Joe Aresimowicz

Speaker: 2017-2019

ARESIMOWICZ, Joe (1970-Present), born in Berlin, CT // Joe Aresimowicz was first elected to the Connecticut General Assembly in 2004 to represent the 30th House District, which includes the towns of Berlin and Southington. Following his re-election to a fifth term in 2012, his colleagues elected him to serve as Majority Leader of the House of Representatives for the 2013-2014 and 2015-2016 legislative sessions. In 2016 he was elected House Speaker for the 2017-2018 legislative sessions.

Brendan Sharkey

Speaker: 2013-2016

SHARKEY, J. Brendan (1962-Present), born in Orange, N.J. // Sharkey was elected to the Connecticut General Assembly in 1993 representing the 88th Assembly District of Hamden, Conn. He later served as House Chair of the Planning and Development, Program Review and Investigations and Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committees and was elected Majority Leader, serving from November 2009 to 2012. Sharkey was first elected to serve as Speaker of the House in 2013.

Christopher G. Donovan

Speaker: 2009, 2011

DONOVAN, Christopher G. (1953-Present), born in Drexel Hills, Penn. // Donovan was elected to the Connecticut General Assembly in 1992 representing the 84th Assembly District of Meriden, Conn. He later served as House Chair of the Labor and Public Employees Committee from 1997 to 2003 and was elected Majority Leader, serving from November 2004 to 2008. Donovan was first elected Speaker of the House in 2009 and served through 2012.

James A. Amann

Speaker: 2005, 2007

AMANN, James A. (1956-Present), born in Bridgeport, Conn. // Amann was first elected to office in 1990 and has served as the Speaker of the House since being elected to that position prior to the 2005 Legislative Session and served as Speaker through 2008. Previously Amann had served as the House Majority Leader during the 2003-2004 Legislative Sessions and the House Chair of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee from 1993-2000.

Moira K. Lyons

Speaker: 1999, 2001, 2003

LYONS, Moira K. (1941-Present), born in Trenton, N.J. // Stamford Board of Representatives, 1979-1981; Representative for Stamford, Connecticut State Assembly, 1980-2004; House Deputy Speaker, Connecticut State Assembly, 1993-1994; House Majority Leader, Connecticut State Assembly, 1995-1998; Speaker of the House, Connecticut State Assembly, 1999-2004. She holds the title of being the first female Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives.

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Thomas D. Ritter

Speaker: 1993, 1995, 1997

RITTER, Thomas D. (1952-Present), born in New Haven, Conn. // Graduated Amherst College. Graduated University of Connecticut School of Law, 1977. Admitted to the Connecticut bar, 1978. Hartford Democratic Town Committee, 1975-1980; Representative for Hartford, 1980-1998; Speaker of the House for an unprecedented 3 terms, 1993-1998.

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Richard J. Balducci

Speaker: 1989, 1991

BALDUCCI, Richard J. (1942-Present), born in Deep River, Conn. // Graduated Connecticut State University, 1965. Teacher of Social Studies and History, Newington High School, 1965-1978; Representative for the 27th House District, 1975-1992; Speaker of the House, 1989-1992; State Senator, 27th District, 1993-1994; ran for Governor, 1994; ran for Lieutenant Governor, 1997.

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Irving J. Stolberg

Speaker: 1983, 1987

STOLBERG, Irving J. (1936-2009), born in Philadelphia, Pa. // Graduated UCLA, 1958. Graduated Boston University with an M.A. and completed coursework for a Ph.D. International consultant; Assistant Professor of Geography, Southern Connecticut State College, New Haven, 1966–1978; Connecticut State Representative for twenty-two years, 1971–1993; Speaker of the House of Representatives of Connecticut, 1983–1984, 1987–1988; Connecticut delegate to six Democratic National Conventions; president of the National Conference of State Legislatures, 1986-1987. He was a fellow at Yale's Calhoun College. Stolberg did an enormous amount of work internationally to encourage democracy, working with organizations including the United Nations, UNESCO and WFUNA.

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R.E. Van Norstrand

Speaker: 1985

VAN NORSTRAND, Ralph E. (1938-1995), born in Westfield, Mass. // Attended Harvard College. Graduated University of Connecticut, Magna Cum Laude, 1958. Graduated Yale Law School, 1961. Selectman for Darien, 1973-1976; Representative, 141st House District, 1976-1987; House Minority Leader, 1979-1985; Speaker of the House, 1985-1987. He died in Darien, Conn.

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Irving J. Stolberg

Speaker: 1983, 1987

STOLBERG, Irving J. (1936-2009), born in Philadelphia, Pa. // Graduated UCLA, 1958. Graduated Boston University with an M.A. and completed coursework for a Ph.D. International consultant. Assistant Professor of Geography, Southern Connecticut State College, New Haven, 1966–1978. Connecticut State Representative for twenty-two years, 1971–1993; Speaker of the House of Representatives of Connecticut, 1983–84 and 1987–1988; Connecticut delegate to six Democratic National Conventions; president of the National Conference of State Legislatures, 1986-1987. He was a fellow at Yale's Calhoun College. Stolberg did an enormous amount of work internationally to encourage democracy, working with organizations including the United Nations, UNESCO and WFUNA.

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Ernest N. Abate

Speaker: 1979, 1981

ABATE, Ernest N. (1943-Present), born in New Haven, Conn. // Graduated Villanova University, 1965. Graduated Notre Dame University with a law degree, 1968. Captain, USMC, 1969-1972, honorary discharge with honors. Admitted to the Connecticut bar, 1969; U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut, 1972; U.S. Supreme Court, 1990. Member of the City Committee, Stamford, 1973-1978; Representative for Stamford, 1975-1983; chairman, House Judiciary Committee, 1977-1978; Speaker of the House, 1979-1983; chairman, Legislative Management Committee. Designated "Best Legislator" in polls conducted by Connecticut Magazine, 1982.

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James J. Kennelly

Speaker: 1975, 1977

KENNELLY, James J. (1931-1995). // Graduated Holy Cross College. Graduated University of Connecticut School of Law. Began law practice in Hartford, 1959. He then served in the Army Counter-Intelligence Corps in Japan. Representative for Hartford's 1st Assembly District, 1967-1978; Assistant Majority Leader, 1967; Deputy Majority Leader, 1969; Deputy Speaker, 1971; Deputy Minority Leader, 1973; Speaker of the House, 1975-1978; Assistant Floor Leader in the 1965 Constitutional Convention and delegate, State and National Democratic Conventions. Bestowed with the Eagleton Institute Outstanding Legislator Award, 1967. He died in Farmington, Conn.

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Francis J. Collins

Speaker: 1973

COLLINS, Francis J. (1933-Present), born in Danbury, Conn. // Graduated Miami University, Ohio, 1955. U.S. Army Veteran, 1956-1958. Graduated University of Connecticut School of Law, 1962. Admitted to Connecticut bar, 1982. Representative, 165th Assembly District, 1967-1972; Assistant Minority Leader, 1969; Minority Leader, 1971. He was one of the first attorneys appointed as a State Trial Referee under the Judicial Department's effort to expedite case hearings. State Judicial Selection Committee, six years; served as a member of both the State and local attorney grievance committees. Mr. Collins is a former chairman of the Danbury Chamber of Commerce and serves as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association. He serves as Town Counsel for the Town of Brookfield.

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William R. Ratchford

Speaker: 1969, 1971

RATCHFORD, William Richard (1934-2011), born in Danbury, Conn. // Graduated University of Connecticut, 1956. Graduated Georgetown University Law Center, 1959. Representative for Danbury, 1962-1974; Assistant Majority Leader, 1967; Speaker of the House, 1969, 1971; chairman of the Governor's Blue Ribbon Committee on Nursing Homes, 1975-1976; Commissioner on Aging, 1977-1978; delegate to the Connecticut State Democratic Conventions, 1960-1974; delegate to the Democratic National Conventions, 1972-1984; Connecticut Representative to U.S. Congress, 5th District, 1979-1984. In 1993 he joined President Clinton's administration as the top lobbyist for the General Services Administration. He died in Arlington, Va.

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Robert J. Testo

Speaker: 1967

TESTO, Robert J. (1920-1998), born in Bridgeport, Conn. // Graduated Fordham Law School, 1949. Admitted to the Connecticut Bar, 1949. Representative, 134th District, 1959-1969; Assistant Majority Leader, 1959; Assistant Minority Leader, 1961, 1963, 1965. He became Speaker in 1967 after court-ordered reapportionment formed legislative districts according to population. Before that, each of the state's 169 cities and towns had been sending two representatives each to the State Capitol. Removed to Milford where he became a Superior Court judge, 1969; Fairfield Judicial District Judge. He is buried in St. Michaels Cemetery, Stratford, Conn.

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J. Tyler Patterson, Jr.

Speaker: 1963, 1965

PATTERSON, James Tyler, Jr. (1908-2001), born in Milford, Conn. // Graduated Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, 1926. He earned a Bachelor's and a Law degree from Yale University, 1930 and 1933. Set up law practice in Bridgeport; Deputy Judge of the Town Court of Milford, 1938-1942. During World War II he served as a civilian employee of the U.S. State Department and of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) in North Africa, the Middle East, Greece, and Italy. Active in local affairs in Old Lyme, Mr. Patterson served as a member and subsequently as chairman of the town's Board of Education, 1947-1953. He headed the Republican Town Committee of Old Lyme, 1954-1964; Representative for Old Lyme, 1951, 1953, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1965; Majority Leader, 1961; Speaker, 1963, 1965. He was elected a member of the Connecticut Constitutional Convention, 1965. He died in Farmington, Conn.

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Anthony E. Wallace

Speaker: 1961

WALLACE, Anthony E. (1905-1984), born in Stamford, Conn. // Graduated UCLA, B.A. Attended Harvard Business School. Representative for Simsbury, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1961; Assistant Minority Leader, 1959; Speaker of the House, 1961. He was narrowly defeated for the Republican nomination for governor in 1962. He died in Southington, Conn.

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William J. O'Brien, Jr.

Speaker: 1959

O'BRIEN, Jr., William J. (1909-1981), born in Portland, Conn. // Graduated Wesleyan University, 1932 (Phi Epsilon). Manager of the Pittsburgh, Pa. Chapter of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). He resigned in 1948 to start a radio station in Middletown, Conn. with Richard J. O'Brien. WCNX (The Middlesex Broadcasting Company) began operation on December 12, 1948. Representative for Portland, 1953, 1955, 1957, 1959; Assistant Minority Leader, 1957; Speaker of the House, 1959. He was the first Democratic Speaker of the House in 83 years and the first from Middlesex County in 106 years. After his service in the General Assembly ended in 1959, he served on the State Liquor Control Commission from 1961 to 1973 and headed the commission for the last four years; President of National Conference of State Liquor Administrators (NCSLA), 1970. He is buried in Saint Mary's Cemetery, Portland, Conn.

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Nelson C. L. Brown, II

Speaker: 1957

BROWN, Nelson C. L. (1922-2011), born in Noank, Conn. // Veteran of World War II, U.S. Coast Guard, 1942-1946. Attended Mitchell College. Graduated New England School of Broadcasting, 1947. Program Director and radio broadcaster for WNLC in New London, 1947-1958. Representative for Glastonbury, 1953, 1955, 1957; Speaker, 1957. At the age of 30, he was the youngest Speaker of the House of Representatives in Connecticut history. He remained active for 50 years afterward by lobbying for open-government legislation. He is buried in Noank Valley Cemetery, Noank, Conn.

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W. Sheffield Cowles, Jr.

Speaker: 1955

COWLES, Jr., William Sheffield (1898-1986), born in New York, N.Y. // Graduated Yale University, 1921. A nephew of Teddy Roosevelt. He served in World War I rising to the rank of First Lieutenant and, in World War II, leaving with the rank of Captain. Representative for Farmington, 1949, 1951, 1953, 1955; Speaker of the House, 1955; Mayor of Farmington, 1956-1960. Interment at Riverside Cemetery, Farmington, Conn.

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Arthur E. B. Tanner

Speaker: 1953

TANNER, Arthur E. B. (1909-1987), born in Waterbury, Conn. // Graduated Yale University, 1931. Served six terms in the State House of Representatives, 1943, 1945, 1947, 1949, 1951, 1953; Speaker of the House, 1953; delegate to Republican National Convention from Connecticut, 1956; permanent chairman of the Republican 5th District Congressional Convention, 1958. He was president of the Waterbury Foundry Co., president of the Waterbury Iron Works, Inc., and a director of the Lux Clock Manufacturing Company.

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Mansfield D. Sprague

Speaker: 1951

SPRAGUE, Mansfield Daniel (1910-2006). // Graduated Dartmouth College and Yale Law School. Practiced law and was a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy 1943-1945. Representative for New Canaan, 1945, 1947, 1949, 1951; Speaker of the House, 1951. Appointed General Counsel of the Department of Defense in 1955 by President Eisenhower and later as Assistant Secretary of International Security Affairs. In 1959, he became Vice President and Director of AMF, Inc. During the Cold War in 1960, the President's Committee on Information Activities Abroad was chaired by Sprague and was referred to as the Sprague Committee. He served as Counselor to Secretary Elliot Richardson at the Department of Commerce in 1976. He died in Ojai, Calif. on March 25, 2006.

• Interview for International Security Affairs.
• Declassified correspondence.

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John R. Thim

Speaker: 1949

THIM, John R. (1902-1988), born in New Haven, Conn. // Graduated Georgetown University, LL.D. Practiced law in New Haven, 1926-1952; Judge of Hamden Town Court, 1941-1951; Town Council for Hamden, 1947-1953; Judge of the Hamden Town Court, 1941-1951; Representative for Hamden, 1947, 1949; Speaker of the House, 1949; delegate to Republican National Convention from Connecticut, 1952; associate justice of the Superior Court, 1966-1972. He is buried in All Saints Cemetery, North Haven, Conn.

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Frederick H. Holbrook

Speaker: 1947

HOLBROOK, Frederick Huntington (1883-1957), born in Lebanon, Conn. // Captain, Connecticut State Guard Officers' Reserve Corps, 1919-1920; Representative for Madison, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1945, 1947; Speaker of the House, 1947; first Commissioner, Connecticut Food and Drug Administration, 1947; delegate to Republican National Convention from Connecticut, 1948; State Public Utilities Commissioner, 1948-1955. He died in Essex, Conn., June 2, 1957 and was interred at West Cemetery, Madison, Conn.

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E. Lea Marsh, Jr.

Speaker: 1945

MARSH, Edward Lea, Jr. (1909-1996), born in Sandusky, Ohio. // Graduated Yale College and then Yale Law School, 1933. Practiced law in Deep River, 1933-1995; Representative for Old Lyme, 1937, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1945; delegate to Republican National Convention from Connecticut, 1940; Acting Majority Leader, 1939; Assistant Majority Leader, 1941; Majority Leader, 1943; Speaker of the House, 1945. He was owner of "Elsie, the Borden Cow" and exhibited her in the New York State Fair. He died in Old Lyme, Conn.

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Harold E. Mitchell

Speaker: 1943

MITCHELL, Harold E. (1901-1950), born in Iron River, Wis. // Graduated University of Wisconsin. Graduated Harvard Law School, 1926. Assistant State's Attorney, 1928-1929; Representative for West Hartford, 1937, 1939, 1941, 1943; Speaker of the House, 1943; delegate to Republican National Convention from Connecticut, 1944, 1948; Connecticut Republican State Chair, 1945; appointed to Republican National Policy Committee, 1949. He died June 20, 1950 at the age of 48 in West Hartford, Conn.

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Hugh Meade Alcorn, Jr.

Speaker: 1941

ALCORN, Hugh Meade, Jr. (1907-1992), born in Suffield, Conn. // Graduated Dartmouth College. Graduated Yale Law School, 1933. Representative for Suffield, 1937, 1939, 1941; Speaker of the House, 1941; delegate to Republican National Convention from Connecticut, 1940, 1944 (alternate), 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960; Hartford County State's Attorney, 1942-1948; member of Republican National Committee from Connecticut, 1953-1961; chairman of Republican National Committee, 1957-1959; delegate to Connecticut State Constitutional Convention, 6th District, 1965. He died in Suffield, Conn., January 13, 1992 and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Suffield, Conn.

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Walter Howe

Speaker: 1939

HOWE, Walter (1907-1966), born in Washington, D.C. // Graduated Yale University, 1929, 1931. Harvard College, 1938, PhD, Latin American History. Banker. Commander, U.S. Navy, 1941-1946 (World War II), 1950-1951 (Korean War); Representative for Litchfield, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1941; Speaker of the House, 1939; delegate to Republican National Convention from Connecticut, 1940; U.S. Ambassador to Chile, 1958-1961; U.S. Agency for International Development, Director, U.S. Mission to Colombia, 1954-1956. Author of "The Mining Guild of New Spain and Its Tribunal General, 1770-1821" (1949). He died in Charlottesville, Va.

