USA > Connecticut > The history of Connecticut, from the first settlement of the colony to the adoption of the present constitution, vol. II > Part 58
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tor of divinity at the University of Edinburgh. His son, Samuel F. B. Morse, LL. D., (the inventor of the magnetic telegraph,) though a native of Massachu- setts, received his education here, and has been a resident in this state.
PARKER, AMASA J., LL. D., is a native of Sharon, and a graduate of Union College. He studied law with Judge Edmonds, at Hudson, N.Y., and Colonel Amasa Parker, his uncle, at Delhi, Delaware County, and was admitted to the bar in October 1828. In 1833, at the age of twenty-six years, he was elected a representative in the state legislature ; and two years afterwards, he was elected by the legislature, a regent of the university. At the age of twenty-nine years he was elected a member of Congress from the counties of Delaware and Broome ; and in 1844 he was appointed a circuit judge and vice chancellor of the court of equity. He was thrown out of office by the adoption of a new state constitution, and soon after was chosen a judge of the supreme court of the state of New York. He now resides in Albany.
PHELPS, ELISHA, a native and resident of Simsbury, graduated at Yale in 1800, and pursued his legal studies at the Lichfield Law School. He was speaker of the house of representatives in 1821, and again in 1829 ; was elected to Congress in 1819, 1825, and 1827 ; and was comptroller of the state from 1830 to 1834. In 1835, he was appointed, with Leman Church, Esq., and the Hon. Royal R. Hin- man, a commissioner to revise the statutes of Connecticut. He died in 1847.
PHELPS, SAMUEL S., was born in Litchfield, May 13, 1793, graduated at Yale in 1811, and studied his profession at the law school in his native town. He settled in Middlebury, Vermont. In 1827 he was chosen one of the council of censors ; in 1831 he was elected a member of the legislative council, and a judge of the supreme court. In 1838, he was elected a senator in Congress, and was re-elected in 1844. He retired to private life in 1850, after a service of twelve years in that body, having acquired a distinguished rank among the ablest states- men in the Union. He has since been appointed to the same office, by the governor of Vermont, to fill a vacancy.
PITKIN, TIMOTHY, LL. D., was born in Farmington in 1765; and graduated at Yale in 1785. After representing his native town for several years in the legis- lature, and having discharged the duties of speaker of the House for five sessions, he was chosen a member of Congress in 1805, and continued to be re-elected until 1819. In 1816 he published an octavo volume, entitled " A Statistical View of the Commerce of the United States ;" in 1835, an enlarged edition of this work, continued down to that time, was published. In 1828 he published his " Political and Civil History of the United States from 1763 to the close of Washington's Administration," in two volumes octavo. These works are highly esteemed for their candour and accuracy. Mr. Pitkin died in New Haven, December 18, 1847, aged 82 years. The degree of doctor of laws was conferred upon him by Yale College, in 1829.
PITKIN, WILLIAM, of Hartford, was a member of the council from 1734 to 1754, when he was elected lieutenant-governor of the colony. He remained in the latter office until 1766, when he succeeded Mr. Fitch as governor. He died while holding the office of governor, Oct. 1st, 1769. Governor Pitkin was also a judge of the superior court for thirteen years, and chief judge for twelve years.
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PLANT, DAVID, a native of Stratford, where he continued to reside until his death. He graduated at Yale in 1804. In 1819 and again in 1820, he was speaker of the house of representatives ; in 1821 he was chosen a member of the state senate, and was twice re-elected ; from 1823 to 1827 he was lieutenant- governor of the state ; and from 1827 to 1829 lie was a member of Congress. He died October 18, 1851.
