Massachusetts Senate.
[1] Dana was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Thirteenth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William M. Richardson.
[3] On December 5, 1795, Dana was married to Rebecca Barrett of New Ipswich, New Hampshire.