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J. Mortimer Bell

Speaker: 1937

BELL, John Mortimer (1863/4-1941), born in City Island (The Bronx), N.Y. // Graduated Columbia College Law School, 1886. Practiced law in Mt. Vernon, N.Y. Removed to Salisbury, Conn., 1916. Representative for Salisbury, 1921, 1923, 1925, 1933, 1935, 1937; Speaker of the House, 1937; State Senator, 31st District, 1939. He was known for his adamant opposition to Daylight Savings Time (proposing a bill to prohibit the display of Daylight Savings Time on public clocks; also, displaying in public a wristwatch showing Daylight Savings Time, which would be a punishable misdemeanor), and the compulsory inspection of motor vehicles. He died in Salisbury, Conn. at age 77.

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William Hanna

Speaker: 1933, 1935

HANNA, William James (1892-1972), born in Bethel, Conn. // Graduated Yale University, 1917. Teacher of mathematics at West Hartford High School before enrolling at Fordham Law School, graduating in 1921. Admitted to Connecticut bar, 1921. Practiced law more than 50 years in Bethel. Chairman, Bethel Republican Town Committee; Representative for Bethel, 1931, 1933, 1935; Speaker of the House, 1933, 1935, the second person to serve two successive terms up until that time (this was the era of the Great Depression). He introduced a bill that would make Bethel the first incorporated village in Connecticut. It appears that he was associated with the legislature again in 1939 as legal counsel. He joined the committee to make birth control legal and helped draft the bill for the 1941 legislature (1/28/1941 - Hartford Courant). Hanna lived in New Fairfield, Conn. before retiring to Boca Raton, Fla. with his wife. He was buried at Delray Beach, Fla.

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Howard W. Alcorn

Speaker: 1931

ALCORN, Howard Wells (1901-1992), born in Suffield, Conn. // Graduated Dartmouth College, 1923. Attended Harvard Law School and Yale Law School. Admitted to the Connecticut bar, 1926. Representative for Suffield, 1927, 1929, 1931; Speaker of the House, 1931; alternate delegate to Republican National Convention from Connecticut, 1932; State Senator, 1933; Superior Court Judge in Connecticut, 1943-1961; Justice of Connecticut State Supreme Court, 1961-1971; Chief Justice of Connecticut Supreme Court, 1970-1971. He died in Hartford, Conn., August 10, 1992. Of note: on July 6, 1944, he was in attendance with his father, former Speaker Hugh Meade Alcorn, during the Hartford Circus Fire and both escaped unharmed. Interment at Woodlawn Cemetery, Suffield, Conn.

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Samuel A. Eddy

Speaker: 1929

EDDY, Samuel Alden (1860-1945), born in East Canaan, Conn. // Graduated New York University, 1880. North Canaan Town Clerk, 1887-1907; Clerk of the House, 1889-1891; Clerk of the Senate, 1897; Clerk of Bills, 1895, 1899; Clerk of Engrossing Bills, 1901; Representative for North Canaan, 1927, 1929; Speaker of the House, 1929; Secretary of the Connecticut Republic State Central Committee, 1894-1902. In 1897 he compiled and published a "Complete Index to the Special Laws and Private Acts of Connecticut from 1789-1897". He also served as an agent of the U.S. Internal Revenue, 1906-1923.

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John H. Hill

Speaker: 1927

HILL, John Henry (1864-1948), born in Derby, Conn. // Graduated Dartmouth College, 1887. Representative for Shelton, 1919, 1921, 1927; Speaker of the House, 1927; alternate delegate to Republican National Convention from Connecticut, 1928. He died in his daughter's home August 1, 1948 and is buried in New Saint Peter Cemetery, Danbury, Conn.

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Elbert L. Darbie

Speaker: 1925

DARBIE, Elbert Linwood (1882-1946), born in Danielson, Conn. // Member of the Connecticut National Guard, 1901. In 1909, he was promoted to the rank of Captain of the Thirteenth Company of the Coast Artillery Corps. Studied law under Harry E. Beck of Danielson. Admitted to the bar, 1913. Chairman, Danielson Republican Town Committee, 1914; Representative for Killingly, 1921, 1923, 1925; Speaker of the House, 1925.

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Leonard J. Nickerson

Speaker: 1923

NICKERSON, Leonard J. (1858-1937), born in Cornwall, Conn. // Graduated Alger Institute of Cornwall. Admitted to the bar at Litchfield, 1879; U.S. bar, 1882. Judge of Probate Court for the district of Cornwall; Postmaster of West Cornwall for 27 years; Representative for Cornwall, 1883, 1921, 1923; Speaker of the House, 1923 and resigned that position in 1923 to be appointed Judge of the Superior Court, 1923; delegate-at-large to Connecticut Convention to ratify 21st amendment, 1933. Nickerson was a member of the Bald Head Club of America which was incorporated in Connecticut and consisted of various members of the General Assembly in 1921. A Special Act, H.B. 185, "An Act Incorporating the Bald Head Club of America" (read more) was approved June 24, 1921.

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Frederick W. Huxford

Speaker: 1921

HUXFORD, Frederick William (1874-1946), born in Stamford, Conn. // Graduated Yale University, 1898. Graduated Harvard College, 1901. Admitted to the bar, 1902; Judge of the Fairfield County Court of Common Pleas, Fairfield County, 1913-1924; Judge of Juvenile Court, 1935-1940; Representative for Stamford, 1909, 1911, 1913, 1915, 1917, 1919, 1921; Speaker of the House, 1921; State Senator, 27th District, 1933-1935; First Judge of the Fairfield County Juvenile Court, 1935-1940. He died in Stamford on December 21, 1946 and is buried in Spring Grove Cemetery, Darien, Conn.

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James F. Walsh

Speaker: 1919

WALSH, James Francis (1864-1944), born in Lewisboro, N.Y. // Admitted to the bar, 1888. Prosecuting agent for the Fairfield County Commissioners, 1888; prosecuting attorney of the borough court of Greenwich, 1899; Representative for Greenwich, 1901, 1919; Judge of the Criminal Court of Common Pleas of Fairfield County, 1905; State Senate President, pro tempore, 27th District, 1903, 1907; Connecticut State Treasurer, 1905-1907; Speaker of the House, 1919; delegate to Republican National Convention from Connecticut, 1912, 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936; member of Connecticut Republican State Central Committee, 1922, 1940. He was a member of the Bald Head Club of America which was incorporated in Connecticut and consisted of various members of the General Assembly in 1921. A Special Act, H.B. 185, "An Act Incorporating the Bald Head Club of America" (read more) was approved June 24, 1921. He died on November 3, 1944 in Greenwich and was buried in Putnam Cemetery.

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Frank E. Healy

Speaker: 1915, 1917

HEALY, Frank Edward (1869-1945), born in Windsor Locks, Conn. // Graduated Yale University, 1893. Admitted to the bar, 1893. Began practicing law in Hartford, 1893. Assistant Clerk of the House, 1897; Clerk of the House, 1899; Clerk of the Senate, 1901; Clerk of the Constitutional Convention, 1902; Representative for Windsor Locks, 1913, 1915, 1917; Speaker of House, 1915, 1917; Connecticut State Attorney General, 1919-1927; member of Connecticut Republican State Central Committee, 1922-1927, 1940. He is buried in St. Mary's Cemetery, Windsor Locks, Conn.

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Morris C. Webster

Speaker: 1913

WEBSTER, Morris Catlin (1848-1926), born in Harwinton, Conn. // Descendant of John Webster, Governor of the Connecticut Colony in 1656. He began his political career in New Britain serving three years in the Common Council. Representative for New Britain, 1897 and served two years as Mayor of New Britain; Representative for Harwinton, 1909, 1911, 1913; Speaker of the House, 1913; Connecticut State Comptroller, 1915-1921.

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Frederick A. Scott

Speaker: 1911

SCOTT, Frederick Andrew (1866-1957), born in Terryville, Conn. // Graduated Yale University, 1889 and Yale Law School, 1891. Admitted to the bar, 1891; House Clerk, 1895, 1897; Clerk of the Senate, 1899; Clerk of Bills, 1901; Engrossing Clerk, 1903; Representative for Plymouth, 1905, 1909, 1911; Speaker of the House, 1911; U.S. Attorney for Connecticut, 1912-1915; Statute Revision Commissioner, 1929; four years chairman, Statute Revision Commission for the Revision of 1930.

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Elmore S. Banks

Speaker: 1909

BANKS, Elmore Sherwood (1866-1936), born in Southport, Fairfield, Conn. // Graduated Yale Law School, 1895. Fairfield Town Clerk, 1894-1896. Admitted to the bar, 1895. Entered law practice in Bridgeport, 1895. Judge of Probate of Fairfield, 1896-1914; Representative for Fairfield, 1901-1912; Speaker of the House, 1909-1910; alternate delegate to Republican National Convention from Connecticut, 1912; State Senator, 25th District, 1921-1922. He died in Deep River, Conn. and is buried in Fountain Hill Cemetery, Deep River.

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John Q. Tilson

Speaker: 1907

TILSON, John Quillin (1866-1958), born in Clear Branch, Tenn. // Graduated Yale College, 1891, and Yale Law School, 1893. Admitted to the bar, 1898. He enlisted as a volunteer in the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American War serving as second lieutenant of the Sixth U.S. Volunteer Infantry. Representative for New Haven, 1905-1908; Speaker of the House, 1907-1908; U.S. Representative from Connecticut, 1909-1913, 1915-1932 (at-large 1909-1913, 3rd District 1915-1932); defeated, 1912; resigned, 1932; delegate to Republican National Convention from Connecticut, 1932. He died in New London, N.H., August 14, 1958. Interment at Tilson Cemetery, Clear Branch, Tenn.

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Marcus H. Holcomb

Speaker: 1905

HOLCOMB, Marcus Hensey (1844-1932), born in New Hartford, Conn. // Educated at Wesleyan Seminary in Massachusetts. Admitted to the bar at Litchfield, 1871. Probate Judge in Connecticut, 1876; State Senator, 2nd District, 1893-1894; delegate to Connecticut State Constitutional Convention, 1902; Representative for Southington, 1905-1906; Speaker of the House, 1905-1906; Connecticut State Attorney General, 1907-1910; Superior Court Judge in Connecticut, 1910-1915; Governor of Connecticut, 1915-1921.

During his tenure as Governor, the state participated with the nation's effort in preparing for the eventual war. A food supply council and a state council of defense were established. The state debt was reduced and a bill was enacted that regulated maximum working hours for women. Teacher retirement benefits, old-age annuities, and health insurance programs also were instituted. Holcomb left office on January 5, 1921, retiring from public service. He died in Southington, Conn., March 5, 1932 and was interred at Oak Hill Cemetery, Southington, Conn.

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Michael Kenealy

Speaker: 1903

KENEALY, Michael (1855-1916), born in Stamford, Conn. // In 1904 he formed an association in New London with U.S. Senator Frank B. Brandegee, establishing the firm of Brandegee, Kenealy & Brennan. Representative for Stamford, 1897-1900, 1903-1906; State Senator, 1901-1902; Speaker of the House, 1903-1904; delegate to Republican National Convention from Connecticut, 1904 (member, Committee on Permanent Organization), 1908. He died at Stamford Hospital, Jan. 17, 1916.

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John H. Light

Speaker: 1901

LIGHT, John Henry (1855-1947), born in Carmel, N.Y. // Graduated Chamberlain Institute, N.Y., 1880. Admitted to the bar at Fairfield County, 1883. City attorney for South Norwalk, 1884-1908; Fairfield County Treasurer, 1899-1906; Representative for Norwalk, 1899-1902; Speaker of the House, 1901-1902; Judge for the Criminal Court of Common Pleas, 1896-1900, 1901-1905; Connecticut State Attorney General, 1910-1915.

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Frank B. Brandegee

Speaker: 1899

BRANDEGEE, Frank Bosworth (1864-1924), born in New London, Conn. // Graduated Yale University, 1885 and was a member of the Skull and Bones Society, as was his father, Augustus Brandegee who was Speaker of the House in 1861. Admitted to the bar and practiced in New London. Representative from New London, 1889, 1899-1900; Speaker of the House, 1899-1900; alternate delegate to Republican National Convention from Connecticut, 1900; U.S. Representative from Connecticut, 3rd District, 1902-1905; U.S. Senator from Connecticut, 1905-1924. He was opposed to the Versailles Treaty (which many have claimed laid a clear path for World War 2), women's suffrage, prohibition, child labor laws, and the League of Nations. Member, Union League. He committed suicide while serving as U.S. Senator in Washington, D.C., October 14, 1924. Interment at Cedar Grove Cemetery, New London, Conn.

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Joseph L. Barbour

Speaker: 1897

BARBOUR, Joseph Lane (1846-1915), born in Barkhamsted, Conn. // Educated at Williston Seminary. Engaged in teaching, 1864-1866. Journalist with the Hartford Evening Post, 1867-1874. Clerk of the Common Council, 1871-1874; Clerk of the House, 1878-1879; Clerk of the Senate, 1880; Prosecuting attorney for the City of Hartford for eight years; Representative for Hartford, 1897-1898; Speaker of the House, 1897-1898. He was buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hartford.

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Samuel Fessenden

Speaker: 1895

FESSENDEN, Samuel (1847-1908), born in Rockland, Me. // Civil War Veteran, having enlisted in the 7th Maine Battery at the age of 16. Commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant in 1864 at age 17. Graduated Harvard Law School, 1869. Admitted to the bar of Fairfield County, 1869. Delegate to Republican National Convention at Cincinnati from Connecticut, 1888 (Speaker), 1896 (Speaker); Speaker of the Connecticut State House of Representatives, 1895-1896; Secretary of Republican National Committee, 1888; Representative for Stamford, 1874, 1878, 1894; State Senator, 1905, 1907; member of Republican National Committee from Connecticut, 1896; State's Attorney for Fairfield County, 1880 until his death in Stamford, Conn. He is buried in Woodland Cemetery, Stamford, Conn.

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Isaac W. Brooks

Speaker: 1893

BROOKS, Isaac Watts (1838-1916), born in Goshen, Conn. // Graduated Brown University, 1862. Goshen Town Clerk for 10 years. He removed to Torrington and there served as Town Treasurer, Justice of the Peace, treasurer of the Torrington Savings Bank, and president of the Torrington Water Company. Representative for Torrington, 1884, 1893-1894; Speaker of the House, 1893-1894; State Senator, 30th District, 1907-1908; Judge of Probate Court for the District of Torrington, 1885-1889. He is buried in Goshen Center Cemetery.

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Allan W. Paige

Speaker: 1891

PAIGE, Allan Wallace (1854-1913), born in Sherman, Conn. // Graduated Yale University, 1881. Admitted to the bar in New Haven, 1881; and in the U.S. Courts, 1881. Admitted to New York bar, 1885. Representative for Sherman, 1882; for Huntington, 1890; Assistant Clerk of the House, 1883; Clerk of the House, 1884; Clerk of the Senate, 1885; Speaker of the House during the "dead-lock" session of 1891, 1891-1892; delegate to the National Republican Convention held at Minneapolis in 1892; State Senator, 1905. He died in Chicago, while on a trip to Seattle, of appendicitis.

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John H. Perry

Speaker: 1889

PERRY, John Hoyt (1848-1928), born in Southport, Conn. // Graduated Yale University, 1870. Studied at Columbia Law School for two years and began practice in Norwalk. Representative for Fairfield, 1877-1878, 1881, 1889; Speaker of the House, 1889-1890; Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for Fairfield County, 1889; State Senator and Minority Leader, 1913. He served as counsel for the United States in arbitration proceedings with Chile in 1902, and as counsel for the town of Fairfield. Judge Perry was first Vice President of the Connecticut Constitutional Convention of 1902. His father, Oliver Henry Perry, was Speaker of the House, 1859-1860.

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Heusted W. R. Hoyt

Speaker: 1887

HOYT, Heusted Warner Reynolds (1842-1894), born in Ridgefield, Conn. // Educated at Greenwich Academy and later studied at Columbia College at age 17, but left during his first term. Hoyt was a Civil War Veteran, rising to the rank Colonel of the 4th Regiment until 1877. Studied law in New York City and was admitted to the bar in 1865. He removed to Greenwich, Conn. where he set up law practice. State Senator, 1869 (youngest member ever elected at that time, age 26); again State Senator, 1873; Representative for Greenwich, 1886-1889; Speaker of the House, 1887-1889; elected the first Judge of the Borough Court of Greenwich, 1889, and held that office as long as he lived.

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John A. Tibbits (Tibbitts)

Speaker: 1886

TIBBITS, John Arnold (1844-1893), born in New London, Conn. // Entered Williams College, but left to study with Hon. George Goddard. Major Tibbits was a Civil War Veteran having enlisted in the 14th Connecticut Volunteers; 1862; wounded twice on the field of Antietam as Sergeant, 1862; promoted to Lieutenant during the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863; discharged due to injuries. Continued legal studies with Hon. Augustus Brandegee; admitted to the bar, 1866; Assistant Clerk of the House, 1868; Clerk of the House, 1869; U.S. Collector of Customs, 1869-1881; Clerk of the Senate, 1870; Representative for New London, 1872; delegate, Sixth Republican National Convention, 1876; Speaker of the House, 1886-1887; Judge Advocate Third Regimental District of Connecticut. In 1873 he was appointed Government Director in the Union Pacific Railroad Company by President Grant, and in 1877 he was Collector of the Port of New London, appointed by President Hayes. Later he became Judge of the City Court of New London. He entered into law partnership with ex-Governor Waller, and for ten years he was editor of the New London Telegram (New London Day). He was Consul at Bradford, England, under President Harrison's Administration. He is buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery, New London, Conn.

