USA > Connecticut > The governors of Connecticut : biographies of the chief executives of the commonwealth that gave to the world the first written constitution known to history > Part 10
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In 1830 he added the manufacturing of ingrain carpets to his business, which also proved to be a successful venture.
Buckingham loaned money to a friend in 1848 to engage in the manufacture of rubber shoes. This was the starting point of the Hayward Rubber Company. The business proved to be so lucrative that Buckingham gave up his other business so as to devote his time to this industry. For many years he was the man- ager and treasurer of the company, and developed it into one of the largest concerns of the section. By this time Buckingham had become one of the leading citizens of the city of Norwich. His uncommon ability was demonstrated by the fact that he amassed a large fortune in the face of several financial panics.
He was elected mayor of Norwich and served during the years 1849, 1850, 1856 and 1857.
Buckingham's name was brought forward in the spring of 1858-one of the most dismal on record -by the Republican party as a candidate for governor. He was nominated and received 250
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a majority of 2,449 at the following election. The inauguration was at New Haven on the first Monday in May, and Governor Buckingham was to the state at large, and certainly to the nation, an unknown man. His message to the incoming Legislature showed unmistakable signs of his great antagonism to the slave power. The first administration of Governor Buckingham served to popularize the man, so that in 1859 he was re-elected. He was renominated in 1860, and this campaign was one of the most momentous ever witnessed in this state. Thomas Hart Seymour, the Democratic "war horse " was nominated to run against Buck- ingham, and then ensued a contest not soon to be forgotten. As the time for election drew near, the result was watched throughout the nation, for Connecticut had come to be a famous battle ground.
Abraham Lincoln was sent to this state, and he made six speeches throughout Connecticut. Governor Buckingham traveled with Lincoln and usually presented him to his audience. A warm friendship sprung up between the two men, similar to the one that existed between Trumbull and Washington, and which lasted until the two were parted by death.
On April 2, 1860, the election took place. The result was awaited with feverish anxiety, and for a time it looked as if Sey- mour had won. The large cities of the state gave majorities to Seymour, while the small cities went for Buckingham, his majority being only 541.
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Governor Buckingham was re-elected in 1861 by over 2,000 majority, for the commonwealth had found in him the man they wanted for a crisis. Lincoln's call for troops was issued April 15, 1861. The order reached this state from President Lincoln for a regiment to meet the enemy. As there was hardly a regiment of organized militia in Connecticut, Governor Bucking- ham issued a proclamation the following day calling for troops; and although this act was unauthorized by law he depended solely upon the Legislature soon to convene to validate this step. Fifty- four companies enlisted instead of ten, and when the General Assembly met in May it not only ratified the action of the governor but promptly appropriated $2,000,000 for military expenses. The governor made a remark to a friend that no state should send better troops into the field, and he went about the task in a business-like manner.
During the first year of the war he turned over to the govern- ment 13,576 troops, including infantry, cavalry and artillery, thoroughly armed and ready for service. In 1862 he received another good majority, and was elected governor for the fifth time. Soon after he issued a proclamation calling for more men, in accordance with the president's call for 600,000. A portion of the governor's patriotic proclamation was as follows : "By our delay the safety of our armies, even of the nation, may be imperilled. . . . Close your manufactories and workshops, turn aside from your 252
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farms and your business, leave for a while your families and homes, meet face to face the enemy of your liberties."
No wonder these words stirred the noblest emotion in every freeman's breast, and it was but a short time before Connecticut's quota was raised.
The election of 1864 was quiet and again resulted in the choice of Buckingham for another term. In his message to the General Assembly he said: "Slavery is not dead. Its life is in the custody of its friends, and while it shall remain there will be no peace. The events of the past urge us to adopt some measure which shall terminate in favor of freedom that controversy which must ever exist so long as a part of the nation remain free and a part enslaved."
With the advent of the spring of 1865 came the close of the war, and Buckingham was elected for the eighth time as governor by a majority of 11,000.
