Charles Roberts Ingersoll | |
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47th Governor of Connecticut | |
In office May 7, 1873 – January 3, 1877 |
|
Lieutenant | George G. Sill |
Preceded by | Marshall Jewell |
Succeeded by | Richard D. Hubbard |
Personal details | |
Born | September 16, 1821 New Haven, Connecticut |
Died | January 25, 1903 (aged 81) New Haven, Connecticut |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Virginia Gregory Ingersoll |
Children | Elizabeth Ingersoll Haven |
Alma mater | Yale College |
Profession | lawyer, politician |
Charles Roberts Ingersoll (September 16, 1821 – January 25, 1903) was an American lawyer and the 47th Governor of Connecticut from 1873 to 1877.
Ingersoll was born in New Haven, Connecticut, son of Ralph Isaacs Ingersoll, a New Haven lawyer who also served in the state House of Representatives, the United States Congress, and as United States Minister to Russia and as the mayor of New Haven, and of his wife, Margaret, née Van den Heuvel. He graduated from Yale College at the age of nineteen in 1840. He visited Europe aboard the United States frigate Preble, commanded by his uncle, Captain Voorhes, for two years, and returned to Yale Law School, graduating in 1844. His wife was Virginia Gregory, daughter of Admiral Francis Hoyt Gregory. They had six children. A daughter, Elizabeth, married George G. Haven, Jr.
Ingersoll was admitted to the bar in 1845 and became the law partner of his father, and served as director of the New Haven Colony Historical Society. Ingersoll entered politics in 1846, serving as clerk of the Connecticut Assembly, a position he was reelected to in 1856, 1857, 1858, 1866, and 1871. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention from Connecticut in 1864. He served in the state legislature as a democrat.
Winning the 1873 Democratic gubernatorial nomination, Ingersoll was elected Governor of Connecticut. He was reelected in 1874, and 1875 serving from May 7, 1873 to January 3, 1877. During his tenure, a state constitutional amendment was passed that lengthened the governor's term to two years. Also, the state endured a financial depression that took six years to recover from, and Hartford—which was a co-capital with New Haven—was finally chosen as the sole lawmaking center. Ingersoll did not run for reelection, and left office January 1877. He continued to practice law, trying cases on the state and federal levels and in the U.S. Supreme Court. He also was an organizer and vice president of the State Bar Association.