PORTER, PETER BUEL, (son of Colonel Joshua Porter,) was a native of Salis- bury, and a graduate of Yale College, where he took his first degree in 1791. Hle was for some time a student at the Litchfield Law School, and subsequently, in company with his brother, the late Hon. Augustus Porter, emigrated to western New York. In 1809 he was elected a representative in Congress from that state, and was re-elected in 1811. As chairman of the committee on foreign relations, he reported the resolutions authorizing immediate and active preparations for war. In 1813, he was appointed major-general and chief in command of the state troops, and in 1815 he received from President Madison the appointment of com- mander-in-chief of the United States army-a post which he respectfully de- clined. Soon after the war he was chosen secretary of the state of New York, and was again elected to Congress. In 1828 he was appointed secretary of war by President Adams. He died at Niagara Falls, March 20, 1844, aged 71. His wife, a daughter of the Hon. John Breckenridge, of Kentucky, died in August, 1831.
PRENTISS, SAMUEL, was born in Stonington, March 31, 1782. Having com- pleted his legal studies under the instruction of Samuel Voce, Esq., of Northfield, Mass., and John W. Blake, Esq., of Brattleboro', Vermont, he was admitted to the bar in December, 1802, at Montpelier, where he commenced practice. Hav- ing served as a representative in the state legislature in 1824 and 1825, he was during the latter year, elected a judge of the supreme court. In 1829, he was chosen chief justice, and in 1831 he was transferred to the senate of the United States, in which distinguished body he served for eleven years. He drew up and presented to the senate the existing act against duelling in the district of Colum- bia. In May 1842, Mr. Prentiss, took his seat upon the bench as judge of the United States district court.
RILEY, JAMES, Captain, was born in Middletown on the 27th of October, 1777. At the age of fifteen years he commenced his seafaring life as a sailor on board a sloop bound to the West Indies. He was soon appointed to the command of a vessel ; and in 1808, being at that time captain of the Two Mary's of New York, his ship was seized by the French while in the Bay of Biscay, and confiscated under the Milan Decree of December 17, 1807. He returned to this country in 1809. In April, 1815, he was master and supercargo of the brig Commerce, of Hartford, and sailed for New Orleans, where he exchanged his cargo, and set sail for Gibraltar. At that port he loaded his brig with brandies and wines, and de- parted for the Cape de Verd Islands, where he intended to complete the lading of his vessel with salt. In this voyage he was shipwrecked and thrown upon the coast of Africa. For about eighteen months he was detained as a slave by the Arabs, and suffered almost incredible hardships, so that his weight was reduced from 240 to 60 pounds. He was finally ransomed by Mr. Wiltshire, of Magadore,
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and the ransom money for himself and his companions was refunded by the United States government during President Monroe's administration. On his re- turn to this country, Captain Riley published in a volume a narrative of his adven- tures and sufferings, which has been widely circulated. Such were its extrordinary details, that the account was for a long time regarded as a mere romance. The subsequent testimony of his surviving companions, however, abundantly confirmed its truthfulness. For some years after his return, he resided in Ohio, and was there elected a representative. He, however, finally returned to his old employ- ment, trading almost wholly at the port of Magadore. He died on board his brig William Tell, bound to Morocco, March 15, 1840, aged 63 years.
ROOT, ERASTUS, was born in Hebron, March 16, 1773, graduated at Dartmouth in 1793, studied law with the Hon. Sylvester Gilbert, of his native town, and in 1796 settled in Delaware county, New York. During the following year, when but twenty-four years old, he was elected a representative, and from that time, until he declined holding office, he was almost constantly in public life. Among the honors bestowed upon him, were the following, viz., representative in the Assembly, eleven years ; speaker of the House, three years ; state senator, eiglit years ; member of Congress, eleven years ; president of the Senate, and lieu- tenant-governor of the state of New York, two years. He was also a member of the constitutional convention in 1821, and was subsequently appointed by the legislature one of the committee to revise the laws of the state. It is a singular fact that during his first two legislative terms, he was the youngest member of the legislature; and during the last two years, he was the oldest member. He also rose to the rank of major-general of militia. He died in New York city at the residence of his nephew, George St. Jolin, Esq., on the 24th of December 1846, aged seventy-three years and nine months. He was a man of powerful frame, and though of uncouth manners, he had a highly cultivated intellect and a correct literary taste. He married Miss Elizabeth Stockton, of Delaware county, and had five children, viz., Chiarles, who died at Rio Janeiro, while a midshipman in the navy ; William, who now resides in Wisconsin ; Julianne, who married the late Hon. S. R. Hobbie, the well-known first assistant postmaster-general ; Elizabeth, who married Henry L. Robinson, Esq. ; and Augusta, who married William Fuller, Esq., and died in Alabama in 1838.
