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 7
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14
Fideow Tomlinson
H CO
se fo La
co
D
in
Se
h
J
th
G
T
GIDEON
TOMLINSON
G L IDEON Tomlinson was born in the town of Stratford on the last day of the year 1780, and was the grandson of an officer who took part in the capture of Ticonderoga. His father, Jabez H. Tomlinson, was a man of importance in the community where he had resided all his life.
After attending the schools of his native town, Tomlinson was sent to Huntington, where Rev. David Ely, D.D., prepared him for college. Entering Yale in 1798, he was graduated four years later in a class which contained several men who were afterwards college presidents, a future governor of Connecticut, Rev. David Dudley Field, and Rev. Jeremiah Evarts. Immediately after leav- ing college, Tomlinson secured employment as a tutor to Alexander Upshus of Northampton County, Virginia, who was afterwards secretary of the navy. While teaching he studied law, and when he returned to Connecticut in 1803, he entered the law office of Judge Chauncey at New Haven.
Tomlinson was admitted to the bar in 1807 and removed to that portion of Fairfield called Greenfield Hill, made famous by the pastoral labor of Dr. Dwight.
161
The Governors of Connecticut
He entered politics and in May, 1817, was elected by the Toleration party as a representative to the General Assembly. The following October he was chosen clerk of the House and became a prominent agitator in the all important discussion over a new constitution.
In May, 1818, Tomlinson was again elected and this time chosen speaker of the House. The same year he was a delegate to the state convention called for the purpose of framing a new consti- tution, and during the session his voice was often heard on the floor of the old State House at Hartford.
With Pierpont Edwards, the leading lawyer of the state, Tomlinson was appointed to represent Fairfield County on the committee of twenty-four to frame the constitution.
After two years' service in the state legislature he was elected to Congress, and was a member of the House from 1819 to 1827. While in Congress Tomlinson had a high reputation and was often called upon to preside in the absence of the speaker.
In 1827, at the age of forty-seven years, he was elected gov- ernor of Connecticut by a good majority. He continued in office until 1831, and his record as chief executive of the state was an honorable one. In March, 1831, Governor Tomlinson resigned in order to accept the position of United States Senator, to which he was elected as a successor to Calvin Willey of Tolland.
Serving one term as senator, Governor Tomlinson maintained
162
1
The Governors of Connecticut
at all times a high standard of statesmanship, and attracted attention in a body which contained at the time some very distinguished men. While in the Senate Governor Tomlinson was elected first presi- dent of the old Housatonic Railroad Company, and for many years he was one of the trustees of the Staples Free Academy.
.Returning to Connecticut he passed the remainder of his life in a quiet manner practicing his profession. His later years were saddened by the death of a son of great promise. He never entered public life again after his retirement from the United States Senate.
Governor Tomlinson died on October 8, 1854, aged seventy- four years.
163
e C
t
e
The
TWENTY-SIXTH GOVERNOR of
CONNECTICUT
was JOHN S . PETERS
The nephew of the originator of the so-called Blue Laws of Connecticut and born in Hebron where from the age of seven years he worked for neighboring farmers and attended the dis- trict school during winter-While a country school teacher he studied medicine and became a successful old school physician, entering poli- tics and becoming chief executive of the state
1
1
John f Peters es
T
A
P
to
Tea
DE
P
JOHN S
PETERS
T HE paternal ancestors of Governor Peters were Englishmen of note, and the family was distinguished in many ways. One member of the family was the famous Hugh Peters, who was beheaded, he having been charged with complicity in the King's death. An uncle of Governor Peters, Rev. Dr. Samuel A. Peters, a native of Hebron, was the inventor of the famous so-called "blue laws" of Connecticut. Being a strong sympathizer with the Royalist cause during the Revolution, Dr. Peters was obliged to flee to England, where he published his unique "History of Connecticut," and, according to John Fiske, "took delight in horrifying our British cousins with tales of wholesale tarring and feathering done by the patriots of the Revolution."
In the minds of most historians the doctor's history reminds one of the late Baron Munchausen.
John S. Peters was born in Hebron on September 21, 1772, being the fifth child of Bemslee Peters, a brother of the Tory cler- gyman. The family were so poor that when the future governor had reached the age of seven years it became necessary for him to work for a neighboring farmer. During the next four years he worked
167
The Governors of Connecticut
on the farm in summer and attended the district school during winter.