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William E. Simonds

Speaker: 1885

SIMONDS, William Edgar (1841/2-1903), born in Collinsville, Canton, Conn. // Enlisted as private in the 25th Connecticut Volunteers, 1862, advancing to the grade of Sergeant Major. Graduated Yale Law School, 1865. Began patent and trade-mark law practice in Hartford, 1865. Representative for Canton, 1883-1885; Speaker of the House, 1885-1886; U.S. Representative from Connecticut's 1st District, 1889-1891; defeated, 1890. As 2nd Lieutenant, he received the Medal of Honor in 1899 for actions at the Battle of Irish Bend, Louisiana, April 14, 1863. While in Congress he secured passage of the International Copyright Bill, for which the French government made him a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 1989. U.S. Commissioner of Patents, 1891-1893, serving as professor of the law of patents at Columbia University, Washington, D.C. Author of "Design Patents" (1874); "Digest of Patent Causes" (1888); "Digest of Patent Office Decisions" (1880); "A Summary of Patent Law" (1900); and "Whither, a Study of Immortality", published in 1900. Died in Hartford, Conn., March 14, 1903. Interment at Canton Center Cemetery, Canton, Conn.

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Henry B. Harrison

Speaker: 1884

HARRISON, Henry Baldwin (1821-1901), born in New Haven, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1846 (Skull and Bones Society). State Senator, 4th District, 1854; Representative for New Haven, 1865, 1873, 1883-1884; Speaker of the House, 1884; Governor of Connecticut, 1885-1887. His contributions included initiatives on prohibition and antislavery legislation. Issues of great concern to him were education and workers rights. As Governor, he created the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and he pushed for compulsory education to the age of 16 for Connecticut's children. Harrison died in New Haven, Conn. Interment at Grove Street Cemetery, New Haven, Conn.

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Charles H. Pine

Speaker: 1883

PINE, Charles Henry (1845-1915), born in Riverton, Barhamsted, Conn. // Enlisted at age 16 as drummer in Company E, 19th Connecticut Volunteers (2nd Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Heavy Artillery) in Winsted, 1862, serving 3 years. In 1867 he was employed by the Ansonia National Bank, rising from clerk, bookkeeper and teller to cashier in 1873. He became president of the bank in 1886. Representative for Derby, 1882-1883; Speaker of the House, 1883. Prolific philanthropist. He gifted Yale University $50,000 in 1911, and after his death willed an additional $150,000 in 1915, for the creation of the Charles H. Pine Scholarship Fund. He died in St. Petersburg, Fla. and is buried in the Pine Grove Cemetery, Derby, Conn.

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John M. Hall

Speaker: 1882

HALL, John Manning (1841-1905), born in Willimantic, Conn. // Graduated Yale University, 1866. Graduated Columbia Law School, 1868; admitted to the Connecticut bar, 1869; Judge of the Superior Court of Connecticut, 1889; Representative for Windham, 1870-1872, 1881-1882; Speaker of the House, 1882; State Senator, 17th District, 1889-1890 (President pro tempore). Vice-President of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. He is buried in Old Willimantic Cemetery, Conn.

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William C. Case

Speaker: 1881

CASE, William Cullen (1836-1901), born in Granby, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1857. Admitted to the bar, 1860. Representative for Simsbury, 1869, 1870, 1872, 1873 and 1874; Representative for Granby, 1881, 1884; Speaker of the House, 1881. He died at Hartford, Conn. and is buried in Granby Cemetery, Granby, Conn.

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Dwight Marcy

Speaker: 1880

MARCY, Dwight (1840-1887), born in Union, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1863. Admitted to the bar in Tolland County, 1865. Set up practice in Rockville. State's Attorney for Tolland County, 1867; Assistant Clerk of the House of Representatives, 1867; Clerk of the House, 1868; Clerk of the Senate, 1869; Representative for Vernon, 1878-1880; delegate from Tolland County to the Republican National Convention, 1876; Speaker of the House, 1880. He is buried in Grove Hill Cemetery, Rockville, Conn.

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Dexter R. Wright

Speaker: 1879

WRIGHT, Dexter Russell (1821-1886), born in Windsor, Vt. // Graduated from Wesleyan College, 1845. Graduated Yale Law School, 1848. Passed the bar and began the practice of law in Meriden. In 1863 he opened an office in New Haven where he remained the rest of his life. Lt. Colonel of the 14th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry; Colonel of the 15th Connecticut Volunteers. U.S. District Attorney for Connecticut, 1865-1869; Representative for New Haven, 1878; Speaker of the House, 1879. He died in New Haven, Conn.

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Charles H. Briscoe

Speaker: 1878

BRISCOE, Charles Henry (1831-1918), born in Newtown, Conn. // Read law with Amos S. Treat and was admitted to the bar in Fairfield County, 1854. Representative for Enfield, 1857, 1864, 1878; Speaker of the House, 1878; State Senator, 2nd District, 1861. He was the first Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for Hartford County, serving from 1869 to 1875. He died in Enfield, Conn.

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H. Lynde Harrison

Speaker: 1877

HARRISON, Hart Lynde (1837-1906), born in Guilford, Conn. // Republican. Graduated Yale College, 1860. Admitted to the bar and practiced law in New Haven, 1837. Clerk of the House, 1862-1863; Clerk of the Senate, 1864; State Senator, 6th District, 1865-1866; Representative for Guilford, 1871-1877, 1881; chairman, Republican State Central Committee, 1875-1876, 1884; Speaker of the House, 1877; Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for the County of New Haven, 1877-1881; delegate to Republican National Convention from Connecticut, 1876; alternate delegate to Republican National Convention from Connecticut, 1880.

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Thomas M. Waller

Speaker: 1876

WALLER, Thomas McDonald (1839/40-1924), born in New York, N.Y. // Gov. Waller was born to Thomas Armstrong and and Mary Christopher both dying when he was nine years old. Left an orphan with no means of support, he set out and began his career as a newsboy, carrying papers in the lower parts of Manhattan. He gave up paper selling to go to sea and was employed on fishing vessels as cabin boy and cook's mate. He was discovered by Robert K. Waller of New London during one of his voyages and was adopted, taking the name of Mr. Waller who began giving him a stable home and education. Admitted to the bar, 1861; served in the Union Army during the Civil War; Representative for New London, 1867-1868, 1872, 1876; Speaker of the House, 1876; Secretary of the State of Connecticut, 1870-1871; Mayor of New London, 1873; candidate for U.S. Representative from Connecticut 3rd District, 1876; Governor of Connecticut, 1883-1885; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Connecticut, 1884; U.S. Consul General in London, 1885-1889; delegate to Gold Democratic National Convention from Connecticut, 1896; delegate to Connecticut State Constitutional Convention, 1902. Returned to New York City to practice law while maintaining his residence in New London. He died January 24, 1924. Interment at Cedar Grove Cemetery, New London, Conn.

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Charles Durand

Speaker: 1875

DURAND, Charles (1820-1900), born in Derby, Conn. // Educated at Derby Academy. Representative for Derby, 1874; Speaker of the House, 1875. President of the Schneller, Osborne & Cheesman Company of Ansonia. He died in Ansonia, Conn.

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Tilton E. Doolittle

Speaker: 1874

DOOLITTLE, Tilton Edwin (1825-1896), born in Riverton (Cheshire), Conn. // Graduated Trinity College, 1844. Graduated Yale Law School, 1846. Admitted to the bar in Middletown, 1846. Set up law practice in Cheshire, 1846-1850, in Meriden, 1850-1858, and lastly, in New Haven, 1859-1896. U.S. Attorney for Connecticut, 1860-1861; Representative for New Haven, 1866-1867, 1870, 1874; Speaker of the House, 1874; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Connecticut, 1868; State's Attorney for New Haven County, 1879-1896. He died in Cheshire, Conn.

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William W. Eaton

Speaker: 1853, 1873

EATON, William Wallace (1816-1898), born in Tolland, Conn. // He removed to Columbia, S.C., and engaged in mercantile pursuits; returned to Tolland, Conn.; studied law, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice, 1837; Clerk of Courts of Tolland County, 1846-1847; Representative for Tolland, 1847-1848, 1853, 1863, 1868, 1870-1871, 1873-1874; Speaker of the House, 1853, 1873; State Senator, 1859; removed to Hartford, Conn., 1851; Clerk of Courts of Hartford County, 1851, 1854; Hartford City Attorney, 1857-1858; Chief Judge of the City Court of Hartford, 1863-1864, 1867-1872; appointed as a Democrat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of William A. Buckingham and served from February 5, 1875, to March 3, 1875; elected for the full term beginning March 4, 1875, and served until March 3, 1881; chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations (Forty-sixth Congress); elected as a Democrat to the Forty-eighth Congress. He resumed the practice of law until his death in Hartford, Conn., September 21, 1898. Interment in Spring Grove Cemetery.

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Amos S. Treat

Speaker: 1872

TREAT, Amos Sherman (1816-1886), born in Bridgewater, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1838. Admitted to the bar in Litchfield, Conn. and set up law practice in Newtown, Conn., 1843; Judge of Probate for New Haven County. Removed to Bridgeport, Conn. in 1854. Appointed member of the U.S. Peace Congress, 1861; Representative for Bridgeport, 1858, 1862, 1869, 1879; Representative for Woodbridge, 1871-1873; Speaker of the Connecticut State House of Representatives, 1872.

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Edwin H. Bugbee

Speaker: 1871

BUGBEE, Edwin Holmes (1820-1900), born in Thompson, Conn. // Received his education in Thompson and then removed to Rhode Island to become bookkeeper, and later proprietor, for a cotton manufactory. He removed to Killingly in 1849 where he became manager of the Williamsville Manufacturing Company, having that position for thirty years. Representative for Killingly, 1857, 1859, 1861, 1864, 1869, 1871, 1873; Speaker of the House, 1871; State Senator, 14th District, 1865-1868; Senate President pro tempore, 1868. He died in Putnam, Conn. In his will he bequeathed $15,000 for the erection of a library building in Killingly (now known as the Bugbee Memorial Building), also donating his valuable library of books.

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Alfred A. Burnham

Speaker: 1858, 1870

BURNHAM, Alfred Avery (1819-1879), born in Windham, Conn. // Admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Windham, 1843; Representative for Windham, 1844, 1845, 1850, and 1858; Speaker of the House, 1858; Clerk of the Senate, 1847; 28th Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut, 1857. Burnham was elected as a Republican to the Thirty-sixth and Thirty-seventh Congresses (March 4, 1859–March 4, 1863). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1862. Elected again as Representative for Windham, 1870 and served again as House Speaker. He died in Windham, Connecticut, April 11, 1879 and is buried in Windham Cemetery.

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Lafayette S. Foster

Speaker: 1847-1848, 1854, 1870

FOSTER, Lafayette Sabine (1806-1880), born in Franklin, Conn. // Graduated Brown University, 1828. Taught school in Providence, R.I. and then removed to Norwich, Conn. to study law. Removed to Centerville, Md., to become headmaster of an academy there. Admitted to the Maryland bar, 1830. Removed to Norwich and was admitted to the U.S. bar in 1831 where he commenced the practice of law. Representative for Norwich, 1839-1840, 1846-1848, 1854; Speaker of the House, 1847-1848; unsuccessful Whig candidate for Governor in 1850 and again in 1851; Mayor of Norwich 1851-1852; Speaker of the House, 1854 but resigned to take position as U.S. Senator; elected as a Republican to the United States Senate, 1854; reelected in 1860 and served until 1867; chairman, Committee on Pensions (Thirty-seventh through Thirty-ninth Congresses); President pro tempore of the Senate during the Thirty-ninth Congress, being elected March 6, 1865. About six weeks later, upon the assassination of President Lincoln, he became acting Vice-President of the United States. This position he held for nearly two years, until the close of his senatorial term. Professor of Law, Yale University, 1869; again Representative for Norwich, 1870, and was elected Speaker but resigned to accept a judicial position; Associate Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court 1870-1876, when he retired; unsuccessful Democratic candidate for election to the Forty-fourth Congress. He died in Norwich, Conn., September 19, 1880; interment in Yantic Cemetery.

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Orville H. Platt

Speaker: 1869

PLATT, Orville Hitchcock (1827-1905), born in Washington, Conn. // Studied law under Hon. Gideon H. Hollister in Litchfield. Admitted to the bar in Litchfield, 1849. Clerk of the Senate, 1855-1856; Secretary of the State of Connecticut, 1857-1858; State Senator, 6th District, 1861-1862; Representative for Meriden, 1864, 1869. He served in the 8th Connecticut Infantry, Corporal. Delegate to Republican National Convention from Connecticut, 1868; Speaker of the House, 1869; State's Attorney for New Haven County, 1877; U.S. Senator from Connecticut, 1879-1905. While in the U.S. Senate, he was chairman of the Committee on Patents (Forty-seventh through Forty-ninth and Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth Congresses) and a member of the Committees on Pensions (Forty-seventh Congress), Territories (Fiftieth through Fifty-second Congresses), Cuban Relations (Fifty-sixth through Fifty-eighth Congresses), and the Judiciary (Fifty-eighth and Fifty-ninth Congresses). He died in in Meriden, Conn. Interment at Washington Cemetery on the Green, Washington, Conn.

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 "An Old-fashioned Senator: Orville H. Platt, of Connecticut"

Charles Ives

Speaker: 1868

IVES, Charles (1815-1880), born in East Haven, Conn. // Being bedridden with ill health from his youth he spent his days reading and writing. In 1843 he published a collection of poems, "Chips from the Workshop." Graduated Yale College, 1846. Admitted to the bar and practiced law in New Haven, 1846. Representative for New Haven, 1853; Representative for East Haven, 1865, 1867, 1868; chairman of the Judiciary Committee,1867; Speaker of the House, 1868.

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John T. Wait

Speaker: 1867

WAIT, John Turner (1811-1899), born in New London, Conn. // He studied at Trinity College. Admitted to the bar and began legal practice in Norwich, 1836; State's Attorney for New London County, 1848-1844, 1846-1854; State Senator, 8th District, 1865-1866; Senate President pro tempore, 1866; Representative for Norwich, 1867, 1871, 1873; Speaker of the House, 1867; U.S. Representative from Connecticut, 3rd District, 1876-1887. He died in Norwich, Conn. April 21, 1899. Interment at Yantic Cemetery, Norwich, Conn.

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David Gallup

Speaker: 1866

GALLUP, David (1807/8-1883), born in Sterling, Windham, Conn. // Judge of Probate for the Plainfield District; delegate to Republican National Convention from Connecticut, 1860; Representative for Plainfield, 1862-1866, 1877; Speaker of the House, 1866; State Senator, 13th District, 1869 serving as President pro tempore; Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut, 1879-1881. In 1886 the Yale Corporation accepted a legacy from the Hon. David Gallup in the amount of $7,808.19, to be used for the aid of students in the Sheffield Scientific School from the State of Connecticut. He died in Hartford, Conn. and is buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery.

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Eleazer K. Foster

Speaker: 1865

FOSTER, Eleazer Kingsbury (1813-1877), born in New Haven, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1834. Admitted to the New Haven bar and set up law practice, 1837-1877. Judge of Probate for the New Haven District, 1845-1846, 1848-1849; delegate to Republican National Convention at Chicago from Connecticut, 1860; Representative for New Haven, 1844-1845, 1865; Speaker of the House, 1865; State's Attorney for New Haven County, 1854 until his death in New Haven, June 13, 1877.

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John S. Rice

Speaker: 1864

RICE, John Strong (1816-1885), born in New Haven, Conn. // State Senator, 4th District, 1850; set up law practice in Farmington, 1855; Representative for Farmington, 1862-1864; Speaker of the House, 1864; Judge of Probate Court in New Haven, Conn. He was the first president of Continental Life Insurance Company, 1864-1870.

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Chancey F. Cleveland

Speaker: 1835-1836, 1863

CLEVELAND, Chauncey Fitch (1799-1887), born in Canterbury, Conn. // Admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Hampton, 1819; Judge of Windham Probate Court; prosecuting attorney for Windham County; Representative for Hampton, 1826-1829, 1832, 1835, 1836, 1838, 1847, 1848; Speaker of the House, 1835-1836; State's Attorney, 1832; State Bank Commissioner, 1838; removed to Norwich, Conn. in 1841; Governor of Connecticut, 1842-1843; awarded Doctor of Laws degree from Trinity College, 1842; resumed the practice of law in Hampton; again Representative for Hampton, 1847-1849; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-first and Thirty-second Congresses, 1849, 1851; became affiliated with the Republican Party upon its organization; delegate to the Republican National Convention, 1856, 1860; member of the Peace Convention of 1861 held in Washington, D.C., in an effort to devise means to prevent the impending war; again Representative for Hampton, 1863-1866; Speaker of the House, 1863. Leaving politics, he engaged in agricultural pursuits and the practice of law. Chauncey F. Cleveland died in Hampton, Conn. and is buried in South Cemetery.

