James Leland Howard (January 18, 1818 – May 1, 1906) was an American businessman and politician who was the 63rd Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut from 1887 to 1889.

Early life

James L. Howard was born in

Windsor, Vermont Windsor is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As the "Birthplace of Vermont", the town is where the Constitution of Vermont was adopted in 1777, thus marking the founding of the Vermont Republic, a sovereign state until 1791, when ...

. He was the eldest of eight children born to Reverend Leland Howard, a prominent

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

clergyman, and Lucy ( née Mason) Howard. His younger brother Frank Leonard Howard named his son Major James Leland Howard, the secretary of the

Travelers Insurance Company The Travelers Companies, Inc., commonly known as Travelers, is an American insurance company. It is the second-largest writer of U.S. commercial property casualty insurance, and the sixth-largest writer of U.S. personal insurance through indepen ...

, after James.GoogleBooks
/ref> His paternal ancestors came to this country from Swansea in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and were among the original landowners of the town of Milford and Mendon. James' great-grandfather, Benjamin Howard, was born in Mendon in 1713 but spent the latter part of his life in Jamaica, Vermont, where he died in 1783.

Career

He received an academic education and started working as a clerk in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

at the age of fifteen. In 1838, he moved to Hartford, Connecticut, where he started working in the manufacturing business on his own account in 1841, with his partner Hurlburt, he manufacturing carriage and saddle hardware. They soon added the manufacture of furnishings for railway cars. In 1876, Howard bought out his partner and the company was named James L. Howard & Company. He was also president of the Hartford City Gas Light Company, director in the Phoenix National Bank, the Traveler's Insurance Company, the Hartford County Fire Insurance Company, the Retreat for the Insane, the Farmington River Power Company, and several other manufacturing companies. Additionally, he was on the board of directors of the New York & New England Railroad Company.Genealogy Finds, Hon. James L. Howard, Hartford
The James L. Howard & Company still exists under the name of 1846.

Political career

Howard was originally a member of the Whig Party, and naturally became a member of the Republicans when that party was formed in 1856. He was an unsuccessful candidate to become mayor of Hartford in 1878 and 1880.The Political Graveyard, Index to Politicians: Howard
/ref> In the autumn of 1886, Howard was elected

Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut The following is a list of lieutenant governors of the State of Connecticut. Lieutenant governors of the State of Connecticut, 1776–present Notes References ;Constitutions * * * ;Specific External linksOfficial website of the L ...

. He served for one two-year period alongside the governor

Phineas C. Lounsbury Phineas Chapman Lounsbury (January 10, 1841 - June 22, 1925) was an American politician and the List of Governors of Connecticut, 53rd Governor of Connecticut. Biography Lounsbury was born in Ridgefield, Connecticut on January 10, 1841. He work ...

from January 7, 1887, to January 10, 1889.

Personal life

On June 1, 1842, Howard was married to Miss Anna Gilbert (1821–1909), daughter of Joseph B. Gilbert of Hartford who served as the Connecticut State Treasurer in the 1840s. Together, James and Anna were the parents of five children, of which three daughters survived to adulthood, Alice, Edith and Mary Howard. Howard died on May 1, 1906, in Hartford, Connecticut, and was buried at the

Spring Grove Cemetery Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum () is a nonprofit rural cemetery and arboretum located at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the third largest cemetery in the United States, after the Calverton National Cemetery and Abraham ...

in Hartford.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, James L. 1818 births 1906 deaths Lieutenant Governors of Connecticut Connecticut Republicans