When eighteen years of age the young man decided to be a school teacher, and accordingly had charge of a district school in Hebron for several years.
While he was teaching he took up the study of medicine, and during the summer he was twenty years of age he studied with Dr. Benjamin Peters of Marbletown, New York. Succeeding sum- mers were also passed in the study of his chosen profession, with Dr. Abner Mosely of Glastonbury. Late in the year of 1796 Peters went to Philadelphia to complete his medical education. In that city he attended the anatomical lectures of Doctors Shippen and Wistar, the chemical lectures by the famous Dr. James Wood- house, and the medical school of Dr. Rush. Returning to Con- necticut in 1797, Dr. Peters looked around for a place to settle and commence practice.
He went up the Connecticut river as far as Canada without finding a town in need of a medical practitioner. He returned to his home thoroughly disheartened, and exclaimed in a moment of abject despair that he had spent twenty-four years of his life and all his money without avail. Settling in Hebron for want of a more promising place, he was agreeably surprised by finding his services in demand within a short space of time. His ability was recog- nized from the first, and it was not long before he had all the business he could attend to. Dr. Peters was a prominent member
I68
ele
F
P
The Governors of Connecticut
of the Tolland County Medical Society, and in 1804 was chosen a fellow of the State Medical Society. He was widely known as a skilful practitioner of uncommon ability.
Early in his professional career Dr. Peters remained true to the spirit of his ancestors, and took a keen interest in the political questions of the day. The citizens of Hebron showed their confi- dence in him in various ways, he seldom being defeated for an office.
For twenty years Dr. Peters was town clerk of Hebron; he was also judge of probate for the district for many years, and represented the town in the House of Representatives several sessions.
After serving in the state Senate for a number of years he was elected lieutenant governor and held the office from 1827 to 1831. When Governor Tomlinson resigned in 1831 Dr. Peters succeeded him in office. His party placed him in nomination at the next election and he was elected governor by a large majority. He occupied the office with satisfaction from 1831 to 1835, when he retired from public life.
With the exception of being a presidential elector, Governor Peters never held office after retiring as chief executive of the state.
He never practiced his profession after becoming governor, and spent the remaining years in taking advantage of the competency he had acquired. Governor Peters enjoyed almost perfect health all his life until within a short time before his death, and he enter-
169
1
The Governors of Connecticut
tained quite extensively at his old-fashioned residence in Hebron. He died at his home in Hebron on March 30, 1858, aged 85 years.
A friend of Governor Peters said of him: "He was a most agreeable companion and a warm and true friend. His conver- sational powers were superior, and all who have had the pleasure of his acquaintance will long remember his lively and keen wit, his inexhaustible fund of anecdotes and stories, and his inimitable manner of relating them."
170
The TWENTY-SEVENTH GOVERNOR of CONNECTICUT was HENRY WAGGAMAN EDWARDS
The grandson of Jonathan Edwards, one of the most subtle reasoners the country has produced-He was born in New Haven and graduated at the College of New Jersey, later studying law at Litchfield and ris- ing rapidly in public estimation-He was elected to Congress, elected to the United States Senate and served for several terms as governor of the state dur- ing the era in which New Haven and Hartford and Springfield were connected by railroad, thus provid- ing for the commercial development of Connecticut
Fleury Ir Edwards
G
日
ג׳
E
H
HENRY
WAGGAMAN
EDWARDS
H ENRY Waggaman Edwards was the grandson of Jonathan Edwards, one of the most subtle reasoners the country has produced, and the son of Pierrepont Edwards, for many years the most distinguished member of the Connecticut bar.
Pierrepont Edwards had the most lucrative law practice in the state, was a member of the Continental Congress, and a man of great power. He died in Bridgeport, April 5, 1826. His son was born in New Haven in October, 1779, the year that General Tryon pillaged the town and spread desolation.
Henry Waggaman Edwards prepared for college at New Haven and entered the College of New Jersey, at Princeton, where he was graduated in the class of 1797.
Having decided to adopt his father's profession, Edwards entered the famous Litchfield Law School (now the Yale Law School), and, after the completion of the course, returned to New Haven, where he commenced to practice. In 1819 he was elected as a democratic member of Congress and represented the district in the House of Representatives until March 3, 1823.