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Josiah M. Carter

Speaker: 1862

CARTER, Josiah Mason (1813-1868), born in New Canaan, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1836. Admitted to the bar in Fairfield County, 1839. Practiced law in New York City, 1841. Removed his family to Norwalk, Conn. in 1847 and formed a law partnership with Thomas B. Butler. Representative for Norwalk, 1850, 1861-1862; Speaker of the House, 1862; candidate of the Whig Party for the office of Lieutenant Governor in 1856; State's Attorney for Fairfield County, 1862 and held that office until his death in Norwalk on March 21, 1868. He is buried in Norwalk Union Cemetery, Norwalk, Conn.

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Henry C. Deming

Speaker: 1861

DEMING, Henry Champion (1815-1872), born in Colchester, Conn. // Attended Yale College, 1836 (Skull and Bones Society). Graduate, Harvard Law School, 1839. Began law practice in New York City where his pursuits shifted from law practice to literary interests. Removed to Hartford and opened a law office, 1847. Representative for Hartford, 1849-1850, 1859-1861; Speaker of the House, 1861; State Senator, 1st District, 1851; Mayor of Hartford, 1854-1858, 1860-1862, resigned 1862. In 1858, he became a member of the Putnam Phalanx, which was a ceremonial honor guard; Colonel in the Union Army during the Civil War; Mayor of New Orleans, La., 1862-1863; U.S. Representative from Connecticut, 1st District, 1863-1867; defeated, 1866. He wrote a biography of General Grant titled "The Life of Ulysses S. Grant", 1868. When Grant was inaugurated, the president made Deming Collector of Internal Revenues, a post he held until his death in Hartford, Conn., October 8, 1872. Interment at Spring Grove Cemetery, Hartford, Conn.

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Augustus Brandegee

Speaker: 1861

BRANDEGEE, Augustus (1828-1904), born in New London, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1849 and Yale Law School, 1851 (Skull and Bones Society). Admitted to the bar, 1851; Judge of New London City Court, 1855; Representative for New London, 1854, 1858-1861; Speaker of the House, 1861; delegate to Republican National Convention from Connecticut, 1864, 1880, 1884; U.S. Representative from Connecticut's 3rd District, 1863-1867; Mayor of New London, 1871-1872; New London City Attorney, 1886. Ardent abolitionist and friend of President Lincoln. Died in New London, Conn., November 10, 1904. (His son, Frank B. Brandegee, was Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1899.) Interment at Cedar Grove Cemetery, New London, Conn.

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Oliver Henry Perry

Speaker: 1859-1860

PERRY, Oliver Henry (1815-1882), born in Southport, Conn. // Entered Yale College at age 15 (1830), but left early due to the death of his father. Returned to study years later at Yale Law School, graduating in 1841 (Skull and Bones Society). Judge Perry was an avowed abolitionist, and had always voted either the Whig or Republican ticket. Justice of the Peace; Judge of Probate for the District of Woodstock, 1880; Representative for Fairfield, 1847-1849, 1853, 1857, 1859-1860 and 1864; Secretary of the State, 1854; Speaker of the House, 1859-1860. Yale College bestowed upon him the degree of A.M., 1875. His son, John H. Perry, was Speaker of the House in 1889. He died in Richmond, Va. and is buried in Barlow Cemetery, West Woodstock, Windham, Conn.

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Alfred A. Burnham

Speaker: 1858, 1870

BURNHAM, Alfred Avery (1819-1879), born in Windham, Conn. // Admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Windham, 1843; Representative for Windham, 1844, 1845, 1850, and 1858; Speaker of the House, 1858; Clerk of the Connecticut Senate, 1847; 28th Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut, 1857. Burnham was elected as a Republican to the Thirty-sixth and Thirty-seventh Congresses, March 4, 1859–March 4, 1863. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1862. He was again Representative for Windham, 1870 and served again as Speaker. He died in Windham, Connecticut, April 11, 1879. He was interred in Windham Cemetery, Windham Center, Connecticut.

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Eliphalet A. Bulkeley

Speaker: 1857

BULKELEY, Eliphalet Adams (1803-1872), born in Colchester, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1824. Removed to East Haddam where he was president of East Haddam Bank; Judge of Probate Court; Representative for East Haddam, 1834; State Senator, 19th District, 1838, 1840; removed to Hartford in 1847 and was school commissioner for Connecticut; elected Representative for Hartford, and Speaker of the House, 1857. Founded Aetna Insurance Company and was the first president of the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company. He died in Hartford, Conn., February 13, 1872. Interment at Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hartford, Conn.

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Green Kendrick

Speaker: 1854, 1856

KENDRICK, Green (1798-1873), born in Mecklenburg County, N.C. // Removed to Waterbury, Conn., 1829. State Senator, 5th District, 1846, 1864; Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut, 1851-1852; Speaker of the House, 1854, 1856. (Of note, his grandson, Greene Kendrick, was also a lawyer, and was a member of the General Assembly, 1876-1878.) He is buried in Riverside Cemetery, Waterbury, Conn.

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Austin Baldwin

Speaker: 1855

BALDWIN, Austin (1807-1886), born in Cavendish, Vt. (or Albany, N.Y.) // In 1836 be relocated his New York business, the Baldwin Tool Co., to Middletown, Conn. He became one of the originators of the old Whig party and friend to Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. Speaker of the House, 1855. Twice he was nominated for Governor by the Know-Nothing, or American party, and also held office under President Harrison as a Customs Officer. He was a Delegate at-large for the 1860 Baltimore National Constitutional Union Convention representing Connecticut. Mr. Baldwin returned to New York and entered in the shipping business with the State Steamship Line. He died in New York City and is buried in Indian Hill Cemetery, Middletown, Conn.

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Green Kendrick

Speaker: 1854, 1856

KENDRICK, Green (1798-1873), born in Mecklenburg County, N.C. // Removed to Waterbury, Conn., 1829. State Senator, 5th District, 1846, 1864; Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut, 1851-1852; Speaker of the House, 1854, 1856. (Of note, his grandson, Greene Kendrick was also a lawyer, and was a member of the General Assembly, 1876-1878.) He is buried in Riverside Cemetery, Waterbury, Conn.

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Lafayette S. Foster

Speaker: 1847-1848, 1854, 1870

FOSTER, Lafayette Sabine (1806-1880), born in Franklin, Conn. // Graduated Brown University, 1828. Taught school in Providence, R.I. and then removed to Norwich, Conn. to study law. Removed to Centerville, Md., to become headmaster of an academy there. Admitted to the Maryland bar, 1830. Removed to Norwich and was admitted to the U.S. bar in 1831 where he commenced the practice of law. Representative for Norwich, 1839-1840, 1846-1848, 1854; Speaker of the House, 1847-1848; unsuccessful Whig candidate for Governor in 1850 and again in 1851; Mayor of Norwich 1851-1852; Speaker of the House, 1854 but resigned to take position as U.S. Senator; elected as a Republican to the United States Senate, 1854; reelected in 1860 and served until 1867; chairman, Committee on Pensions (Thirty-seventh through Thirty-ninth Congresses); President pro tempore of the Senate during the Thirty-ninth Congress, being elected March 6, 1865. About six weeks later, upon the assassination of President Lincoln, he became acting Vice-President of the United States. This position he held for nearly two years, until the close of his senatorial term. Professor of Law, Yale University, 1869; again Representative for Norwich, 1870, and was elected Speaker but resigned to accept a judicial position; Associate Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court 1870-1876, when he retired; unsuccessful Democratic candidate for election to the Forty-fourth Congress. He died in Norwich, Conn., September 19, 1880; interment in Yantic Cemetery.

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William W. Eaton

Speaker: 1853, 1873

EATON, William Wallace (1816-1898), born in Tolland, Conn. // He removed to Columbia, S.C., and engaged in mercantile pursuits; returned to Tolland, Conn. where he studied law and was admitted to the bar commencing in the practice of law, 1837; Clerk of Courts of Tolland County, 1846-1847; Representative for Tolland, 1847-1848, 1853, 1863, 1868, 1870-1871, 1873-1874; Speaker of the House, 1853, 1873; State Senator, 1859; removed to Hartford, Conn., in 1851; Clerk of Courts of Hartford County, 1851, 1854; Hartford City Attorney, 1857-1858; Chief Judge of the City Court of Hartford, 1863-1864, 1867-1872; appointed as a Democrat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of William A. Buckingham and served from February 5, 1875, to March 3, 1875; elected for the full term beginning March 4, 1875, and served until March 3, 1881; chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations (Forty-sixth Congress); elected as a Democrat to the Forty-eighth Congress; resumed the practice of law. He died in Hartford, Conn., September 21, 1898. Interment in Spring Grove Cemetery.

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Charles B. Phelps

Speaker: 1852

PHELPS, Charles Bartlett (1788-1859), born in Chatham (Portland), Conn. // Admitted to the bar in 1809 and practiced law in Woodbury until his death. Representative for Woodbury, 1831, 1837, 1852; Speaker of the House, 1852; State Senator and President pro tempore, 16th District, 1843; Judge of Probate, 1823-1837, 1842; Postmaster, 1831-1841; Judge of the Litchfield County Court, 1850, and was reappointed in 1852; admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of New York. His death occurred in Roxbury, Conn. at age 70 while addressing a committee, which included Gov. Buckingham, to superintend the erection of a monument to Col. Seth Warner of the Revolutionary War.

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Samuel Ingham

Speaker: 1833, 1835, 1851

INGHAM, Samuel (1793-1881) born in Hebron, Conn. // Studied law with Governor Mattocks at Peacham, Vt. and Judge Gilbert in Hebron, Conn. Admitted to the Tolland County bar in 1815 and commenced practice in Canaan, Vt. for four years; removed to Jewett City, Conn., and subsequently, to Essex (then part of Saybrook), Conn., in 1819 where he set up the practice of law. State's Attorney for Middlesex County, 1827-1835, 1843-1844; Judge of Probate, 1829-1833; Representative for Saybrook, 1828-1834, 1835, 1851; Speaker of the House, 1833, 1835*, 1851; Judge of the Middlesex County Court, 1849-1853; elected as a Jacksonian Republican to the Twenty-fourth Congress, 1835 and reelected as a Democrat to the Twenty-fifth Congress, 1837; chairman, Committee on Naval Affairs (Twenty-fifth Congress); State Senator, 1843, 1850; United States Commissioner of Customs from December 5, 1857 to May 14, 1861; resumed the practice of law. He died in Essex, Middlesex County, Conn., November 10, 1881. Interment in River View Cemetery.

*Vacated seat for Congressional position, 1835.

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(Not to be confused with Samuel D. Ingham (1779-1860), Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, 1829-1831)

Origen S. Seymour

Speaker: 1850

SEYMOUR, Origen Storrs (1804-1881), born in Litchfield, Conn. // Studied law under Tapping Reeve at Litchfield Law School. Graduated Yale College, 1824. Admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Litchfield, Conn., 1826. County Clerk, 1836-1844; Representative for Litchfield, 1842, 1849, 1850; Speaker of the House, 1850; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-second and Thirty-third Congresses (March 4, 1851-March 3, 1855); Judge of the Superior Court of Connecticut, 1855-1863; Judge of the State Supreme Court, 1870; Chief Justice, 1873-1874; chairman of the commission to settle the boundary dispute between Connecticut and New York in 1876; again Representative for Litchfield, 1880. He died in Litchfield, Conn., August 12, 1881. Interment in East Cemetery.

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John C. Lewis

Speaker: 1849

LEWIS, John Calhoun (1800-1849), born in Cornwall, Conn. // Removed to Terryville, c. 1835; Postmaster for Terryville; lock maker by trade; Justice of the Peace and Probate Judge for the County of Litchfield, 1845; Speaker of the House (Free Soil Democrat, or Free Soil Democrat Whig), 1849. Of note: his name is listed as Speaker associated with "F" (assuming Federalist) in Connecticut Registers and Manual which may be a cause for confusion. "F" may have been originally an abbreviation for the short-lived Free Soil Party, as well as for Federalist. (It is noted in some references that he was the last Whig Speaker of the House.) He died in 1849 and is buried in Old Cemetery, Terryville, Conn.

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Lafayette S. Foster

Speaker: 1847-1848, 1854, 1870

FOSTER, Lafayette Sabine (1806-1880), born in Franklin, Conn. // Graduated Brown University, 1828. Taught school in Providence, R.I. and then removed to Norwich, Conn. to study law. Removed to Centerville, Md., to become headmaster of an academy there. Admitted to the Maryland bar, 1830. Removed to Norwich and was admitted to the U.S. bar in 1831 where he commenced the practice of law. Representative for Norwich, 1839-1840, 1846-1848, 1854; Speaker of the House, 1847-1848; unsuccessful Whig candidate for Governor in 1850 and again in 1851; Mayor of Norwich 1851-1852; Speaker of the House, 1854 but resigned to take position as U.S. Senator; elected as a Republican to the United States Senate, 1854; reelected in 1860 and served until 1867; chairman, Committee on Pensions (Thirty-seventh through Thirty-ninth Congresses); President pro tempore of the Senate during the Thirty-ninth Congress, being elected March 6, 1865. About six weeks later, upon the assassination of President Lincoln, he became acting Vice-President of the United States. This position he held for nearly two years, until the close of his senatorial term. Professor of Law, Yale University, 1869; again Representative for Norwich, 1870, and was elected Speaker but resigned to accept a judicial position; Associate Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court 1870-1876, when he retired; unsuccessful Democratic candidate for election to the Forty-fourth Congress. He died in Norwich, Conn., September 19, 1880; interment in Yantic Cemetery.

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Cyrus H. Beardslee (Beardsley)

Speaker: 1846

BEARDSLEE, Cyrus Hall (1799-1852), born in Monroe, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1818. For many years a judge of the County Court of Fairfield County; Representative for Monroe, 1825-1826, 1831, 1836; Clerk of the House, 1825-1826, 1831. Speaker of the House, 1846; State Senator, 10th District, 1832.

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William W. Boardman

Speaker: 1836, 1839, 1845

BOARDMAN, William Whiting (1794-1871), born in New Milford, Conn. // Attended Bacon Academy, Colchester, Conn.. Graduated Yale College, 1812. Studied law at Cambridge and Litchfield Law Schools. Set up law practice in New Haven, 181. Clerk of the State Senate, 1820; Judge of Probate; Representative for New Haven, 1836-1839; Speaker of the House, 1836, 1839; elected as a Whig to the Twenty-sixth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William L. Storrs; reelected to the Twenty-seventh Congress and served from December 7, 1840, to March 3, 1843; chairman, Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds (Twenty-seventh Congress); was not a candidate for renomination in 1842 to the Twenty-eighth Congress; again a Representative for Lyme, 1845, 1849, and 1851, serving as Speaker in 1845; resumed the practice of law. Died in New Haven, Conn., August 27, 1871, Interment in Grove Street Cemetery.

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Charles J. McCurdy

Speaker: 1840-1841, 1844

McCURDY, Charles Johnson (1797-1891), born in Lyme, Conn. // Representative for Lyme, 1827-1829, 1833-1834, 1838; Speaker of the House, 1840-1841, 1844; State Senator, 9th District, 1832; Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut, 1847-1849; U.S. Charge d'Affaires to Austria, 1850-1852. Died in 1891. He is buried in Old Lyme Town Cemetery, Old Lyme, Conn.

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Noyes Billings

Speaker: 1843

BILLINGS, Noyes (1800-1865), born in New London, Conn. // Private, Fourth U.S. Regiment Infantry, 1811. He fought in the Battle of Tippecanoe. Graduated Yale College, 1819 (Linonian Society) and studied law at Litchfield Law School, 1820, but did not go on to practice law until 1821, when he ventured to New Orleans until ill health made him return. In 1823, after a visit to Europe, he established himself in the whaling business at New London with his brother, William Williams Billings (N. & W.W. Billings Co., 1823-1851). Mayor of New London, 1835-1837; Speaker of the House, 1843; State Senator, 7th District, 1844; Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut, 1846-1847. He is buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery, New London.

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Stillman K. Wightman

Speaker: 1837, 1842

WIGHTMAN, Stillman King (1803-1899), born in Scituate, R.I. // Graduated Yale College, 1825. Representative for Middletown, 1835-1837; Speaker of the House, 1837, 1842; State Senator, 18th District, 1839-1840. After his son Edward K. Wightman was killed in 1865 in the Civil War, Stillman K. Wightman made a long journey through a war-torn countryside to recover his son's body in North Carolina. He had published an account of that journey, "In Search Of My Son". He is buried in Old Center Cemetery, Cromwell, Conn.

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Charles J. McCurdy

Speaker: 1840-1841, 1844

McCURDY, Charles Johnson (1797-1891), born in Lyme, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1817. Representative for Lyme, 1827-1829, 1833-1834, 1838; Speaker of the House, 1840-1841, 1844; State Senator, 9th District, 1832; Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut, 1847-1849; President pro tempore of the Connecticut Senate, 1847-1848; U.S. Charge d'Affaires to Austria, 1850-1852; Judge of Connecticut Superior Court, 1855; Judge of Connecticut Court of Supreme Errors, 1863-1867. Yale University bestowed upon him a Doctor of Laws degree, 1868. Died in 1891 and is buried in Old Lyme Town Cemetery, Old Lyme, Conn.