ROOT, JESSE, LL. D., was born in Northampton, Mass., in January, 1737. graduated at New Jersey college in 1756, and preached for about three years. He then studied law and in 1763 was admitted to the bar, and settled in Coventry, He was a, lieutenant-colonel in the revolution; member of the Continental Con- gress for five years ; a judge of the superior court for nine years; and chief judge for nine years. He died March 29, 1822, aged 85 years.
SALTONSTALL, GURDON, was a great grandson of Sir Richard Saltonstall, one of the original patentees of Massachusetts Bay. He was born at Haverhill, Mass., March 27, 1666, graduated at Harvard College in 1684, and was ordained pastor of the church in New London, Conn., in 1691. While in the clerical office he was often employed in civil affairs, and on the death of Governor Winthrop in 1707, he was elected to the office of governor of Connecticut, and continued to discharge the duties of that important trust until his decease September 24, 1724. He was
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not only an able and eloquent divine, but he proved himself a consummate states- man. To a noble and dignified person, he added the graces of a polished manner and the powers of an accomplished oratory.
SEDGWICK, THEODORE, LL. D., was born in West Hartford in May 1746. When the subject of this sketch was about three years old, his parents removed to Cornwall Hollow, in the western part of Connecticut, where he continued to reside until he entered college. He graduated at Yale in 1765, and settled as a lawyer in Sheffield, Massachusetts, and from thence removed to Stockbridge, in the same state in 1785. He was a member of the Continental Congress from 1785 to 1787, and after the adoption of the federal constitution, he was chosen a representative in Congress. From the 11th of March 1796 to March 3d, 1799, he was a United States senator, and was chosen president pro. tem. of that body in 1798. Immediately upon the expiration of his senatorial term in 1799, he was again elected a representative in Congress, and was chosen speaker of the House. From 1802 until his death, he was a judge of the supreme court of Massachusetts. He died in Boston, January 24, 1813, aged 66. He received the degree of doctor of laws both at Princeton and Cambridge.
SEYMOUR, HORATIO, LL. D., was born in Litchfield, May 31, 1778, graduated at Yale in 1797, and pursued his professional studies at the Litchfield Law School. He settled in Middlebury, Vermont, his present residence. Besides being a judge of probate and member of the council, he was a senator in Congress from that state from 1820 to 1832. He received the degree of doctor of laws from Yale College in 1847.
SILLIMAN, EBENEZER, of Fairfield, was born in the year 1708, graduated at Yale in 1727, and was called to take a conspicuous part in the public affairs of the colony. Soon after he was admitted to the bar he was elected a representative from Fairfield, and at the October session 1736, he was chosen speaker of the House, a post to which he was re-elected at the three succeeding sessions. In 1739 he was chosen a member of the council, or upper house of the legislature, and was annually re-elected for twenty-seven years. At the end of that period, he was again chosen a representative, and at the sessions in May and October, 1773, and in May 1774, he was elevated to the speaker's chair. Mr. Silli- man was also annually elected a judge of the superior court for twenty-three years, besides being a judge of the probate court, judge of the county court, colonial auditor, and a member of various important committees. For a period of over forty-five years, he was almost constantly in public life. He was, says his epitaph, " distinguished by a clear understanding, a sedate mind, and dignity of deportment," and was " well versed in jurisprudence, learned in the law, and religiously upright." He died at his residence on "Holland Hill," two miles north of the village of Fairfield, on the 18th of January, 1775, aged 68 years.