I73
The Governors of Connecticut
At that time Governor Tomlinson appointed him United States senator to succeed the Hon. Elijah Boardman.
This term lasted but a few months, when he was elected for a full term. He served in the Senate from December 1, 1823, to March 4, 1827, when he was elected a member of the State Senate, and was a member of that body from 1827 to 1829. In 1830 Edwards was elected a member of the House of Representa- tives from New Haven, and became speaker. His rise in the esteem of his party was rapid, and in 1833 he was elected governor of the state, holding the office one year. The following year he was nominated, but defeated by Samuel A. Foote. Governor Edwards was re-elected, however, in 1835, and served for the next three terms, retiring in 1838. Governor Edwards' administration was known as the "railroad era," as those years saw the building of the Hartford and New Haven railroad, the Hartford and Springfield, the Housatonic, and the Providence and Stonington. While governor, he suggested a geological survey of the state, which was done in accordance with his desire.
Yale College conferred the degree of Doctor of Laws upon Governor Edwards in 1833. He had the distinction of being the first governor of Connecticut born in New Haven. Governor Edwards died at New Haven on July 22, 1847. A son, Pierrepont Edwards, was a prominent lawyer, and a judge of the New York Supreme Court for seven years.
I74
The TWENTY - EIGHTH GOVERNOR of
CONNECTICUT was
SAMUEL AUGUSTUS FOOTE
Born in Cheshire, and although of delicate health entered Yale College at thirteen years of age and was graduated with honors-He began the study of law as an invalid wearing a bandage about his head in the class room, and, finally driven out of doors, sailed to the West Indies as a supercargo-He later settled on a farm and was elected to the United States Senate where he provoked the great Webster-Hayne debate
Samuel Activoto
S A MUEL
AUGUSTUS
FOOTE
T HE father of Governor Foote was the Rev. John Foote, a native of North Branford, who afterward removed to Cheshire and succeeded the Rev. John Hall as pastor of the Congregational church in that town. His wife was grand- daughter of Governor Jonathan Law. After a life of great useful- ness the Rev. John Foote died in Cheshire, August 31, 1831.
His son, Samuel Augustus Foote, the subject of this sketch, was born in Cheshire on November 8, 1780. As a child he was precocious to such a degree that he entered Yale College at the age of thirteen years. Constitutionally delicate, in his early years the boy showed signs of premature decay; but in the face of all this he succeeded in completing his college course, graduating from Yale in 1797, before he had reached the age of seventeen.
He then resided for a few months in Washington, Connecticut, reading law in the office of Daniel N. Burnside, Esq. Deciding upon law as a profession, he entered the Litchfield Law School for a course of study. In his class were Baldwin, Benedict, Day, Griffin, Seymour and Sill-all of whom became famous men.
177
The Governors of Connecticut
He remained at Judge Reeve's school probably less than a year, for he began to be troubled with severe pains in his head, which did not yield to treatment. Invariably the young man attended lectures wearing a bandage about his head. As the trouble increased Foote was obliged to relinquish his desire to become a lawyer, and resolved to follow some business which would provide a more active occupation.
After leaving the law school he went to New Haven and engaged in the shipping trade, having an office on Long Wharf. It is said that he went to the West Indies three times in the capacity of a supercargo.
When the war with Great Britain commenced in 1812, Foote, as well as many other merchants of his class, saw his prosperous business entirely wiped out. He took his losses in as good humor as possible, and decided to turn his attention to agricultural pursuits.
Going to Cheshire, he settled on a farm and became very successful. This occupation gave him ample time and opportunity to take an active part in the political discussion of the day.
He entered into politics to such an extent that it was not long before he was known as one of the most zealous anti-Federalists of the state. A majority of the people of Cheshire shared his opinion and sent him to the Legislature in 1817 and 1818, as their repre- sentative. While in the House, Foote exerted great power and 178
D
+
1
a
The Governors of Connecticut
was easily its leading member. He was next elected a member of Congress and represented his district for two years from March, 1819. Returning to Connecticut, he was again elected a member of the Legislature and represented Cheshire in the House for two years. In 1823 he was re-elected to Congress and served until May, 1825, when he was again chosen by the people of Cheshire to represent the town in the General Assembly. That body elected him speaker and during the same session he was chosen United States senator to succeed Henry W. Edwards.