Governor Buckingham had accomplished a work during these years which would make his name famous for time to come. Some idea of what he did can be realized when it is stated that at the time of the Civil War there were 461,000 people in Con- necticut, 80,000 of which were voters, and 50,000 capable of bearing arms. The inhabitants of the old state, encouraged by the patriotic example of their governor, strained their efforts to put men in the field. As a result Connecticut had in the army, at
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various times, twenty-eight regiments of well equipped infantry, two regiments and three batteries of artillery, and one regiment and a squadron of cavalry, aggregating nearly 55.000 men. This was fully 6,000 more than the state's quota, and only one or two states in the Union excelled this record.
Connecticut's record in the Civil War is one of which her sons will always be proud. "Although known as the ‘war governor' of Connecticut," says a biographer, "he was of kindly disposition and gentle manners." His interest in the Connecticut troops was unusual. Once when in Washington, Governor Buck- ingham told a high official: "You will see a great many battles and much suffering. Don't let any Connecticut man suffer for want of anything that can be done for him. If it costs money, draw on me for it." This official when told of the victory of the Federal troops at Gettysburg, wired the news of the victory to Governor Buckingham. The latter telegraphed as quickly as possible the answer : "Take good care of the Connecticut men."
When his eighth term was nearly completed Buckingham declined to serve again and for the next two years enjoyed the pleasures of private life. But he was not long to remain idle, for his wise counsels were needed in other departments of the govern- ment. In 1868 he was elected United States senator from Connecticut, and he took his seat on March 4, 1869. In this
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distinguished body he busied himself in considering the great questions of reconstruction.
Buckingham was chairman of the committee appointed by the Senate to investigate the New York custom house frauds. When nearing the end of his term he died, after a brief illness, on February 5, 1875, aged 72 years.
The funeral was held in Norwich and was attended by some of the most distinguished men in the nation. The "Norwich Bulletin " paid this tribute to this famous citizen : " In private life Governor Buckingham was characterized by great sweetness of dis- position and an urbane courtesy in his social relations which won the sincere regard of all with whom he was personally in contact. He possessed that polished dignity of manner which we of this day characterize as the gentility of the old school, and the refinement of its minor details was strongly marked in all his habits of life. . .. He was not a politician, neither was he a great states- man, but he was great in his probity, patriotism, and purity of life, and intrusively he wielded a vast influence for good. In public and in private life, like him who was loved of God, he walked uprightly before men. And with a full remembrance of all the honors which had been pressed upon him, of all the great successes of his life, no better or truer epitaph can be produced over his grave than that which he himself would have desired : ‘A man of honor, and a Christian gentleman.'"
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Eulogies were delivered in memory of Governor Buckingham on February 27th in the United States Senate. Among those who paid eloquent tributes to his life and character were Senators Ferry and Eaton of Connecticut, Frelinghuysen of New Jersey, Steven- son of Kentucky, Wright of Iowa, Bayard of Delaware, Pratt of Indiana, Thurman of Ohio, and Morton of Indiana.
Governor Buckingham left liberal bequests for various religious and educational purposes. Among these was $25,000 to the Yale Divinity School at New Haven. When the new Capitol was completed at Hartford, $10,000 was appropriated for a suitable statue of Governor Buckingham. The Hon. Henry B. Harrison of New Haven was made chairman of the commission, and $6,000 was also appropriated for the unveiling ceremonies, which took place in the Capitol, June 18, 1884.
The statue is placed in the western end of the Capitol; represents the famous "war governor" in a sitting posture, and was executed by Olin L. Warner of New York. Governor Waller uncovered the statue and an address was delivered by United States Senator Orville H. Platt.
