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JAMES EDWARD ENGLISH
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| Senator and governor of
Connecticut, James Edward English was born in New Haven,
Connecticut, the son of James English and Nancy Giswold. He
was a descendant of Clement English, an early settler of Salem,
Massachusetts.
James English attended the local
schools and worked on a neighbor's farm while still
a boy. When he returned to his parents he studied architectural
drawing and was then apprenticed to a master carpenter. At
the age of twenty-one English became a master builder and
began to build houses on a far more elaborate scale in New
Haven had previously experienced. With the capital from those
contracts he engaged in the lumber business, building and
buying sailing ships, and other commercial enterprises. James
English worked in this manner for over twenty years and then
became engaged in the manufacture of clocks. His New Haven
Clock Company became the world's largest. He was also president
of the Goodyear Metallic Rubber Shoe Company.
James Edward English was a member of the state house of representatives in 1855 and the
state senate in 1856-1858. English was elected as a Democrat
to the Thirty-seventh and Thirty-eighth Congresses, 1861-1865.
Two years later he was elected Governor of Connecticut and
reelected in 1870. As a governor he attained the title of
"Father of the Free School System". Governor English
was appointed to the United States Senate in 1875 and served
for two years.
English was very prosperous and
generous with this fortune. He donated considerable
amounts of money to New Haven and Yale University. James was
married in 1835 to Carolina Fowler and of the four children
born only one, Henry, lived to maturity. Governor English
died in New Haven, Connecticut on Mar 2, 1890.
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Source_bio 1:
ENGLISH FAMILY HISTORY
American Genealogical Research Institute
Heritage Press, Inc.
Washington, D.C.; 1978
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JAMES EDWARD ENGLISH - bio 2 |
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| James Edward English,
statesman, born in New Haven, Connecticut,
13 March 1812. He received a common school education, and served
an apprenticeship in a carpenter's shop. Here his energy and
capacity were such that before he had attained his majority
he was made master builder. He then engaged in the lumber trade,
and subsequently in real estate, banking, and manufacturing
enterprises, and became one of the richest men in Connecticut.
In 1848 he was a member of the New
Haven common council, and elected a member of the state
general assembly in 1855, and elected to the senate in 1856-1858.
He was then elected to congress as a War Democrat, and served
from 1861 till 1865, voting with the Republicans for the abolition
of slavery.
He was a delegate to the Philadelphia
national union convention in 1866, and was governor
of Connecticut in 1867-1870. He then traveled extensively
in Europe and the United States. In 1875 he was elected U.
S. senator to fill a vacancy, and served till the following
spring. He is president of the New Haven savings bank, and
a manager of Adams Express Co.
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Source_bio 2:
Edited Appletons Encyclopedia
Copyright © 2001 |
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JAMES EDWARD ENGLISH
- bio 2 |
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ENGLISH, James Edward, 1812-1890
Senate Years of Service: 1875-1876
Party: Democrat
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| **ENGLISH, James Edward, a Representative and a
Senator from Connecticut; born in New Haven, Conn., March 13,
1812; attended the common schools; engaged in the lumber business,
banking, and manufacturing; member, New Haven board of selectmen
1847-1861; member, common council 1848-1849; member, State house
of representatives 1855; member, State senate 1856-1858; unsuccessful
candidate for lieutenant governor 1860; elected as a Democrat
to the Thirty-seventh and Thirty-eighth Congresses (March 4,
1861-March 3, 1865); was not a candidate for renomination in
1864; unsuccessful candidate for election as Governor in 1866;
elected Governor of Connecticut in 1867, 1868, and 1870; member,
State house of representatives 1872; unsuccessful candidate
for election in 1872 to the Forty-third Congress; appointed
as a Democrat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy
caused by the death of Orris S. Ferry and served from November
27, 1875, to May 17 1876, when a successor was elected; unsuccessful
candidate for election in 1876 to fill the vacancy; resumed
his manufacturing and commercial activities; died in New Haven,
Conn., on March 2, 1890; interment in Evergreen Cemetery. |
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source:
Dictionary of American Biography; English, Anna R. In Memoriam,
James Edward English. New Haven: Privately printed, 1891. |
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| **English, James Edward (1812-1890) -- also known
as James E. English. |
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