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William W. Boardman

Speaker: 1836, 1839, 1845

BOARDMAN, William Whiting (1794-1871), born in New Milford, Conn. // Attended Bacon Academy, Colchester, Conn.; graduated Yale College, 1812. Studied law at Cambridge and Litchfield Law Schools. Set up law practice in New Haven, 1819. Clerk of the State Senate, 1820; Judge of Probate; Representative for New Haven, 1836-1839; Speaker of the House, 1836, 1839; elected as a Whig to the Twenty-sixth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William L. Storrs; reelected to the Twenty-seventh Congress and served from December 7, 1840, to March 3, 1843; chairman, Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds (Twenty-seventh Congress); was not a candidate for renomination in 1842 to the Twenty-eighth Congress; again Representative for New Haven, 1845, 1849, and 1851, serving as Speaker in 1845; resumed the practice of law in New Haven where he died, August 27, 1871, Interment in Grove Street Cemetery.

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Chancey F. Cleveland

Speaker: 1835-1836, 1863

CLEVELAND, Chauncey Fitch (1799-1887), born in Canterbury, Conn. // Admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Hampton, 1819. Judge of Windham Probate Court; prosecuting attorney for Windham County; Representative for Hampton, 1826-1829, 1832, 1835, 1836, 1838, 1847, 1848; Speaker of the House, 1835-1836; State's Attorney, 1832; State Bank Commissioner, 1838; removed to Norwich, Conn., 1841; Governor of Connecticut, 1842-1843; awarded Doctor of Laws degree from Trinity College, 1842; resumed the practice of law in Hampton; again Representative for Hampton, 1847-1849; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-first and Thirty-second Congresses, 1849, 1851; became affiliated with the Republican Party upon its organization; delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1856 and 1860; member of the Peace Convention of 1861 held in Washington, D.C., in an effort to devise means to prevent the impending war; again a Representative for Hampton, 1863-1866; Speaker of the House, 1863. Leaving politics, he engaged in agricultural pursuits and the practice of law. Chauncey F. Cleveland died in Hampton, Conn. and is buried in South Cemetery.

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Stillman K. Wightman

Speaker: 1837, 1842

WIGHTMAN, Stillman King (1803-1899), born in Scituate, R.I. // Graduated Yale College, 1825. Representative for Middletown, 1835-1837; Speaker of the House, 1837, 1842; State Senator, 18th District, 1839-1840. After his son Edward K. Wightman was killed in 1865 in the Civil War, Stillman K. Wightman made a long journey through a war-torn countryside to recover his son's body in North Carolina. He had published an account of that journey, "In Search Of My Son". He is buried in Old Center Cemetery, Cromwell, Conn.

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Samuel Ingham

Speaker: 1833, 1835, 1851

INGHAM, Samuel (1793-1881)born in Hebron, Conn. // Studied law with Governor Mattocks at Peacham, Vt. and Judge Gilbert in Hebron, Conn. Admitted to the Tolland County bar in 1815 and commenced practice in Canaan, Vt. for four years; removed to Jewett City, Conn., and subsequently, to Essex (then part of Saybrook), Conn., in 1819 where he set up the practice of law. State's Attorney for Middlesex County, 1827-1835, 1843-1844; Judge of Probate, 1829-1833; Representative for Saybrook, 1828-1834, 1835, 1851; Speaker of the House, 1833, 1835*, 1851; Judge of the Middlesex County Court, 1849-1853; elected as a Jacksonian Republican to the Twenty-fourth Congress, 1835 and reelected as a Democrat to the Twenty-fifth Congress, 1837; chairman, Committee on Naval Affairs (Twenty-fifth Congress); State Senator, 1843, 1850; United States Commissioner of Customs from December 5, 1857 to May 14, 1861; resumed the practice of law. He died in Essex, Middlesex County, Conn., November 10, 1881. Interment in River View Cemetery.

*Vacated seat for Congressional position, 1835.

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(Not to be confused with Samuel D. Ingham, Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, 1829-1831)

Chancey F. Cleveland

Speaker: 1835-1836, 1863

CLEVELAND, Chauncey Fitch (1799-1887), born in Canterbury, Conn. // Admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Hampton, 1819; Judge of Windham Probate Court; prosecuting attorney for Windham County; Representative for Hampton, 1826-1829, 1832, 1835, 1836, 1838, 1847, and 1848; Speaker of the House, 1836, 1838; State's Attorney, 1832; State Bank Commissioner, 1838; removed to Norwich, Conn., 1841; Governor of Connecticut, 1842-1843; awarded Doctor of Laws degree from Trinity College, 1842; resumed the practice of law in Hampton; again a Representative for Hampton, 1847-1849; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-first and Thirty-second Congresses, 1849, 1851; became affiliated with the Republican Party upon its organization; delegate to the Republican National Convention, 1856, 1860; member of the Peace Convention of 1861 held in Washington, D.C., in an effort to devise means to prevent the impending war; again Representative for Hampton, 1863-1866; Speaker of the House, 1863. Leaving politics, he engaged in agricultural pursuits and the practice of law. Chauncey F. Cleveland died in Hampton, Conn. and is buried in South Cemetery.

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William L. Storrs

Speaker: 1834

STORRS, William Lucius (1795-1861), born in Middletown, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1814. Studied law and was admitted to the bar in Whitestown, N.Y., 1817; returned to Connecticut the same year and commenced practice in Middletown. Representative for Middletown, 1827-1829, 1834; Speaker of the House, 1834; elected as an Anti-Jacksonian to the Twenty-first and Twenty-second Congresses, March 4, 1829-March 3, 1833; elected as a Whig to the Twenty-sixth Congress and served from March 1839 until his resignation in June 1840; Associate Judge of the Connecticut Supreme Court, 1840; Chief Justice, 1856, in which capacity he served until his death; Professor of Law at Wesleyan University, 1841-1846; Professor of Law at Yale College, 1846-1847. He died in Hartford, Conn. and is buried in Old North Cemetery.

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Roger Huntington

Speaker: 1834

HUNTINGTON, Roger (1784-1852), born in Norwich, Conn. // Representative for Norwich, 1820, 1825, 1834, 1839; Speaker of the House, 1834; resigned in 1834 to become Comptroller for New Haven County, 1834-1835; State Senator, 1828-1832 (at-large, 1828-1829; 8th District, 1830-1832); Connecticut State Comptroller, 1834-1835. He died in Norwich, Conn.

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Samuel Ingham

Speaker: 1833, 1835, 1851

INGHAM, Samuel (1793-1881)born in Hebron, Conn. // Studied law with Governor Mattocks at Peacham, Vt. and Judge Gilbert in Hebron, Conn. Admitted to the Tolland County bar in 1815 and commenced practice in Canaan, Vt. for four years; removed to Jewett City, Conn., and subsequently, to Essex (then part of Saybrook), Conn., in 1819 where he set up the practice of law. State's Attorney for Middlesex County, 1827-1835, 1843-1844; Judge of Probate, 1829-1833; Representative for Saybrook, 1828-1834, 1835, 1851; Speaker of the House, 1833, 1835*, 1851; Judge of the Middlesex County Court, 1849-1853; elected as a Jacksonian Republican to the Twenty-fourth Congress, 1835 and reelected as a Democrat to the Twenty-fifth Congress, 1837; chairman, Committee on Naval Affairs (Twenty-fifth Congress); State Senator, 1843, 1850; United States Commissioner of Customs from December 5, 1857 to May 14, 1861; resumed the practice of law. He died in Essex, Middlesex County, Conn., November 10, 1881. Interment in River View Cemetery.

*Vacated seat for Congressional position, 1835.

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(Not to be confused with Samuel D. Ingham, Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, 1829-1831)

Martin Welles

Speaker: 1831-1832

WELLES, Martin (1787-1863), born in Newington, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1806. Admitted to Hartford County bar, 1810. Removed to Newburgh, N.Y. to practice law until 1820, when ill health led him to return to Wethersfield. He principally engaged himself as a farmer for a number of years. Clerk of the House, 1824-1827; Speaker of the House, 1831-1832; member of Connecticut State Senate at-large, 1827-1829. In 1827 he was elected to both Houses. While a Senator, he was a member of the Corporation of Yale College. He was also an Associate Judge on the bench of the Hartford County Court. He died in Martin, Ohio, where he had been called by business and is buried in Newington Cemetery, Newington, Conn.

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Henry W. Edwards

Speaker: 1830

EDWARDS, Henry Waggaman (1779-1847), born in New Haven, Conn. // Graduated Princeton, 1797. Studied law at the Litchfield Law School; admitted to the bar and commenced practice in New Haven, Conn.; elected to the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Congresses; appointed to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Elijah Boardman, 1823; subsequently elected and served from October 8, 1823, to March 3, 1827; State Senator, 1827-1829; Representative for New Haven, 1830, serving as Speaker; elected Governor of Connecticut in 1833; unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1834, but was again elected Governor in 1835, 1836, and 1837; resumed the practice of law. He died in New Haven, Conn. and is buried in Grove Cemetery.

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Elisha Phelps

Speaker: 1821, 1829

PHELPS, Elisha (1779-1847), born in Simsbury, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1800 (Linonian Society); graduated Litchfield Law School, 1800; admitted to the bar and began practice in Simsbury, 1803; Representative for Simsbury, 1807, 1812, 1814-1818; elected as a Republican to the Sixteenth Congress; again Representative for Simsbury, and served as Speaker, 1821; State Senator, 1822-1824; elected as an Adams candidate to the Nineteenth and Twentieth Congresses; declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1828; State Comptroller, 1831-1837; again Representative for Simsbury, 1829, 1835; Speaker of the House, 1829; appointed a commissioner to revise and codify the state laws in 1835. He died in Simsbury, Conn., and is buried in Hop Meadow Cemetery.

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Ebenezer Young

Speaker: 1827-1828

YOUNG, Ebenezer (1783-1851), born in Killingly, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1806 (Linonian Society); studied law and was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Westfield (now Danielson), Conn.; elected as a Federalist Representative for Killingly, 1810, 1811, 1816, and 1817; State Senator, 1823-1825; again Representative for Killingly, 1826-1828; Speaker of the House, 1827-1828; elected to the Twenty-first, Twenty-second, and Twenty-third Congresses, March 4, 1829 to March 3, 1835; chairman, Committee on Expenditures on Public Buildings (Twenty-second Congress). He was owner of the first textile mill, Chestnut Hill Manufacturing Co. at Chestnut Hill from 1820-1851 (then after taken over by his son), which burned in 1902. He died in West Killingly, Conn., and is buried in Westfield Cemetery, Danielson, Conn.

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Samuel A. Foot (Foote)

Speaker: 1825-1826

FOOT, Samuel Augustus (1780-1846), born in Cheshire, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1797; attended the Litchfield Law School. Representative for Cheshire, 1817-1818, 1821-1823, 1825-1826; elected to the Sixteenth Congress; Speaker of the House, 1825-1826; elected to the Eighteenth Congress; elected as Adams (later Anti-Jacksonian) party to the United States Senate, 1827-1833; chairman, Committee on Pensions; elected to the Twenty-third Congress, 1833-1834, when he resigned to become Governor; Governor of Connecticut, 1834-1835; received Doctor of Laws degree from Yale College, 1834. Unsuccessful Whig candidate for Governor, 1836. Died in Cheshire, Conn. and is buried in Hillside Cemetery, Cheshire, Conn.

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Ralph I. Ingersoll

Speaker: 1824

INGERSOLL, Ralph Isaacs (1789-1872), born in New Haven, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1808. Studied law and was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in New Haven, 1810; Representative for New Haven, 1820-1825; Speaker of the House, 1824; elected as an Adams candidate to the Nineteenth and Twentieth Congresses and reelected as an Anti-Jacksonian to the Twenty-first and Twenty-second Congresses; resumed the practice of law; appointed State's Attorney for New Haven County, 1833; declined the appointment as United States Senator tendered by Governor Edwards upon the death of Senator Nathan Smith in 1835; Minister to Russia, 1846-1848; again engaged in the practice of law in New Haven; Mayor of New Haven, 1851. He died in New Haven, Conn., August 26, 1872, and is buried in Grove Street Cemetery.

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Seth P. Beers

Speaker: 1822-1823

BEERS, Seth Preston (1781-1863), born in Woodbury, Conn. // Graduated Litchfield Law School, 1805. Admitted to the bar, 1805. State's Attorney, 1820-1825; Representative for Litchfield, 1820-1823; Clerk of the House, 1821; Speaker of the House, 1822, 1823. After a brief term in the Connecticut Senate in 1824, Beers spent the next twenty-five years as the Commissioner of the Connecticut School Fund. In May of 1824, the Connecticut General Assembly appointed Beers, along with his colleagues Thomas Day and Lemuel Whitman (both attorneys) to form a committee whose purpose was to reprint the Revised Statutes of the State of Connecticut. They were given the power to edit for errors in the previous edition (printed 1821) and to update any changes to the laws, and improve the Index.

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Elisha Phelps

Speaker: 1821, 1829

PHELPS, Elisha (1779-1847), born in Simsbury, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1800. Admitted to the bar and began practice in Simsbury, 1803; Representative for Simsbury, 1807, 1812, and 1814-1818; elected as a Republican to the Sixteenth Congress; again Representative for Simsbury, 1821 and served as Speaker; State Senator, 1822-1824; elected as an Adams candidate to the Nineteenth and Twentieth Congresses; declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1828; State Comptroller, 1831-1837; again a Deputy for Simsbury, 1829, 1835; Speaker of the Lower House, 1829; appointed a commissioner to revise and codify the state laws in 1835. He died in Simsbury, Conn., April 6, 1847, and is buried in Hop Meadow Cemetery there.

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David Plant

Speaker: 1819-1820

PLANT, David (1783-1851), born in Stratford, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1804. Studied at Litchfield Law School. Admitted to the bar, 1804. Judge of Probate Court for Fairfield County; Representative for Stratford, 1819-1820; Speaker of House, 1819-1820; member of Connecticut State Senate at-large, 1821-1823; Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut, 1823-1827; U.S. Representative from Connecticut at-large, 1827-1829. He is buried in the Congregational Burying Ground, Stratford, Conn.

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Gideon Tomlinson

Speaker: 1818

TOMLINSON, Gideon (1780-1854), born in Stratford, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1802. Clerk of the House, 1817; Speaker of the House, 1818; delegate to the State Constitutional Convention in 1818; elected to the Sixteenth and to the three succeeding United States Congresses; Representative from Connecticut, 1819-1827, and was chairman of the Committee on Commerce. Tomlinson was elected Connecticut's eighth Governor. He was reelected to the governor's office in 1827, 1828, 1829, and 1830, resigning from office to accept an appointment to the U.S. Senate; United States Senate, 1831-1837. There, he served as chairman of the Committee on Pensions. In 1837, he resigned and became the first president of the newly chartered Housatonic Railroad Company. Tomlinson died in Fairfield on October 8, 1854. He is interred at the Old Congregational Cemetery, Stratford, Conn.

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William Bristol

Speaker: Oct 1817

BRISTOL, William (1779-1836), born in Hamden, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1798. Admitted to the bar, 1800; U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, 1812; Deputy for New Haven, 1817; State Senator, 1818-1819; Alderman in the City of New Haven, 1818, 1821, and 1826; Judge of the Connecticut Superior Court and Supreme Court of Errors, 1819-1826; Mayor of the City of New Haven, 1827. On May 15, 1826, Bristol was nominated by President John Quincy Adams to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut vacated by Pierpont Edwards. Bristol was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 22, 1826, and received his commission the same day. He served until his death in 1836, in New Haven, and was buried at Grove Street Cemetery.

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Charles Denison

Speaker: Oct 1815, May 1816, Oct 1816, May 1817

DENISON, Charles (1778-1825), born in New Haven, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1796. He was a tutor at Williams College, 1797-1799, and at Yale College 1800-1801. Studied law under Judge Charles Chauncey and was admitted to the bar, 1802. New Haven City Attorney, 1803-1807; Alderman, 1806-1815; Clerk of the U.S. District Court, 1803-1806; Deputy for New Haven, 1809-1817. He had been one of the Clerks of the Assembly for eight sessions, and Speaker during the last four sessions of his service. He declined a nomination to Congress in 1816, and was again elected to the Legislature in 1820. He died at the residence which he had built in 1815, on the west side of Temple Street in New Haven at the age of 48. He is buried in Grove Street Cemetery, New Haven, Conn.

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Sylvanus Backus

Speaker: May 1811, Oct 1811, May 1812, Oct 1812, May 1813, Oct 1813, May 1814, Oct 1814

BACKUS, Sylvanus (1768-1817), born in Plainfield, Conn. // Graduated Plainfield Academy, and later became Rector there. Graduated Dartmouth College, 1788 (Phi Beta Kappa). He was an attorney (known as "Squire Backus") residing in Pomfret, Conn., and became State's Attorney for Windham County; Speaker of the House, 1811-1814; elected to Congress by both parties, but died before taking his seat in his 48th year. During the War of 1812 he was an officer with the 1st Regiment Volunteer Brigade under Gen. David Humphreys. He is buried in the Pomfret Street Cemetery, Pomfret, Conn.

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 View a Roll Call of the General Assembly, 1811-1814, here.