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The FORTY- FIRST GOVERNOR of CONNECTICUT was
JOSEPH ROSWELL HAWLEY
The son of an anti-slavery leader, he was graduated from Hamilton College and then studied and practiced law, entering immedi- ately into the abolition movement and becom- ing one of the organizers of the Republican party-He abandoned law to become a journal- ist, and his newspaper became one of the most powerful periodicals in the nation-Responding to the first call for troops in 1861, he was one of the most distinguished figures in the Civil War, and later as governor of his state and United States senator passed a remarkable career
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Soo RHawley
. JOSEP H
ROSWELL
HAWLEY
O NE of the most distinguished men that Connecticut has contributed to the nation in the last half century is General Joseph Roswell Hawley.
He was born in Stewartsville, North Carolina, October 31, 1826, of English and Scotch ancestry, and his ancestors were among the first settlers of Stratford. His father, Rev. Francis Hawley, a native of this state, was temporarily in North Carolina when he married Mary McLeod. Returning to Connecticut "Father Hawley," as he was called, became prominently identified with the anti-slavery leaders, and was one of the best known men in Connecticut.
Joseph R. Hawley attended the Hartford grammar school, and a school in Cazenovia, N. Y., where the family had moved in 1842. Entering Hamilton College in 1843, he was graduated in 1847, with high honors. He then studied law in Cazenovia, and commenced practicing in 1850 at Hartford, as a partner of the late John Hooker.
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Entering at once into the free-soil discussion, he became chairman of the state committee, and did everything in his power to bring about a union of all those who opposed slavery. He issued a call for a meeting in his office at Hartford, February 4, 1856, which resulted in the organization of the Republican party in this state.
During the campaign of 1856, Hawley devoted three months to speaking for John C. Freemont. The next year he gave up the practice of law and commenced his long career as a journalist. Forming a partnership with William Faxon, afterwards assistant secretary of the navy, he became editor of the "Evening Press," the new Republican newspaper.
Responding to the first call for troops in 1861, he was actively concerned in raising a regiment, and was the first man to volunteer in Connecticut. Going to the front as captain of Com- pany A, First Connecticut Volunteers, he was in the battle of Bull Run and was commended for his bravery by General Keyes.
Hawley afterwards assisted Colonel Alfred H. Terry in form- ing the Seventh Connecticut, and was elected lieutenant colonel of the regiment. Going South the regiment was in the Port Royal expedition, and engaged in the operation around Fort Pulaski. He now succeeded Colonel Terry in the command of the regi- ment and participated in the battles of James Island and Poco- taligo. The Seventh went to Florida and in April, 1863, 260
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was in the expedition against Charleston. In 1864 Hawley com- manded a brigade at the battle of Olustee, Florida, where the Northern forces lost almost forty per cent of their men.
Hawley was in command of a brigade in the Tenth Army corps in April, 1864, and later participated in the battles of Drewry's Bluff, Deep Run, Darbytown Road, Bermuda Hundred and Deep Bottom. He took an important part in the siege of Petersburg, and had command of a division in the battle of Newmarket Road.
During the fall of 1864 he was appointed a brigadier general, and dispatched to New York in command of a brigade of picked men to preserve order during the presidential election. In January, 1865, General Hawley succeeded General Terry in the command of a division. Later General Hawley joined the Tenth Army corps as General Terry's chief of staff, and when Wilmington was captured he was selected by General Schofield to form a base of supplies for General Sherman's army. Joining General Terry again as chief of staff in June, 1865, he remained in the Depart- ment of Virginia until June when he returned to Connecticut, and was brevetted a major general.
He was mustered out of the service on January 15, 1866, after having made a record for himself of which Connecticut will always be proud.
In the spring of 1866 General Hawley was considered to be the best man to succeed Buckingham, and was elected gov-
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ernor of Connecticut at the following election. The next year he was re-nominated, but was defeated by James E. English of New Haven.
He now turned his attention to journalism again, and the " Press" was united with the "Courant." General Hawley became editor, and entered into the discussion of the problems of recon- struction days with all his might. He wielded an able pen in dealing with national and state politics and was in great demand everywhere as a forceful and eloquent speaker.
In 1868 General Hawley was president of the Republican National Convention. In the convention of 1872 he was secretary of the committee on resolutions, and chairman of the same committee in 1876.