SILLIMAN, GOLD SELLECK, son of the preceding, was born in Fairfield in 1732, and graduated at Yale in 1752. Having fitted himself for the bar, he settled in his native town in the practice of the law, and soon became distin- guished in his profession. In May, 1775, in anticipation of serious events, the Assembly voted to raise troops for the defense of the colony, and Mr. Silli-
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man was commissioned as a colonel, and on the 14th of June, 1776, he was appointed to the command of a regiment of horse raised to reinforce the con- tinental army in New York. In December of the year last named, he was ap- pointed by the General Assembly brigadier-general of the fourth brigade of militia, in which office he served with success until the close of the war. While superintendent of the coast guard in the Spring of 1779, his vigilance and energy proved a serious annoyance to the enemy, and in May Sir Henry Clinton despatched a company of refugees from Lloyd's Neck, with directions, if possible, to take him prisoner. Crossing the Sound in a whale boat, the com- pany proceeded to the general's residence about midnight, under the guidance of one Glover, who was well acquainted with the premises. Seizing General Silliman, and his son William, who was major of brigade, the refugees conveyed their prisoners to Colonel Simcoe, the officer in command at Lloyd's Neck, and in a short time they were taken to New York under an escort of dragoons. There being at that time no prisoner in the hands of the Americans whom the British would accept in exchange for General Silliman, a friend of his, Captain Daniel Hawley, of Newfield, (now Bridgeport,) determined to procure one. Selecting a trusty crew, he crossed to Long Island in a boat, and seized the person of Judge Jones, of the supreme court of New York, a wealthy and influ- ential loyalist, whom they soon brought in safety to Newfield. Mrs. Silliman, hearing of the judge's arrival, sent for him and entertained him at her house for several days. It was not, however, until May 1780, that an exchange was effected. General Silliman was a brave, prudent, and efficient officer ; and was highly esteemed in private life as a neighbor, gentleman, and christian. He served his fellow citizens as a magistrate, representative, and state's attorney, and was long a deacon in the church in Fairfield. He died July 21st, 1790, aged fifty-eight. He was the father of Benjamin Silliman, LL. D., the distin- guished professor of chemistry and minerology in Yale College.
SKINNER, RICHARD, LL. D., was born in Litchfield, May 30, 1778, and re- ceived his legal education at the Litchfield Law School. He settled in Manches- ter, Vermont, where he soon distinguished himself at the bar, and in public life. He held the offices of state's attorney, judge of probate, member of Congress, judge and chief judge of the supreme court, speaker of the house of representa- tives, and governor of the state from 1820 to 1823. He received the degree of doctor of laws from Middlebury College. Governor Skinner died in Manchester, May 23, 1833, aged 55 years.
SMITH, ISRAEL, a native of this state, was born April 4, 1759, and graduated at Yale in 1781. He studied law, and settled at Rupert, Vermont. He was chosen a representative in Congress in 1791, and held the office for seven years ; in 1802 he was elected a senator in Congress, but resigned in 1807, and Jonathan Robin- son was chosen to fill the vacancy. He was also chief justice and governor of the state. He died December 2, 1810, aged 51.