Lyman Law

Speaker: May 1806, Oct 1806, May 1809, Oct 1809, May 1810, Oct 1810

LAW, Lyman (1770-1840), born New London, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1791. Studied law with his father, Richard Law (member of the Continental Congress and was graduate of Yale, class of 1751), and Judge Reeve of Litchfield. Admitted to the bar, 1793, and commenced practice in New London. Deputy for New London, 1801, 1802, 1806, 1809, 1810, 1819, and 1826; Speaker of the Lower House, 1806, 1809, 1810. He was elected as a Federalist to the Twelfth, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth Congresses, March 4, 1811-March 3, 1817. He died in New London on February 3, 1842 and was originally buried in the "Second Burial Ground". He was reburied in Cedar Grove Cemetery in 1851.

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Timothy Pitkin

Speaker: May 1803, Oct 1803, May 1804, Oct 1804, May 1805, Oct 1805

PITKIN, Timothy (1766-1847), born in Farmington, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1785. Taught at the Academy in Plainfield for a year. Studied law and was admitted to the bar, 1788; Deputy for Farmington, 1790, 1792, 1794-1805; Clerk, 1800-1802; Speaker of the Lower House, 1803-1805. He was elected as a Federalist to the United States Congress in the Ninth Congress to fill in part the vacancies caused by the resignations of Calvin Goddard and Roger Griswold; reelected to the Tenth and to the five succeeding Congresses, serving from September 16, 1805, to March 3, 1819. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1818. In 1816 he published "A Statistical View of the Commerce of the United States". In 1828 he published a "Political and Civil History of the United States, from the Peace of 1763 to the Close of Washington's Administration in 1799". He is buried in New Haven, in Grove Street Cemetery.

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John Chester, III

Speaker: Oct 1785, May 1786, Oct 1786, May 1787, Oct 1787, Oct 1801, May 1802

CHESTER, John (1749-1809), born in Wethersfield, Conn. //. Graduated Yale College, 1766. Captain in Connecticut Colony's militia, Ninth Company of the Sixth Connecticut Regiment, 1771; Major of the Sixth Regiment, 1775; Colonel of Connecticut Battalions of Foot, 1776; Deputy for Wethersfield to General Assembly, 1772, 1774, 1776, 1785-1787; Speaker of the Lower House, 1785-1787. He retired and became a Justice of the Peace, and worked again in the General Assembly, being Speaker in October, 1801 and May, 1802; Judge of Hartford County Court, 1785; Supervisor of the United States Department of Revenue for the District of Connecticut, 1785. He is buried in Wethersfield Village Cemetery, Wethersfield, Conn.

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Calvin Goddard

Speaker: Oct 1800, May 1801, May 1807

GODDARD, Calvin (1768-1842), born in Shrewsbury, Mass. // Graduated Dartmouth College, 1786. Studied law with Hon. Oliver Ellsworth. Taught at Plainfield Academy and began the practice of law, 1790 (he was known for working on behalf of black veterans of the Revolutionary War). Deputy for Plainfield, 1795-1801; elected as a Federalist to the Seventh Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Elizur Goodrich. He was reelected to the Eighth and Ninth Congresses and served from May 14, 1801 until his resignation in 1805 before the convening of the Ninth Congress. He was again elected to the Lower House as Deputy for Plainfield, 1807, serving as a Speaker. He removed to Norwich, Conn. and resumed the practice of law, 1807; presidential elector on the ticket of Clinton and Ingersoll in 1812; delegate to the Hartford Convention, 1814-1815; Judge of the Superior Court, 1815, 1818; Mayor of Norwich, 1814–1834. Of note: Goddard was Prudence Crandall's second attorney, making the final argument for her case regarding her school for African-American children. He is buried in Norwich City Cemetery.

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John Cotton Smith

Speaker: May 1800, Oct 1800 (resigned), Oct 1807, May 1808, Oct 1808

SMITH, John Cotton (1765-1845), born in Sharon, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1732. Studied law and was admitted to the bar and began practice in Sharon, Conn., 1787; Deputy for Sharon, 1793, 1796, 1800; Speaker of the Lower House, 1800; elected as a Federalist to the Sixth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Jonathan Brace; reelected to the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Congresses, 1800-1806; chairman, Committee on Claims (Seventh through Ninth Congresses); Judge of the Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1809; Lieutenant Governor, 1810; Governor, 1813-1818; unsuccessful candidate for Governor on the Federalist ticket, 1817; president of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions; retired to his estate near Sharon, Conn. He is buried in Hillside Cemetery, Sharon, Conn.

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Elizur Goodrich

Speaker: May 1799, Oct 1802

GOODRICH, Elizur (1761-1849), born in Durham, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1779. Admitted to the bar and practiced law in New Haven, 1783. Deputy for New Haven, 1795-1802, during which time he served as Clerk of the House for six sessions and as Speaker for two; elected as a Federalist to the Sixth Congress and had been reelected to the Seventh Congress, but resigned, having been appointed by President John Adams as Collector of Customs at New Haven; removed from that office by President Thomas Jefferson; Assistant in the Upper House, 1803, which office he held until the change in the State Constitution in 1818 (at which time the Council became the Senate); professor of law at Yale College, 1801-1810; Judge of the Probate Court, 1802-1818; Chief Judge of the County Court, 1805-1818; member of the New Haven City Council and Board of Aldermen for several years; Mayor of New Haven, 1803-1822; member of the corporation of Yale College, 1809-1818, and secretary of the same until 1846. He died in New Haven, Conn., and is buried in Grove Street Cemetery, New Haven, Conn.

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Elias Perkins

Speaker: Oct 1798, Oct 1799, May 1815

PERKINS, Elias (1767-1845), born in Newent Society(Lisbon), Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1786. Studied law and was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in New London, Conn. Deputy for New London, 1795-1800, 1814, 1815; Speaker of the Lower House, 1798, 1815; Assistant Judge of the New London County Court, 1799; Chief Justice of the New London County Court, 1807-1825. In 1817 he was chosen to be a Deacon in the First Congregational Church in New London. Assistant of the Upper House, 1817-1822; elected as a Federalist to the Seventh Congress; member of the Connecticut Senate (in 1818 the term "Governor's Council of Assistants" was changed to "State Senators"), 1817-1822; Mayor of New London, 1829-1832. He was first president of the New London Bank. He died in New London at his home, the Old Shaw Mansion, on September 27, 1845 and was buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery.

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Zephaniah Swift

Speaker: Oct 1797, May 1798

SWIFT, Zephaniah (1759-1823), born in Wareham, Mass. // He practiced law in Windham. Deputy for Windham, 1787-1793; Speaker of the Lower House, 1792, 1820-1822; Clerk of the House for four sessions; member of Hartford Convention, 1814; Chief Judge of the Supreme Court of Errors, 1815-1819; Judge of the Superior Court, 1801-1819; accompanied United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth as Secretary of the French Mission, 1800; Assistant of the Upper House, 1799-1801; Judge of the Superior Court, 1801; elected to Third Congress and re-elected as a Federalist to the Fourth Congress, March 4, 1793-March 3, 1797. Swift died on September 27, 1823 while visiting his children in Warren, Ohio. He is interred in Oak Cemetery there.

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William Edmond (Edmonds)

Speaker: May 1797, (Elected Oct 1800 but resigned)

EDMOND, William (1755-1838), born in Woodbury, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1777/8. Served in the Revolutionary Army; studied law and was admitted to the bar, 1780, commencing practice in Newtown, Conn. Deputy for Newtown, 1791-1797, 1801, and 1802; Speaker of the Lower House, 1797; Assistant of the Upper House, 1797-1799; elected as a Federalist to the Fifth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of James Davenport; reelected to the Sixth Congress and served from November 13, 1797, to March 3, 1801; declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1800; resumed the practice of law in Newtown; Associate Judge of the State Supreme Court, 1805-1819; retired to private life and continued the practice of law. He died in Newtown, Conn., and is buried in Newtown Cemetery.

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David Daggett

Speaker: May 1794, Oct 1794, May 1795, Oct 1795, May 1796, Oct 1795

DAGGETT, David (1764-1851), born in Attleboro, Mass. // Graduated Yale College, 1783. Deputy for New Haven, 1791-1796; Speaker of the Lower House, 1794-1796; Assistant of the Upper House, 1797; Deputy again, 1805; served in the State Council, 1809-1813; State's Attorney for New Haven County, 1811-1813; elected as a Federalist to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Chauncey Goodrich, 1813-1819; resumed the practice of law; associate instructor in the New Haven Law School, 1824; appointed to the Kent Professorship of Law in Yale College, 1826-1848; State Supreme Court Judge, 1826-1832; Chief Judge until 1834; Mayor of New Haven, 1828. He died in New Haven, Conn., and is buried in in Grove Street Cemetery.

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Joshua Coit

Speaker: Oct 1793

COIT, Joshua (1758-1798), born in New London, Conn. // Graduated Harvard College, 1776. Studied law, was admitted to the bar, and began the practice of law in New London, 1779. He removed to Georgia for a number of years. Upon his return to New London, he served as Deputy for New London, 1784-1785, 1789-1790, 1792 and 1793; Clerk of the General Assembly during several terms; Speaker of the Lower House, 1793. He was elected as a Pro-Administration Party candidate to the Third United States Congress, and was reelected as a Federalist candidate to the Fourth United States Congress and the Fifth United States Congress, 1793-1798; chairman of Committee on Elections in the Fifth Congress. He is interred in Cedar Grove Cemetery in New London.

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Uriah Tracy

Speaker: May 1793

TRACY, Uriah (1755-1807), born in Franklin, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1778. Studied law and was admitted to the bar, 1781. commencing practice in Litchfield, 1781; Major General of militia; Deputy from Litchfield, 1788-1793; Speaker of the Lower House, 1793; State's Attorney for Litchfield County, 1794-1799; elected to the Third and Fourth Congresses, April 8, 1793, until his resignation; elected as a Federalist to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Jonathan Trumbull; reelected in 1801 and 1807, and served from October 13, 1796, until his death; served as President pro tempore of the Senate during the Sixth Congress; chairman, Committee on Claims (Third and Fourth Congresses). He died in Washington, D.C., July 19, 1807. Interment in Congressional Cemetery. His portrait, painted by Ralph Earl, is in the collection of the Litchfield Historical Society in Litchfield, Connecticut.

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Thomas Seymour, III

Speaker: Oct 1790, May 1791, May 1792, Oct 1792

SEYMOUR, Thomas (1734/5-1829), born in Hartford, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1755. Practiced law in Hartford, Conn.; Justice of the Peace, 1761; King's Attorney for the County, 1767, and after the Revolution as State's Attorney; Captain of the militia in 1773; Lieutenant-Colonel, 1774; Deputy for Hartford, 1774-1793; Speaker of the Lower House, 1790-1792; Assistant of the Upper House, 1793-1803; first Mayor of Hartford, 1774-1812; Chief Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, Hartford County, 1798-1803.

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Pierpont Edwards

Speaker: May 1789, Oct 1789, May 1790

EDWARDS, Pierpont (1750-1826), born in Northampton, Mass. // Graduated Princeton, 1768. Set up law practice in New Haven, Conn., 1771. Delegate to the American Continental Congress, and later a United States Federal Judge. Founder of the Toleration Party in Connecticut. He served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War; Deputy for New Haven, 1777; delegate from Connecticut to the Continental Congress, 1787-1788; member of the Connecticut Convention, January 1788; again Deputy for New Haven, 1784-1785, 1787-1790; United States Attorney for Connecticut, 1790-1806. On February 21, 1806, Edwards was nominated by President Thomas Jefferson to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, being confirmed by the United States Senate on February 24, 1806, and received his commission the same day, serving thereafter for twenty years, until his death. He died in Bridgeport, Conn., and was interred at Grove Street Cemetery.

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Jonathan Trumbull, Jr.

Speaker: May 1788, Oct 1788

TRUMBULL, Jr., Jonathan (1740-1809), born in Lebanon, Conn. // Graduated Harvard College, 1759, receiving a master's degree in 1762. Trumbull began with town and colony offices: Lister, Grand Juror, Surveyor of Highways, Justice of the Peace, and Selectman. In 1774 he was elected Deputy. He served in the state legislature three times: from 1774-1775, from 1779-1780, and in 1788, serving as Speaker of the House in 1788. Elected to the First, Second, and Third Congresses, Trumbull served in the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1789 to March 4, 1795. He was the Speaker of the House in the Second Congress. When Trumbull was elected to the United States Senate, he served from March 4, 1795 to June 10, 1796. He resigned to become Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut. When Governor Oliver Wolcott died in December 1797, he became Governor and was re-elected to eleven consecutive terms until his death. Trumbull also served as Chief Judge of the Supreme Court of Errors. He died in Lebanon, Conn. and is buried at the Trumbull Cemetery there.

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John Chester, III

Speaker: Oct 1785, May 1786, Oct 1786, May 1787, Oct 1787, Oct 1801, May 1802

CHESTER, John (1749-1809), born in Wethersfield, Conn. //. Graduated Yale College, 1766. Captain of Connecticut Colony's militia in 1771, Ninth Company of the Sixth Connecticut Regiment; Major of the Sixth Regiment, 1775; Colonel of Connecticut Battalions of Foot, 1776; Deputy for Wethersfield, 1772, 1774, 1776, 1785-1787; Speaker of the Lower House, 1785-1787; Justice of the Peace; again a Deputy for Wethersfield, being Speaker, October, 1801 and May, 1802; Judge of Hartford County Court, 1785; Supervisor of the United States Department of Revenue for the District of Connecticut, 1785. He is buried in Wethersfield Village Cemetery, Wethersfield, Conn.

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James Wadsworth, III

Speaker: Oct 1784, May 1785

WADSWORTH, James (1730-1817), born in Durham, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1748. Town Clerk of Durham, 1756-1786; and at the beginning of the Revolution he became a member of the Committee of Safety; Colonel and Brigadier General of Connecticut militia, 1776; Second Major General, 1777, when he was ordered to New Haven to defend the towns on the coast. Subsequently he was a justice, and afterward presiding justice of the New Haven County Court of Common Pleas; delegate from Connecticut to the Continental Congress, 1783-1786; member of the Executive Council, 1785-1790. As a judge, he ruled in one of the first court cases in Connecticut establishing a slave's right to legal redress against a dishonest owner. A black slave/soldier, Jack Arabus, was promised his freedom for serving in the Continental Army in his master's place, and upon completing his service, his master failed to give him his freedom. Judge Wadsworth ruled in favor of Arabus. He died in Durham, Conn. and is buried in the Old Cemetery there.

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Eliphalet Dyer

Speaker: May 1784

DYER, Eliphalet (1721-1807), born in Windham, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1744; Town Clerk, 1745; Captain of the militia, 1745; admitted to the bar, 1746; Justice of the Peace, 1746; Deputy for Windham, 1747-1748, 1752-1753, 1756-1784; original member of the Susquehanna Company formed in 1753; advanced to rank of Major, 1753; Member of Connecticut Committee of Safety; delegate to the Continental Congress, 1774, 1775, 1777-1779, 1782-1783; Lieutenant-Colonel, Connecticut regiment, 1755; Colonel, Connecticut regiment sent to Canada; Assistant of the Upper House, 1762-1784; Comptroller, Port of New London, 1764; Connecticut Commissioner to the Stamp-Act Congress, 1765; Judge of Superior Court, 1766-1793; Chief Judge, 1790-1793. Judge Dyer received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from Yale College, 1787. He died in Windham, Conn., and is buried in the Windham Cemetery.

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Andrew Adams

Speaker: May 1779, Oct 1779, May 1780, Oct 1780

ADAMS, Andrew (1736-1797), born in Stratford, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1760. Admitted to the Fairfield County Bar and started practicing law in Stamford. Removed his practice to Litchfield, 1764; Justice of the Peace, Litchfield, 1772; King's Attorney, 1772; Major of the Connecticut militia, 1777; Deputy for Litchfield, 1776-1781; Speaker of the Lower House, 1779-1780; Lieutenant Colonel, 1779; Colonel, 1780; member of the Connecticut Council of Safety, 1777-1779; member of the Continental Congress for three years and signer of the Articles of Confederation, 1778; Associate Judge of the Superior Court, 1789; member of the Executive Council, 1789; Assistant of the Upper House, 1782-1789; Chief Judge, Superior Court, 1793-1798; Living in the same village and on the same street of Governor Wolcott, he died just three days before the death Governor Wolcott. He is buried in the East Cemetery in Litchfield.

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Benjamin Huntington

Speaker: May 1778, Oct 1778

HUNTINGTON, Benjamin (1736-1800), born in Norwich, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1761. Deputy for Norwich, 1771-1780; Speaker of the Lower House, 1778, 1779; Council of Safety, 1775; delegate to the Provincial Congress at New Haven, 1778; member of the Continental Congress, 1780-1784, 1787, 1788; Assistant of the Upper House, 1781-1789, 1791-1792; represented Connecticut in the First Congress of the United States as a Pro-Administration Party candidate, 1789-1791; first Mayor of Norwalk, serving until his resignation in 1796; Judge of the Superior Court of Connecticut, holding this office until 1798. He died in Rome, N.Y. and is buried in the Old Colony Cemetery, Norwich, Conn.