When Julius L. Strong of Hartford died in 1872, causing a vacancy in Congress, General Hawley was elected to that position, and then commenced his long congressional career. He was a member of the 43d Congress, and afterwards of the 46th.
General Hawley was made president of the United States Centennial Commission in 1872, and remained at the head until the affairs of the Centennial were settled in 1877.
He was elected United States senator in January, 1861, and was re-elected in 1887, 1893 and 1899. While in the Senate General Hawley was a member of the committees on coast defenses, railroads, printing and military affairs. He was also 262
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chairman of the Civil Service Committee, and was at the head of a picked committee on warships and ordnance.
General Hawley received fifteen votes for president in the Republican National Convention of 1884, the Connecticut delega- tion voting for him on every ballot.
Hamilton College conferred the degree of Doctor of Laws on her distinguished graduate in 1875, and Yale followed with the same degree in 1886.
General Hawley for a generation was one of the foremost men in this country and his influence in the United States Senate was as great as any member of that body.
The health of General Hawley began to fail in the summer of 1902, but he remained a senator until the expiration of his term in 1905, when he was succeeded by Hon. Morgan G. Bulkeley of Hartford. The distinguished statesman died March 17, 1905. The morning after his death his life work was summed up by the " New York Tribune " editorially as follows:
"As a politician General Hawley was distinguished for his openness and independence of character. He was a partisan, intense and vehement, but he never sacrificed his ideals of fairness and manliness to the exigencies of politics. He was incapable of chicanery or corruption, and detested hypocrisy and humbug. As an orator he was impetuous and sometimes overpassionate. But his ideals of conduct were high, and his whole nature responded to
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any cause which fully enlisted his sympathies. He was broad minded and plain spoken, and his aid was always given to move- ments which sought to elevate political standards. In his prime he was a leader whose influence was as wholesome as it was wide- spread. His death ends a career which honored Connecticut and which measured up to its best and highest traditions in statesman- ship."
Eulogies were pronounced over his body in the hall of the House of Representatives at Hartford by leading men of the commonwealth, and an eloquent tribute to his career was delivered by his colleague, Senator Orville H. Platt, who followed him into the grave a few weeks later.
General Hawley's funeral was held in the Asylum Avenue Congregational Church at Hartford on March 21. Ex-Governor George P. McLean delivered a brief address, among others, which portrays in a masterful manner the life work of the soldier states- man. He said :
" It is a great honor to be invited to break the silence of an occasion like this. Not because the man of whom I am to speak was at one time a general in a great war and at another time, and for a long time, a member of the United States Senate; high places shorten small men who try to stand in them and add but little to the real stature of the great ones. The honor to me comes in the fact that I have been requested to say a word-for I can 264
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say but a word-about a brave, strong, honest man-a man in whose soul burned night and day the flame of a Puritan conscience lighting his way to duty in war and in peace; and which he followed willingly and triumphantly from boyhood to the grave; a man who, even in the latter part of the nineteenth century, cared more for his country and his character than he did for his inven- tory : and who in the fullness of time, left to his family and his friends, to you and to me, too, to his state and his nation a long and precious heritage of items that thieves cannot steal or rust corrupt.
" When in these hurrying days of new things and so-called new thought, the living stand at the bier of such a man, how swift, how emphatic and startling is the conviction that, no matter what the generations of the future may do or discover, prove or disprove, believe or disbelieve, as long as the earth is inhabited by man, an honest one will be the noblest work of the Infinite. It was Gen- eral Hawley's lot to lead and serve his fellowmen, but I could not, if I would, add anything to the eloquent and faithful description of that leadership and service which you have heard, and which you will hear in this house, and which you will sincerely approve. I will only say that in his life fortune and fancy met in almost perfect harmony. For him the grim gates of circumstance opened upon congenial fields and remained open until he had done, and done well, the work he wanted to do. He saw the Union saved
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and new stars added to the flag he loved. From the long, dark stress of war and death and doubt and temptation and intrigue, he saw his country rise triumphant, folding her enemies in the mantle of charity and unfolding to herself the white robe of justice and peace. For almost half a century he walked hand in hand with the better genius of the republic, himself the Spirit of '76 incar- nate, the type invincible, that loves and dares and wins for the millions yet to come. We cannot call him back; we can mourn, but we cannot stay the loss; we may not comfort the bereft, but we can heed the lesson, and we can stop to-day, and turn our faces from the shining idols of profit, and, remembering that great nations are made and, when made, are perpetuated by good men and not by rich men, we can thank God for giving this man to Connecticut and the Union."