SMITH, JUNIUS, LL. D., a son of Major-general David Smith, was born in Plymouth, October 2, 1780, graduated at Yale in 1802, and read law in the Lichfield Law School. In 1805, he went to London on business connected with his profession, and he finally became a resident merchant of that city, and remained
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there until 1832. In the year last named, he commenced the great project of navigating the Atlantic by steam. After pressing the matter upon the attention of the leading capitalists and merchants of London and New York, and crossing the ocean several times in the prosecution of his plans, he at length succeeded in forming " The British and American Steam Navigation Company," with a capital of £1,000,000. In July 1836, this company (of which Mr. Smith was a chief director,) gave notice that they would receive plans and proposals, and in Sep- tember a contract was made with some ship-builders in London to construct a steam ship of 2016 tons burthen. The keel of the "British Queen," the first ocean steam ship ever built, was accordingly laid on the 1st of April, 1837. Not long after, the company contracted for a steam ship of 700 tons, the "Sirius," which was actually completed before the " British Queen," and was the first to cross the Atlantic. On the 12th of July, 1839, the " British Queen " left Liver- pool for New York, for the first time, having on board 150 passengers, among whom were Mr. Smith and his family; and arrived in New York on the morning of the 28th of July-after a voyage of fourteen and a half days. Mr. Smith subse- quently turned his attention to the cultivation of the Tea Plant, and for that purpose purchased a plantation in Greenville, South Carolina, and was prosecuting the business with much success at the date of his decease, in 1853. In 1840 Yale College conferred upon him the degree of doctor of laws.
SMITH, NATHAN, was born in Roxbury in 1770, studied law with his brother, the Hon. Nathaniel Smith, and commenced his legal practice in New Haven, where he continued to reside until his death. He became one of the most cele- brated lawyers in the state, and had a very extensive business. In 1808 he re- ceived the honorary degree of master of arts at Yale College. He was a repre- sentative from New Haven, state senator, member of the convention which formed the state constitution, state's attorney for the county of New Haven, United States attorney for the district of Connecticut, and a senator in Congress. He died in the city of Washington, December 6, 1835, aged 65 years.
SMITH, PERRY, was born in Washington, pursued his professional studies at the Litchfield Law School, and settled in New Milford in 1807. He was a representa- tive four years, judge of probate two years, and United States senator six years. He died in New Milford in 1852.
SPENCER, AMBROSE, LL. D., was born in Salisbury, December 13, 1765, and graduated at Harvard College in 1783. Having studied law with John Canfield, Esq., of Sharon, and others, he established himself at Hudson, N.Y. He succes- sively held the offices of member of the House of Assembly, state senator, assistant attorney general and attorney general of the state, member of the council of ap- pointment, judge and chief judge of the supreme court, member of Congress, mayor of Albany, &c. In 1844, Judge Spencer was president of the whig national convention held at Baltimore, which nominated Henry Clay and Theodore Frelinghuysen for president and vice president of the United States. Before he had completed his professional studies, Judge Spencer married Laura Canfield, a daughter of his preceptor above named. Their son, John Canfield Spencer, was formerly a member of Congress from the state of New York, and has since been secretary of the treasury and secretary of war.
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STOWE, MRS. HARRIET B., a daughter of the Rev. Lyman Beecher, DD., and wife of Professor Stowe, of Bowdoin College, was born in Litchfield. She is the author of several works of merit, the principal of which is " Uncle Tom's Cabin," in two volumes, which was published at Boston in 1852. It has, doubt- less, had a more extensive and rapid circulation in this country and in Europe, than any work ever issued from the press.
STRONG, JEDEDIAH, was born in Litchfield, November 7, 1738, and graduated at Yale in 1761. He then studied theology, but finally became a lawyer. IIe was a representative at thirty sessions, member of the council, justice of the quorum, member of the Continental Congress, member and secretary of the con- vention which adopted the constitution of the United States, and commissary of · supplies in the revolution. He married a daughter of the Hon. George Wyllys, secretary of state, in 1788; and in about a year afterwards, she procured a divorce from him on account of intemperance, personal abuse, &c. He died in poverty and obscurity in 1802.