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Titus Hosmer

Speaker: Oct 1776, May 1777, Oct 1777

HOSMER, Titus (1736-1780), born in Watertown, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1757. He read for the law, was admitted to the bar, and began a practice in Middletown, Conn.; Deputy for Middletown, 1773-1778; Speaker of the Lower House, 1777; Assistant of the Upper House, 1778-1780; delegates to the Continental Congress, 1778-1779. He was then elected in 1780 to serve as a Federal Judge on the Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture. He died in Watertown and is buried in the Mortimer Cemetery, Middletown, Conn.

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Erastus Wolcott

Speaker: May 1776

WOLCOTT, Erastus (1722-1793), born in Windsor, Conn. // Deputy for Windsor, 1758-1762. Set up law practice in East Windsor. Deputy for East Windsor, 1768-1780; member of the Council of Safety of Connecticut, 1778; Captain of the Train Band of Windsor, 1761; Major of the First Regiment of Connecticut, 1774; Brigadier General of Connecticut militia, 1776; Justice of the Peace; Judge of the Connecticut Supreme Court; Deputy for the Continental Congress (where he became a member of the Cincinnati), 1774; Lt. Governor, 1788. Known as "Old Log Head", Wolcott led the state's Democratic-Republicans. He received an honorary degree from Yale College. He died in Windsor, Conn. and is buried in the Old South Windsor Cemetery in South Windsor, Conn.

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William Williams

Speaker: Oct 1774, May 1775, Oct 1775, May 1781, Oct 1781, May 1782, Oct 1782, May 1783, Oct 1783

WILLIAMS, William (1731-1811), born in Lebanon, Conn. // Graduated Harvard College, 1751 where he studied religion and law. Enlisted in the Continental Army at the time of the French and Indian Wars. Town Clerk, 1752-1796; Selectman, 1760-1785; Deputy for Lebanon, c. 1761-1774; Speaker of the Lower House, Oct. 1774, May 1775, Oct. 1775, May 1781, Oct. 1781, May 1782, Oct. 1782, May 1783, Oct. 1783; delegate for Connecticut to the Continental Congress, 1776, and was a signatory of the Declaration of Independence; Judge of Windham County Court, 1776-1805; Probate Judge for the Windham District, 1775-1809. He was also pastor of the First Congregational Church in Lebanon, Conn. He is buried in the Old Cemetery, Lebanon, Conn.

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Ebenezer Silliman (Sillman)

Speaker: Oct 1736, May 1737, Oct 1737, May 1738, Oct 1738, May 1773, Oct 1773, May 1774

SILLIMAN, Ebenezer (1707-1775), born in Fairfield, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1727. Deputy for Fairfield, 1736-1738; Speaker of the Lower House, Oct. 1736, May 1737, Oct. 1737, May 1738, Oct. 1738, May 1773, Oct. 1773, May 1774; Assistant of the Upper House, 1739-1766; again Deputy for Fairfield, 1766-1774; Judge of Superior Court, 1743-1766; Judge of Fairfield Probate Court, 1745-1749, 1768-1775; Major of the Fourth Regiment, Commissary, October 1744, May 1745; Committee of War, May 1744, January 1755, March 1756; assisted in revising laws, May 1749; Major of the Fourth Regiment in this Colony, 1750; Commissioner on New York Boundary, 1755. He died in Fairfield, Conn and is buried in the Old Burying Ground there.

His epitaph reads: "In Memory of the Hon'ble. EBENEZER SILLIMAN Esq'r. For many years successfully a member of the Council & one of the Judges of the Superior Court, in the Colony of Connecticut, Distinguished with a clear understanding, a sedate mind, & dignity of deportment, Well vers'd in Jurisprudence, learned in the Law, and religiously upright He sustain'd those high TRUSTS (and acted in other important Relations) with Honour to himself, to his Family, and to his Country. And having ferv'd his generation, by the will of God, fell asleep in the 68th Year of his age on the 11th Oct'r. 1775. I have said ye are gods but ye shall die like men."

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Jabez Hamlin

Speaker: May 1770, Oct 1770, May 1771, Oct 1771, May 1772, Oct 1772

HAMLIN, Jabez (1709-1791), born in Middletown, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1728. He was the first Mayor of Middletown and retained that title for the rest of his life; Deputy for Middletown, 1731-1773; Speaker of the Lower House, 1770-1772; Assistant of the Upper House, 1758-1766, 1773-1785; Major of the Sixth Regiment, 1739; Judge of the Hartford County Court, 1754-1779; Lieutenant Colonel of the Sixth Regiment, 1756; member of the Council of Safety. He is buried in Riverside (Old) Cemetery, Middletown, Conn.

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Zebulon West

Speaker: May 1766, Oct 1766, May 1767, Oct 1767, May 1768, Oct 1768, May 1769, Oct 1769

WEST, Zebulon (1707-1770), born in Preston, Conn. // His family removed to Tolland, c. 1720. Selectman for Tolland, 1736-1754; Town Clerk, 1736-1770. He was the first to represent the town in the General Assembly and was elected for 43 regular sessions. Deputy for Tolland, 1748-1770 (except for one regular session); Probate Judge for the District of Stafford, 1759-1770; Hartford County Court Judge; Assistant of the Upper House (c. 1770); Judge of the Tolland County Court for 14 years. He is buried in South Yard Cemetery, Tolland, Conn.

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Abraham Davenport

Speaker: May 1764, Oct 1764, May 1765, Oct 1765

DAVENPORT, Abraham (1715-1789), born in Stamford, Conn. // Deputy for Stamford, 1747-1751, 1753, 1757, 1759-1766; Speaker of the Lower House, 1764, 1765; Assistant of the Upper House, 1766-1780; Major of the Ninth Regiment of militia, 1767; Colonel, 1768; Judge of County Court in Fairfield County, 1768-1776. He is famous for his response to his colleagues during New England's Dark Day, a day of which the sun did not appear in the sky, which many feared was a sign that the Last Judgment was approaching. His response had been: "I am against adjournment. The day of judgment is either approaching, or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for an adjournment; if it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. I wish therefore that candles may be brought." John Greenleaf Whittier wrote a poem about the famous incident, "Abraham Davenport" first published in "The Atlantic Monthly", May 1866. He died in Danbury, Conn. and is buried in the Northfield Burying Ground, Northfield, Conn.

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Jabez Huntington

Speaker: May 1760, Oct 1760, May 1761, Oct 1761, May 1762, Oct 1762, May 1763, Oct 1763

HUNTINGTON, Jabez (1719-1786), born in Norwich, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1741. Engaged in the West India trade, and amassed a fortune. Deputy for Norwich, 1750-1764; Clerk, 1757-1760; Speaker of the Lower House, 1760-1764; Assistant of the Upper House, 1764. In 1765 Huntington and six other members (of a total of twelve) walked out of the council rather than take an oath to enforce the Stamp Act. He was among the most active on the Council of Safety during the war, and in the September 1776 session of the Connecticut General Assembly, he and David Wooster were appointed Major Generals. On the death of Wooster in 1777, Jabez Huntington was placed in charge of the entire Connecticut militia. He is buried at Old Norwichtown Cemetery, Norwich, Conn.

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Joseph Fowler

Speaker: May 1756, Oct 1756

FOWLER, Joseph (1691-1768), born in Norwich, Conn. // Deputy for Lebanon, 1726-1759; Agent to the Colony before the Commissioners' Court, 1738; Speaker of the Lower House, 1756; Major of the Twelfth Regiment of the Connecticut Colony; Superior Court Judge, 1754-1760; Justice of the Peace, 1763. He removed to East Haddam in 1763 where he was Sheriff. He died in East Haddam, Conn. and was buried in Moodus Cemetery.

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Shubael Conant

Speaker: Oct 1753, Oct 1754, May 1755, Oct 1755, May 1757, Oct 1757, May 1758, Oct 1758, May 1759, Oct 1759

CONANT, Shubael (1711-1775), born in Windham, Conn. // His family removed to Mansfield early in his life. Graduated Yale College, 1732. Studied theology and was licensed to preach by Windham County Association, 1734> Set up law practice in Mansfield. Lieutenant Colonel in the militia, 1739; Deputy for Windham in the Lower House, 1741-1760; Assistant of the Upper House, 1760-1775; Judge of the Windham County Court and Windham County Probate Court, 1766-1775; member of the Council of Safety at the breaking out of the Revolutionary War. He is buried in Olde Mansfield Center Cemetery.

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Jonathan Huntington

Speaker: Oct 1752

HUNTINGTON, Jonathan (1695-1773), born in Windham, Conn. // Justice of Quorum, 1749-1754; Judge of the County Court, 1754-1756; Assistant of the Upper House, 1754-1758. Dr. Jonathan Huntington was the first practicing physician in Windham, Conn. Eleazar Wheelock hired him regularly from 1737 to 1768 to attend to the students at Moor's Indian Charity School. Dr. Huntington's nephew, Jonathan Huntington, was also a doctor and also took care of students at Moor's; thus, the two are sometimes referred to as Dr. Jonathan Huntington Sr. and Jr., respectively, to avoid confusion. Dr. Huntington Sr. also had a brief political career: he was on the Colony Council, 1752, 1754-1758 and he served as a local judge from 1749-1757. He died in Windham, Conn. and is buried at Windham Center Cemetery.

His gravestone contains this inscription: " Hon. Jona. Huntington, Esq., died Sept. 15, 1773, Etat. 77. He was for several years a member of the Council of this colony and Judge of the Court for this county, which important offices he sustained with fidelity and reputation. He was from early life to the time of his death, an ornament and a successful practitioner of physic. His life was a series of piety to God and benevolence to mankind, and the closing scene exhibited a striking picture of that fortitude and patience which Christ alone can inspire. Having endured the most exquisite pains, without a murmur or complaint, he at last meekly resigned his soul into the hands of Him who gave it, in well grounded hope of immortal glory."

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John Russell

Speaker: Oct 1751

RUSSELL, John (1686-1757), born in Branford, Conn. (or possibly Deerfield, Mass.) // Graduated Yale College, 1704; Deacon of the First Church of Branford, 1733-1757; Colonel of the militia; Town Clerk, 1709-1721, 1748-1757; Justice of the Peace, from 1728; Deputy for East Haven, 1709, 1710; Deputy for Branford, 1714-1716, 1718, 1719-1721, 1725-1735, 1737, 1739, 1741, 1745, 1749-1753; Clerk of the House, 1726-1735, 1737, 1739, 1741; Speaker of the Lower House, 1751; Captain of the Train Band of East Haven, 1710, of Branford, 1719; Major of the 2nd Regiment of Connecticut, 1748; Lieutenant-Colonel, 1752. He is buried in Branford Center Cemetery, Branford, Conn.

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Christopher Avery

Speaker: May 1751

AVERY, Christopher (1697-1768), born in Groton, Conn. // Groton Town Clerk, 1732-1768; Captain of the Second Company of the Groton Train Band, 1735; Lieutenant-Colonel of the Eighth Militia, 1739, and Colonel of the same Connecticut Regiment, 1746. Deputy for Groton, 1732, 1734, 1736, 1738 to 1764; Speaker of the Lower House, 1751; Justice, 1732-1768; Justice of the Peace, 1732-1768; Justice of the Quorum for many terms. He is buried in the Starr Cemetery, Groton, Conn.

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Thomas Welles

Speaker: Oct 1746, May 1747, Oct 1747, May 1748, Oct 1747, May 1749, Oct 1749, May 1750, Oct 1750

WELLES, Thomas (1692/3-1767), born in Glastonbury, Conn. // In May 1724 he was confirmed Captain of the Glastonbury Train Band, and in Oct. 1739 he was chosen Colonel of the 6th Regiment. He was Commissary for Connecticut troops in the French Wars, Feb. 1745 to May 1746, and in March 1755; and was on the Connecticut-Massachusetts Boundary Commission, 1739. Deputy for Glastonbury, May 1725, Oct. 1726, May and July 1728, May I730, May and Oct. 1731, May and Oct. 1732, Feb., May and Oct. 1733, May and Oct. 1734, May and Oct. 1735, May and Oct. 1736, May and Oct. 1737, May and Oct. 1738, May and Oct. 1739, May, July, Oct. and Nov. 1740, May and Oct. 1741, May and Oct. 1742, May and Oct. 1743, May and Oct. 1744, Feb., Mar., May, July, Aug. and Oct. 1745, May, June and Oct. 1746, Jan., May and Oct. 1747, May and Oct. 1748, May and Oct. 1749, May, Oct. and Nov. 1750, and May 1751; Speaker of the Lower House at all the sessions from Oct. 1746 to May 1751; Assistant of the Upper House, 1751 to 1760 inclusive. Auditor of Colony accounts, 1728, 1730, 1736, 1737, 1740, 1742, 1743, 1744, 1747, 1749, 1750, 1751, 1752, 1754; Surveyor, 1732; Justice of the Peace, 1730-1751; Assistant Judge of the Hartford County Court, 1752; Glastonbury Town Clerk, 1730-1766.

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Andrew Burr

Speaker: Oct 1741, May 1742, Oct 1742, May 1743, Oct 1743, May 1744, Oct 1744, Oct 1745

BURR, Andrew (1696-1763), born in Fairfield, Conn. // Colonel Andrew Burr commanded the Connecticut regiment raised for the expedition against Louisburg. He was appointed High Sheriff of Fairfield County by the Governor and Council, 1726; Deputy for Fairfield, beginning in 1727; Lieutenant of 2nd Company of Fairfield; Captain, 1733; Major of the Connecticut 4th Regiment, 1739; Clerk of the Lower House, beginning 1738; Speaker of the Lower House, 1741-1745; Colonel in the Connecticut Forces at the Siege of Louisburg, 1745; member of the Committee of War, New Haven County, 1746; Justice of the Peace, 1727; Judge of County Court, 1745; Judge of Probate Court, beginning 1749; Assistant of the Upper House, beginning 1746. He died in Fairfield, Conn. and is entombed at the Old Burying Ground there.

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Elisha Williams

Speaker: May 1740, Oct 1740, May 1741, May 1753

WILLIAMS, Elisha (1694-1755), born in Hatfield, Mass. // Graduated Harvard College, 1711. Studied Divinity with his father, William Williams, and was ordained a clergyman in 1722 and served the church at Wethersfield until 1726. Rector (the fourth) of Yale College, 1725-1739; Deputy for Wethersfield, 1740-1754; Speaker of the Lower House, 1740, 1741, 1753; Judge of the Superior Court, 1740-1743; Colonel of a militia formed in an intended expedition against Canada. In the early 1740s, he was influenced by the Great Awakening and converted to the New Light religion. His conversion may have been the reason he was not reappointed by the Old Light dominated Assembly to the Supreme Court. He died at Wethersfield, Connecticut and is buried there.

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Jonathan Trumbull, Sr.

Speaker: May 1739, Oct 1739, May 1752, May 1754

TRUMBULL, Jonathan (1710-1785), born in Lebanon, Conn. // Graduated Harvard College, 1727. Deputy for Lebanon, 1733-1740, 1739-1740; Speaker of the Lower House, 1739, May 1752, May 1754; Assistant Judge of the Windham County Court, 1745; Judge of the Probate Court; Lieutenant Colonel in Connecticut's militia, 1739; Deputy Governor of the Colony of Connecticut, 1766–1769, and, on the death of Governor William Pitkin, became Governor of Connecticut, 1769, serving in that capacity until 1784. He was one of only two colonial governors to continue in office after independence (the other was Rhode Island's Nicholas Cooke, who assumed office early in the war). Governor Trumbull died in Lebanon, Conn. and is buried at the Old Cemetery there.

His home in Lebanon, the Jonathan Trumbull House, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965. Adjacent to his house is the Old War Office. At the beginning of the war, preparations were made by the towns, in the traditional Connecticut fashion; but the General Assembly soon began to direct operations. In May, 1775, a Committee of Safety was appointed to aid the governor in directing the marches and stations of troops and in supplying them with "every matter and thing that should be needful." Under the direction of the governor, this council made such great efforts in behalf of the American cause, and accomplished such eminent good, that Connecticut became known, throughout the Revolution, as emphatically the "Provision State." In October of the same year, Governor Trumbull was appointed by the Continental Congress one of a special committee for ascertaining "the most effectual method of continuing, supporting and regulating a Continental army."

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Ebenezer Silliman (Sillman)

Speaker: Oct 1736, May 1737, Oct 1737, May 1738, Oct 1738, May 1773, Oct 1773, May 1774

SILLIMAN, Ebenezer (1707-1775), born in Fairfield, Conn. // Graduated Yale College, 1727. Deputy for Fairfield, 1736-1738; Speaker of the Lower House, Oct. 1736, May 1737, Oct. 1737, May 1738, Oct. 1738, May 1773, Oct. 1773, May 1774; Assistant of the Upper House, 1739-1766; again Deputy for Fairfield, 1766-1774; Judge of Superior Court, 1743-1766; Judge of Fairfield Probate Court, 1745-1749, 1768-1775; Major of the Fourth Regiment, Commissary, October 1744, May 1745; Committee of War, May 1744, January 1755, March 1756; assisted in revising laws, May 1749; Major of the Fourth Regiment in this Colony, 1750; Commissioner on New York Boundary, 1755. He died in Fairfield, Conn and is buried in the Old Burying Ground there.