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The FORTY-SECOND GOVERNOR
CONNECTICUT 1 of
was
JAMES EDWARD ENGLISH
Born in New Haven, at the age of eleven years he was " bound out" to a farmer-When sixteen years of age he was apprenticed to a builder-Beginning a business career, he became one of the richest men in the state and conspicuous in public life, wholly through his own integrity and ability-As congress- man, United States senator, and governor, he became a power in national affairs and in convention received ballots for the presidency
James . English
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AMES Edward English, one of the most distinguished men that New Haven ever produced, should be classed with Roger Wolcott, Samuel Huntington and Matthew Griswold, governors of Connecticut, who were entirely self-made. Probably no resident of New Haven, with the possible exception of Roger Sherman and ex-Governor Baldwin, ever attained greater honors in his state and the nation than did James E. English.
Every success in his life was the product of his own self- exertion, and his life furnishes a brilliant example to any boy who is born without wealth or influence to help him in his career.
The ancestors of Governor English were thrifty people. His great-grandfather lost his life during General Tryon's invasion of the city on July 5, 1779, when so many citizens were murdered and others made homeless. His grandfather engaged in the West India trade and was captain of a vessel sailing out of New Haven.
The father of Governor English was a man of intelligence, and his mother a member of the Griswold family which has furnished two governors to the commonwealth.
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James E. English was born at New Haven, on March 13, 1812, and his boyhood was uneventful. At the age of eleven . years he was "bound out" to a farmer. During the two and a half years he spent on the farm the boy only attended the district school for eight months, and his father awakened to the fact that his son should have more of an opportunity for obtaining an education. Returning to his home the young man attended school for the next two years, and he made rapid progress in his studies.
When sixteen years of age, the future statesman was appren- ticed to Atwater Treat, a prominent builder of New Haven to learn the carpenter trade. The latent ability of the young man soon manifested itself and before he reached his majority he had become a master builder.
His first work of a public character was in the old Lancas- terian school in New Haven, built on the site of the present Hill- house High School. The establishment of this latter school was one of the philanthropic acts of Governor English when he had reached years of prosperity. When twenty-one years of age English went into business for himself, and began the erection of various buildings. The historian of New Haven, Atwater, remarks that "several houses designed and erected by him (English), in a style more elaborate than was common in New Haven, bear creditable testimony to his architectural taste."
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English prospered in business and made money very rapidly. Engaging in the lumber business later on he was so successful that after following it twenty years he was able, with two other gentle- men, to purchase the manufacturing business of the Jerome Clock Company. After a few years this company, originally started in Bristol, became one of the largest of its kind in the world. The business was afterwards merged with the New Haven Clock Com- pany. During this period he was interested in various real estate deals, banking, and other enterprises, so that by the time English had reached the middle life he was one of the richest men in Connecticut.
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It is said of him that not a dollar of his vast fortune was made by speculation, and it was all the product of his uncommon business ability. His wonderful success in business made him conspicuous in public life, and the people of his native city began to look to him for important trusts.
In 1848 he was elected a member of the New Haven Com- mon Council, and in 1855 he served as representative from the city in the General Assembly.
He was elected a state senator in 1856, re-elected in 1858.
In 1861 English was elected a member of Congress as a "war democrat," and he served as a representative four years. During the years of the Civil War his course was eminently honorable. While in Congress he voted with the Republicans on all important questions although a Democrat all his life.
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