His term in the Senate commenced on March 4, 1827, and the latter portion of it was made famous by a debate over one of his resolutions.
It was Senator Foote who introduced the resolution in Decem- ber, 1829, which provoked the great debate between Senators Webster of Massachusetts and Hayne of South Carolina, lasting the greater portion of three days. This resolution was for the pur- pose of "inquiring into the expediency of limiting the sales of the public lands to those already in the market, besides suspending the surveys of the public lands and abolishing the office of surveyor- general."
On January 26 and 27, 1830, Daniel Webster delivered his famous "Reply to Hayne," which is considered by John Fiske to be the "greatest speech that has been delivered since the oration of Demosthenes against the crown."
179
The Governors of Connecticut
Foote was defeated by Nathan Smith for a second term in the Senate, but was elected a member of the National House of Rep- resentatives in April, 1833. In 1834 he was nominated for governor by the Whigs of this state, who were opposed to the administration of President Jackson. He obtained a plurality but not a majority; so the choice went to the General Assembly. That body elected him governor, and he resigned his seat in Congress.
He served as chief magistrate for one year, during an unevent- ful period. Yale College conferred upon him, while governor, the degree of Doctor of Laws. The next year Governor Foote was defeated by Henry W. Edwards, and after that he was never actively engaged in politics.
His domestic and private affairs engrossed his attention the remaining years of his life, and he died in Cheshire, September 15, 1846. "That which specially strikes us," says one writer, "as char- acteristic of Governor Foote was his integrity, industry, decision and perseverence." His son, Andrew Hull Foote, was a famous naval officer, who, on June 16, 1862, received the thanks of Con- gress for gallant services in the Civil War and was made a rear- admiral.
180
The TWENTY-NINTH GOVERNOR of
CONNECTICUT
was
WILLIAM W. ELLSWORTH
A member of the distinguished Ellsworth family of Windsor and born in that town-He was graduated at Yale College in the class with Morse, the inventor of telegraphy-He studied law and married the eldest daughter of Noah Webster, later becoming one of the most successful practitioners in the state, and then a member of the faculty at Trinity College, and chosen to many political honors
William W Eleworth
E
WILLIAM
WOLCOTT
ELLSWORTH
T HE Ellsworth family of Windsor was one of the most dis- tinguished in Connecticut. Oliver Ellsworth, LL.D., was a famous lawyer and statesman, of whom John Adams said : " He was the finest pillar of Washington's whole administration." He was a member of the Continental Congress, a delegate to the Federal Convention of 1787, and in 1796 was appointed chief justice of the United States Supreme Court. He died at Wind- sor, November 26, 1807. His son, William Wolcott Ellsworth, the twin brother of Henry Leavitt Ellsworth, was born at Wind- sor, November 10, 1791, and entered Yale College in 1806, where he graduated with honors in 1810. Among his classmates at Yale was Professor S. F. B. Morse, the inventor of telegraphy.
Immediately after graduation, he entered the Litchfield Law School where he pursued his legal studies. Removing to Hart- ford, Ellsworth entered the office of Judge Williams, his brother- in-law, at that time the most prominent lawyer at the Hartford bar. He was a close student and aimed from the first to thoroughly master the profession.
183
The Governors of Connecticut
In 1813 he was admitted to the Hartford bar, and during the same year became united in marriage to Emily, the eldest daughter of Noah Webster. It was a period when a young lawyer found it hard to build up a practice; yet in 1817, four years after being admitted to the bar, when Judge Williams was elected to Con- gress, Ellsworth was made his partner. The law practice of Judge Williams was one of the largest in the state, yet he left it under the management of his young partner, then twenty-six years of age.
He carried on the business of the firm with great success, and his fame as a legal authority spread rapidly. In 1827 Ells- worth was appointed professor at Trinity College, and he held the position until his death in 1868.
Being the choice of the Whigs in 1829, Ellsworth was elected a member of Congress by a good majority and continued in that position until 1833, when he resigned at the close of the Twenty-third Congress.
As a member of the judiciary committee, while in Congress, he was one of the most active in preparing measures to carry into effect Jackson's proclamation against the nullification of South Carolina. Ellsworth was also on a committee appointed to investigate the affairs of the United States Bank at Philadelphia.
