A. Homer Byington
| Aaron Homer Byington | |
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| Member of the Connecticut Senate from the 12th District |
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In office 1861 – 1863 |
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| Preceded by | Julius Curtis |
| Succeeded by | Morgan Morgans |
| Member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from Norwalk | |
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In office 1858–1860 Serving with Daniel K. Nash, William T. Craw |
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| Preceded by | Josiah Carter, William T. Craw |
| Succeeded by | William T. Craw, Samuel E. Olmstead |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
July 26, 1826 Herkimer, New York |
| Died | December 29, 1910 (aged 84) Flushing, Queens, New York |
| Resting place | Riverside Cemetery, Norwalk, Connecticut |
| Political party | Republican,Union Party |
| Spouse(s) | Harriet Sophia Richmond (m. November 8, 1849) |
| Children | William Homer Byington, George Richmond Byington, and Stuart Woodford Byington, Henry Sumpter Byington (d. 1887), Harriet Eloise Byington (d. in infancy) |
| Residence | Norwalk, Connecticut |
| Alma mater | Amos Smith Collegiate School |
| Occupation | Newspaper editor |
Aaron Homer Byington (July 23, 1826 – December 29, 1910) was the U.S. Consul in Naples from 1897 to 1907. He was a newspaper publisher and editor. He also represented Norwalk in the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1858 to 1860, and was a member of the Connecticut Senate representing the 12th District from 1861 to 1863.
He was born in Herkimer, New York, on July 23, 1826, the son of Aaron Byington and Sarah Waterbury. He attended the Amos Smith Collegiate School for boys, but was unable to attend college. On November 8, 1849, he married Harriet Sophia Richmond.
Upon completion of his studies, he went to work as an office boy at the Norwalk Gazette. When the New Haven Morning Chronicle began publication with Thomas G. Woodward as editor, Byington became business manager. He remained in this capacity until 1848, when he bought the Norwalk Gazette. In the Gazette, Byington editorialized for giving blacks the vote, a distinctly minority position at the time.
He was hired by Horace Greeley of the New-York Tribune as the newspaper's congressional correspondent in Washington. He later was named head of the paper's corps of army correspondents.
At the outbreak of the American Civil War, and before regiments of Northern troops had arrived to defend Washington, there was a report of a plot to burn the capital. On April 18, 1861, this report mobilized loyal citizens, including Byington, and former congressman Orris S. Ferry, also of Norwalk to form a militia. This militia was led by Cassius Marcellus Clay, and came to be known as the Cassius Clay Guard.
Byington gained a reputation as a war correspondent when he became the first to deliver news of the outcomes of the first and second battles of Bull Run and Gettysburg.
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