His epitaph reads: "In Memory of the Hon'ble. EBENEZER SILLIMAN Esq'r. For many years successfully a member of the Council & one of the Judges of the Superior Court, in the Colony of Connecticut, Distinguished with a clear understanding, a sedate mind, & dignity of deportment, Well vers'd in Jurisprudence, learned in the Law, and religiously upright He sustain'd those high TRUSTS (and acted in other important Relations) with Honour to himself, to his Family, and to his Country. And having ferv'd his generation, by the will of God, fell asleep in the 68th Year of his age on the 11th Oct'r. 1775. I have said ye are gods but ye shall die like men."

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Samuel Hill

Speaker: May 1736, May 1745, May 1746

HILL, Samuel (1677/8-1752), born in Guilford, Conn. // A hatter by trade; selected as Town Clerk in 1717, and was afterwards made Clerk of the Proprietors of the town until his death. At the formation of the probate court for Guilford District, he was chosen Clerk, 1720; and upon the death of Judge Hooker, Judge of that court, 1740-1752. Judge of the County Court for the County of New Haven; Deputy for Guilford in 43 out of 49 sessions of the Legislature, 1727-1752; Colonel of the Seventh Regiment of Connecticut militia. He was so often elected to the General Assembly that the story is told that, at town meetings, the moderator would rise and say: "We are assembled to elect Col. Sam Hill and some one to go with him to the next General Court". His name is said to be the origination of the expression "Run like Sam Hill". Upon his death his son, Nathaniel, finished his father's term. Interment, West Side Cemetery, Guilford, Conn.

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William Pitkin, III

Speaker: May 1732, Oct 1732, May 1733, May 1734

PITKIN, William (1694-1769), born in Hartford, Conn. // Deputy for East Hartford, 1728-1734; Speaker of the Lower House, 1732-1734; Assistant of the Upper House, 1734 to 1754; Captain of the Train Band, East Society, 1730-1738; Major of the 1st Regiment, 1738- 1739; Colonel of the 1st Regiment, 1739-1754. He raised troops in East Hartford for an expedition to the Spanish West Indies during the War of Jenkins' Ear, 1740; County Judge, 1740; Superior Court Judge, 1741-1766. In 1754 he had been elected Deputy Governor, serving under Thomas Fitch, and as Chief Justice, Connecticut Superior Court, an office tied to the deputy governorship. Governor of Connecticut, 1766. Pitkin died in East Hartford on October 1, 1769, while serving as Governor, and is interred there at Center Cemetery.

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Roger Newton

Speaker: May 1728, May 1730, Oct 1730, May 1731, Oct 1731, Oct 1733, May 1734, Oct 1734, May 1735, Oct 1735

NEWTON, Roger (1684/85-1771), born in Hartford, Conn. // Educated at Harvard College. Graduated Yale College, ; Captain in Queen Anne's War, 1709; Deputy from Milford, 1721, 1722, 1723, 1724, 1725, 1726, 1727, 1728, 1729, 1730, 1731, 1732, 1733, 1734, 1735; Speaker of the Lower House, 1728, 1730-1731, 1733, 1734-1735; Judge of County Court, 1730-1771; Chief Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, 1737-1771; Assistant of the Upper House, 1738-1771; Major of Connecticut troops at the capture of Louisburg, 1739; Lieutenant-Colonel, 1748; Colonel of the Second Connecticut Regiment, 1752. He died in Milford, Conn., and is buried at Milford Cemetery.

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Thomas Kimberly

Speaker: Oct 1726, May 1727, Oct 1727, Oct 1728, May 1729, Oct 1729

KIMBERLY, Thomas (1681-1730), born in Wethersfield, Conn. // Removed to Glastonbury with his father. Schoolmaster of Wethersfield. Admitted to the bar, 1712 and subsequently became Justice of the Peace for Hartford County; Clerk of the Court, 1712; Clerk for Glastonbury, 1713-1730; Deputy for Glastonbury, 1708-1711, 1714-1729; Surveyor, 1712; Clerk of the House, 1718, 1719, 1722-1725; Speaker of the Lower House, 1726-1729. He died in Glastonbury, Conn. on Jan. 29, 1730 and is buried at Glastonbury Cemetery, the inscription on his headstone reads "Here lieth interred the body of Thomas KIMBERLY, Esq., one of His Majesties Justices of the Peace & Quorum, Speaker in the House of Representatives, &c. In all of which trusts his eminent abilitys distinguished him. He was the son of Eleazer KIMBERLY, Esq. Aged 48 yrs & 4 mos, b. Sep 1681 & expired 29 Jan 1729-30".

Read more here and here and, in records of the General Assembly, here.

James Rogers

Speaker: Oct 1724, May 1725, Oct 1727, Oct 1728, May 1729, Oct 1729

ROGERS, James (1675-1735), born in New London, Conn. // Admitted to the bar, 1708. Captain of the 4th Train Band, 1714; Deputy for New London, 1708, 1709, 1710, 1711, 1712-1726; Speaker of the Lower House, 1724-1726. One of the Commissioners to settle the boundary line between Connecticut and Rhode Island. He died in Norwalk, Conn. and is buried at the East Norwalk Burying Ground.

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John Burr

Speaker: Oct 1723, May 1724

BURR, John (1673-1750), born in Fairfield, Conn. // Deputy for Fairfield, 1704, 1705, 1708, 1710-1714, 1717-1721, 1723-1729; Speaker of the Lower House, 1723, 1724; Assistant of the Upper House, 1729-1739; Judge of Fairfield County Court, 1726-1744; Major of Forces in Expedition to Port Royal, Nova Scotia, 1710; Captain of Fairfield County Train Band, 1714; Colonel of Fourth Regiment of Connecticut, 1739. He died in Stratford, Conn. and is buried at the Old Stratfield Cemetery in Bridgeport, Conn.

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William Clark

Speaker: May 1723

CLARK, William (1656-1725), born in Dorchester, Mass. // In 1698 he removed to Lebanon, Conn. Deputy for Lebanon, 1705, 1706, 1707, 1708, 1709, 1710, 1711, 1712, 1713, 1715, 1717, 1718, 1719; Captain of militia (Train Band of Lebanon), serving in the Indian Wars; Assistant of the Upper House, 1719, 1721; Deputy again, 1723, 1724; Speaker of the Lower House, 1723; Justice of the Peace for New London County, 1708–1724; Justice of the Peace and Quorum, June 1717–June 1724; Judge of the Probate Court, District of Windham, May 1723 until his death in Lebanon, Conn. He is buried at Old Cemetery, Lebanon, Conn.

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Hezekiah Brainerd

Speaker: May 1721, Oct 1721, May 1722, Oct 1722

BRAINERD, Hezekiah (1681-1727), born in Haddam, Conn. // Deputy for Haddam, 1713, 1715-1722; Clerk, 1720-1725; Speaker of the Lower House, 1721-1722; Assistant of the Upper House, also serving as Justice of the Peace and Quorum for Hartford Colony, 1725. During a session of the Upper House, he died at the house of Secretary Hezekiah Wyllys on his 46th birthday. The Assembly granted £10 towards the expenses of his funeral and burial in the Ancient Burying Ground, Hartford, Conn.

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Roger Wolcott

Speaker: Oct 1719

WOLCOTT, Roger (1679-1767), born in Windsor, Conn. // Selectman of the town of Windsor, 1707. Admitted to the bar, May 1709. Deputy for South Windsor, 1709-1714, 1718, 1719; Clerk, 1710-1711; Speaker of the Lower House, 1719; Assistant of the Upper House, 1714-1718, 1720-1741, 1754-1760; Commissioner of Connecticut for the Adjustment of Boundaries, 1717-1718, 1723-1726, 1728, 1730, 1737, 1740, 1742, 1750; Captain of the Train Band of Windsor, 1722; Captain of Troops raised for active service, 1724; Judge, 1710; Judge of the County Court, 1724; Judge of the Superior Court, 1732; Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and Deputy Governor, 1741. He was elected Governor in 1750, a position he held for four years. He kept a Journal of the Siege of Louisbourg, 1742. He also published a collection of poems in 1725. Wolcott died in Windsor and is buried at the Old Burying Ground (Palisado Cemetery).

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James Wadsworth, I

Speaker: Oct 1717

WADSWORTH, James (1675-1756), born in Farmington, Conn. // Removed to Durham of which town he was one of the original grantees. Proprietor's Clerk, 1707-1756. Upon the town being incorporated, he became Town Clerk which office he held throughout the rest of his life. Deputy for Durham, 1710-1717; Clerk, May 1717 session; Speaker of the Lower House, October session, 1717; Assistant of the Upper House, 1718-1752; Justice of the Peace for New Haven County, 1710; Judge of the County Court in New Haven, 1719; Assistant Judge, Superior Court, 1725. Appointed Guardian of the Mohegan Indians in October 1726, having previously been appointed to look after their interests. He was confirmed Captain of the Durham Company, October 1714 and "Colonel of the 10th Regiment in this Colony", October 1739.

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Jonathan Law, Jr.

Speaker: May 1716, Oct 1718

LAW, Jonathan (1674-1750), born in Milford, Conn. // Graduated Harvard College, 1695. Set up practice in Milford, 1698; Justice of the Peace and of the Quorum for New Haven County, 1709; Town Clerk of Milford and Judge of the County Court and Judge of the Superior Court, being Chief Justice. Deputy for Milford, 1706-1718; Speaker of the Lower House, 1716, 1718; Assistant of the Upper House, 1717, 1719-1724; Lieutenant Governor, 1724; Chief Judge of the Superior Court, 1725. He became Governor in 1742, following the death of Governor Talcott, and served until his death in 1750. His father, Jonathan Law, Sr. (c.1637-1711) was a lawyer in Milford. Jonathan Law, Jr. also had a son by the same name (1705-1790). His grave is in Milford Cemetery.

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William Whiting

Speaker: Oct 1714

WHITING, William (1659-1724), born in Salem, Mass. // William Whiting was appointed Captain of a company of sixty-four men who were to join the Massachusetts troops in an expedition to Maine, 1692. Captain of the Hartford County Troop, May 1698; Major and Commander-in-Chief of an army sent against the Indians, May 1704; Colonel of a body of horse and infantry troops, and led them into New Hampshire to repel the French and Indians, May 1709. He led a company of "Fusaleers" to the fight at Pemaquid in 1697, and later a company of Dragoons, for the security of the County of Albany. He led an expedition against Canada, 1710. Clerk of the Lower House, 1698-1699, 1712; Deputy for Hartford, 1712-1714, 1716-1718; High Sheriff of Hartford County, May 1701, and was still holding that office in October, 1722. Removed to Newport, R.I., 1724, after the death of his wife. He died shortly thereafter.

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John Hooker

Speaker: Oct 1713, May 1714, Oct 1715, May 1718, Oct 1718, Oct 1720

HOOKER, John (1664/5-1757), born in Farmington, Conn. // John Hooker was the Farmington magistrate who did most of the business of the town. Judge of the Supreme Court, 1723-1731; Deputy for Farmington, 1699-1701, 1704-1707, 1709, 1713-1716, 1718-1720, 1722, 1723; Clerk, 1707, 1709, 1716; Speaker of the Lower House, 1713-1715, 1718, 1720; Assistant of the Upper House, 1723-1733. John Hooker was present when his brother, Joseph, seized the Charter and hid it in the oak tree. He died in Farmington, Conn.

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Richard Bushnell

Speaker: May 1713, May 1715, May 1717, May 1719, May 1720

BUSHNELL, Richard (1651/2-1727), born in Saybrook, Conn. // Family removed to Norwalk, c. 1660. He was almost constantly in public service, acting as Constable, Town Clerk, Schoolmaster, Justice of the Peace, Townsman, Surveyor, Town Agent, Judge of the New London County Court, and Deacon of the First Church of Norwich. Sergeant of Norwich Train Band, 1686; Ensign, 1693; Lieutenant, 1698; Captain, 1701; Deputy from Norwich, 1691-1694, 1969-1699, 1702-1720: Clerk, 1702-1705, 1707-1711; Speaker of the Lower House, 1713, 1715, 1717, 1719-1720; Assistant of the Upper House, 1719-1721; Judge of County Court, 1718-1719. He is buried at Old Norwichtown Cemetery, Norwich, Conn.

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John Sherman

Speaker: May 1711, Oct 1711, May 1712, Oct 1712

SHERMAN, John (1649/50/51-1730), born in Stratford, Conn. // Deacon in the Congregational Church in Stratford. On the occurrence of a difference in regard to the minister, he led a party which left and settled the town of Woodbury, Conn.; Woodbury Town Clerk for 25 years; Judge of County Court, 1684-1728; Deputy for Woodbury, 1699, 1700, 1701, 1704-1712; Speaker of the Lower House, 1711, 1712; Assistant of the Upper House, 1713-1722; Captain of the Train Band of Woodbury, 1711; Judge of Probate, 1719-1728. He died in Woodbury, Conn. and is buried in Old North Cemetery there.

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Joseph Talcott

Speaker: Oct 1710

TALCOTT, Joseph (1669-1741), born in Hartford, Conn. // Hartford Selectman, from 1697; Ensign of Hartford Train Band, 1697; Deputy for Hartford, 1708-1710; Speaker of the Lower House, 1710; Assistant of the Upper House, 1711; Justice of the Peace, 1705; Major in the First Regiment of the Colony of Connecticut, 1710-1723. He was a member of the committee to lay out the town of Coventry, 1711. Judge of the Hartford County Court, 1714; Judge of the Superior Court of Hartford, May 1721; Deputy Governor upon the death of Nathan Gold, 1723; then following the sudden death of Gurdon Saltonstall, he was made Governor and was reelected to that office for 17 years. Talcott was the first Connecticut Governor to be born in the state. He is interred in the Ancient Burial Ground in Hartford.

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Samuel Eells, II

Speaker: Oct 1706, Oct 1707, May 1708

EELLS, Samuel (1666-1753), born in Milford, Conn. // Clerk of the County Assembly; Deputy for Milford and Speaker of the Lower House, 1706-1708; Assistant of the Upper House, 1709-1740; Judge of Superior Court, 1711-1739; Commissioner of Boundaries, 1718-1720, 1723, 1724, 1730; Captain of Second Train Band of Milford, 1699; Naval Officer of the Port of Milford, 1714; Colonel of the Second Regiment of Connecticut, 1739. Both his father (Major) and son (Educator, founder of Alpha Delta Phi) were named Samuel, and prominent figures of their time. He died in Milford, Conn.

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John Eliot (Elliott)

Speaker: May 1702, May 1703, Oct 1703, May 1704, May 1705, Oct 1708, May 1709

ELIOT, John (1667-1719), born in Cambridge, Mass. // Graduated Harvard College, 1685. Eliot was a lawyer, school teacher and statesman. In September 1717, he represented Windsor before a Commission on Indian Titles that recommended forming a township whose settlers would be chosen by Eliot and other proprietors. Deputy for Guilford, 1696-1697; Deputy for Windsor, 1701-1705, 1707-1710, 1716-1718; Speaker of the Lower House, 1702-1705, 1708-1709. One of the Committee of War in the County of Hartford, 1708. He died in Windsor, Conn. and is buried in the Palisado Cemetery there.

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Peter Burr

Speaker: May 1701, Oct 1701

BURR, Peter (1667/8-1724), born in Fairfield, Conn. // Graduated Harvard College, 1690 and thereafter taught school in Boston (he was known as "Burr Illustrious" and "Worshipful Mr. Peter Burr"). He turned to the study of law and was admitted to the bar and practiced in Fairfield. Auditor of the Colony and Deputy for Fairfield, 1700; Speaker of the Lower House, 1701; Assistant of the Upper House, 1703; Councilor on the French and Indian War; Justice of the Peace; Judge of Probate for Fairfield; Judge of County Court; Judge of Superior Court; and Chief Judge of the Superior Court. He died on Christmas day, 1724 and is buried in the Old Burying Ground, Fairfield.

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Thomas Hart

Speaker: May 1700, Oct 1704, Oct 1705, May 1706, Oct 1709

HART, Thomas (1643/44-1726), of Farmington, Conn. // Deputy for Farmington, 1690-1700, 1702, 1704-1707, 1709-1711; Speaker, 1700, 1704-1706, 1709; Captain of the Farmington Train Band, 1694; chairman of the committees to protect the natives from "illegal trading" of lands with the whites and "to draw a Bill to prevent disorders in Retailers of strong drenke and excessive drinking" and "to prepare a Bill to put in execution the reform Lawes". He was a man of wealth and influence and it was said that he owned 3,000 acres of land which was divided among his children. He was died, aged 83, and was buried in Farmington with military honors.

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John Chester, II

Speaker: May 1699, Oct 1699, Oct 1700

CHESTER, John (1656-1711), born in Wethersfield, Conn. // Member of the Governor's Council, 1696; Captain of Train Band of Wethersfield, 1698. At the creation of the General Assembly's Lower House, John Chester was appointed Speaker, May 11, 1699; Deputy for Wethersfield and Speaker, 1699, 1700; Assistant (Governor's Council of Assistants) of the Upper House, 1701-1711; Judge of County Court of Hartford County, 1703, 1704, 1711; Sergeant-Major of Hartford County, 1702; Judge of the County and Probate Courts, 1711. Major John Chester is buried in the Wethersfield Village Cemetery, Wethersfield, Conn.

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