Returning to Hartford, he resumed his law practice and soon regained his extensive business of former days. After considerable urging, Ellsworth accepted the nomination for governor of 184
The Governors of Connecticut
Connecticut and was elected in 1838. He continued in this office four years, and during that period he twice refused the offers of an election to the United States Senate.
Retiring from office in 1842, Governor Ellsworth continued active practice at the bar until 1847, when he was chosen by the General Assembly a judge of the Superior Court, and also one of the judges of the Supreme Court of Errors. He continued on the bench until compelled to resign in 1861, because he had reached the age limit of seventy years.
Retiring in 1861, Governor Ellsworth enjoyed the next seven years in taking a much deserved rest, although he kept up a lively interest in public affairs to the last. He was one of the incorpo- rators of the American Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, and president of the board of directors of the Hartford Retreat for the Insane.
Governor Ellsworth always maintained a great interest in church work and was a deacon in a Hartford church for forty-seven years. The last years of his life were spent in Hartford, where he died on January 15, 1868. At his funeral the Rev. George A. Gould delivered an oration, and among other things said : " Whether an advocate at the bar, or sitting on the bench of justice, or occupying the gubernatorial chair of the state, or serving his countrymen in the highest council of the nation, he never forgot that, first of all, he was a Christian." Another writer has said :
185
The Governors of Connecticut
" William Wolcott Ellsworth was a Puritan of the very best stock, and his honesty in everything was above reproach. In him were hereditary qualities of great mental and moral worth. Much like his father, the chief justice, he was remarkable for his simplicity of tastes and habits. He was dignified in manner; in person tall and graceful. In all things he was an admirable representative of New England, a man of old-time integrity, sincerity and solidity of character."
Rufus Choate, the great orator and lawyer, speaking before a committee of the Massachusetts General Assembly, referred to Governor Ellsworth "as a man of hereditary capacity, purity, learn- ing and love of law." He added: "If the land of Shermans, Griswolds, Daggets and Williams, rich as she is in learning and virtue, has a sounder lawyer, a more upright magistrate, or an honester man in her public service, I know not his name."
A writer in describing his personal characteristics said of him : " He had a fine personal presence, and as graceful bearing as any man of his time. He was an excellent public speaker, having a pleasing voice, and his conversation was earnest and sincere. All his inter- course was marked by kindness and integrity of nature. The crown of his enduring character was his Christian worth and conversation."
186
The
·
THIRTIETH GOVERNOR of
CONNECTICUT was
CHAUNCEY F. CLEVELAND
Born in Canterbury and educated in the dis- trict school, he studied law and was admitted to the bar at the age of twenty years-He became the acknowledged leader of the Demo- cratic party in the state and was elected to many political honors, taking a prominent part in the famous Peace Congress in 1861
-
a
0
1
1
f
S, d n
in g
6 De Cleveland
CHAUNCEY
FITCH
CLEVELAND
G OVERNOR Cleveland, according to one writer, “was the most popular man in the county (Windham), if not in the state; a popularity owing in large measure to a genuine good nature, which found pleasure in kindly greetings and the interest he took in the welfare of those whom he knew."
Chauncey Fitch Cleveland was born in Canterbury, February 16, 1799, and was the son of Silas Cleveland, for many years a prominent citizen of that town. He was sent to the district schools of the town, where he obtained all the education he ever received. Choosing the law as his profession, he commenced its study, and was admitted to the Windham county bar in 1819, at the age of twenty years. As a young lawyer, he was unusually successful. He had gained sufficient prominence in 1833 to be appointed state's attorney for his county, and this office he held for five years.
During the years 1826, 1827, 1829, 1832, 1835, 1836, 1838, 1847 and 1848, he was a representative in the General Assembly from the town of Hampton. Three of those years-1832, 1835
189
The Governors of Connecticut
and 1836-Cleveland was honored by being chosen speaker of the House, a position he upheld with dignity and ability.
For a number of years Cleveland had been the acknowl- edged leader of the democracy of the state, and in 1842 the party managers decided to place him in nomination for governor.
He was elected by a good majority and his term of office was so successful that he was renominated and elected for the second time. Retiring from the gubernatorial chair in 1844, Governor Cleveland returned to his legal practice, but did not relinquish his interest in politics. In 1849 he was elected to represent his district in Congress, which he did for the next four years with ability and distinction.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.