STUART, MOSES, D.D., was born in Wilton, Fairfield county, March 26, 1780, graduated at Yale in 1799, and was admitted to the bar in Danbury in November, 1802. About the same time he was appointed tutor in Yale College, and held the office for some two years. Having resolved to leave the profession of law, he devoted much of his time while a tutor, to the study of theology. In March, 1806, he was ordained pastor of the first congregational church in New Haven. In February, 1810, he was inaugurated professor of sacred literature in the theolo- gical seminary at Andover, Mass., in which office he spent the remainder of his life, He published numerous commentaries and theological treatises which have had an extensive circulation both in this country and in Europe. He died in Andover, Mass., January 4, 1852.
TALCOTT, JOSEPH, of Hartford, was for several years a representative and speaker of the House, and in 1711 was elected a member of the council, in which body he continued until he was elected lieutenant-governor, in May, 1724. In September of that year, Governor Saltonstall died, and lieutenat-governor Talcott was elected to fill the vacancy. He continued to hold the office of gov- ernor until his death in 1741.
TOMLINSON, GIDEON, LL. D., a native and resident of Fairfield, was successively clerk and speaker of the house, a representative in Congress for eight years, United States senator six years, and governor of the state for four years. He received the degree of doctor of laws at Washington College, in 1827. Governor Tomlin- son died in 1854.
TRACY, URIAH, born in Franklin, near Norwich, February 2, 1755, graduated at Yale in 1778, read law with Judge Reeve, in Litchfield, and settled in that town. He was often chosen a representative, and in 1793 was speaker of the House. From 1793 to 1796, he was a representative in Congress, and from 1796 to 1807, he was a United States senator. In 1800, he was president pro tem, of the senate. He rose to the rank of major-general of militia. General Tracy was a leader of the old federal party, and an intimate friend of Hamilton, Ames, Morris, and their associates. He was a man of powerful intellect, and was par-
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ticularly famed for his wit. He died at Washington city, July 19, 1807, and was the first person buried in the congressional burying ground.
WALES, SAMUEL, D.D., son of John Wales, minister at Raynham, Mass., was one of the most eminent divines of his day. He graduated at Yale in 1767, and was settled in Milford from 1770 to 1782. In June of the latter year, he was in- augurated as professor of divinity in Yale College, and continued to discharge the duties of that office with great ability and fidelity, until his death, which took place in 1794. His son, the Hon. John Wales, graduated at Yale in 1801, and was recently a senator in Congress from the state of Delaware.
WALWORTH, REUBEN HYDE, LL. D., was born in Bozrah, a part of the old town of Norwich, on the 26th of October, 1789, and removed with his parents to Renselaer County, N. Y., in 1793. Having studied law with John Russell, Esq., of Troy, he was admitted to the bar in that place, and commenced the practice of law in Plattsburg, Clinton County, in 1810. He was soon appointed a justice of the peace and master in chancery. In 1813, during the war with Great Britain, he was appointed aid to Major General Mooers, and at the time of the siege of Plattsburg, he was assigned the duty of acting adjutant general. In 1818, he was appointed supreme court commissioner, and in the spring of 1821, he was elected a representative in Congress. Having declined a re-election, he was ap- pointed judge of the circuit court for the fourth circuit, in 1825. In the fall of this year, he removed to Saratoga springs, his present residence. In 1828, Judge Walworth was appointed to the office of chancellor of the state of New York, a post of distinguished honor, which he continued to adorn until the office was abol- ished by the new constitution. During the administration of President Tyler, a majority of the New York delegation in Congress, together with every member of the New York legislature of both political parties, united in recommending Chancellor Walworth, for the seat on the bench of the supreme court of the Uni- ted States, rendered vacant by the death of Judge Thompson. The president accordingly sent his name to the senate for confirmation, but that body having neglected for so long a time to act upon the nomination, the executive became convinced that it was determined to postpone the matter until a new administra- tion should come into power. The chancellor's name was therefore reluctantly withdrawn, and that of chief justice Nelson substituted. In 1835, Chancellor Walworth received the degree of doctor of laws from New Jersey College, at Princeton, and in 1839, Yale College conferred upon him the same degree.
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