Charles Roberts Ingersoll (September 16, 1821 – January 25, 1903) was an American lawyer and the 47th Governor of

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

from 1873 to 1877.''Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale University Deceased during the Academical Year ending in June, 1903, including the record of a few who died previously, hitherto unreported'', Yale College, New Haven, Connecticut, 1903, pp. 216-8.

Early life

Ingersoll was born in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, son of

Ralph Isaacs Ingersoll Ralph Isaacs Ingersoll (February 8, 1789 – August 26, 1872) was a lawyer, politician, and diplomat who served as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives, where he was Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives, Speaker of ...

, a New Haven lawyer who also served in the state House of Representatives, the United States Congress, and as United States Minister to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and as the mayor of New Haven, and of his wife, Margaret, née Van den Heuvel. His paternal grandfather was

Jonathan Ingersoll Jonathan Ingersoll (April 16, 1747 – January 12, 1823) was a Connecticut politician of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Early life Ingersoll was born on April 16, 1747, in Ridgefield, Connecticut, Ridgefield in what was then ...

, a judge of the Supreme Court and

Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut The lieutenant governor of Connecticut is the second highest executive officer of the government of the U.S. State of Connecticut. The lieutenant governor acts as President of the State Senate, presiding over the Senate and casting votes in the ...

up until his death in 1823. His maternal grandfather was

Jan Cornelis Van den Heuvel Baron Jan Cornelis van den Heuvel (December 23, 1742 – May 6, 1826) was a Dutch born plantation owner and politician who served as governor of the Dutch province of Demerara from 1765 to 1770 and later became a merchant in New York City with the ...

, a Dutch born plantation owner and politician who served as governor of the Dutch province of

Demerara Demerara (; , ) is a historical region in the Guianas, on the north coast of South America, now part of the country of Guyana. It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1745 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state from 1792 unti ...

from 1765 to 1770 and later became a merchant in New York City with the

Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company () was a Dutch chartered company that was founded in 1621 and went defunct in 1792. Among its founders were Reynier Pauw, Willem Usselincx (1567–1647), and Jessé de Forest (1576–1624). On 3 June 1621, it was gra ...

. He graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

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 Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

, graduating in 1844.

Career

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 The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

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 The governor of Connecticut is the head of government of Connecticut, and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Connecticut Military Department, military forces. The Governor (United States), governor has a duty to enforce state laws, ...

in April 1873. He was reelected in

1874 Events January * January 1 – New York City annexes The Bronx. * January 2 – Ignacio María González becomes head of state of the Dominican Republic for the first time. * January 3 – Third Carlist War: Battle of Caspe &n ...

1875 Events January * January 1 – The Midland Railway of England abolishes the Second Class passenger category, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow Midland's lead during the rest of the year (Third C ...

and April 1876, 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.

Personal life

Ingersoll was married to Virginia Gregory, the daughter of Admiral Francis Hoyt Gregory. They had six children. A daughter, Elizabeth, married George G. Haven, Jr. Ingersoll died January 25, 1903 (age 81 years, 131 days), in New Haven and is interred at

Grove Street Cemetery Grove Street Cemetery or Grove Street Burial Ground is a cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut, that is surrounded by the Yale University campus. It was organized in 1796 as the New Haven Burying Ground and incorporated in October 1797 to replace th ...

, New Haven, Connecticut.

References

External links

* ''Biographical Encyclopaedia of Connecticut and Rhode Island of the Nineteenth Century'', Metropolitan Publishing and Engraving, New York, 1881, pp. 105–107.
The Political Graveyard
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ingersoll, Charles 1821 births 1903 deaths Politicians from New Haven, Connecticut Ingersoll family Democratic Party governors of Connecticut Yale College alumni Burials at Grove Street Cemetery Connecticut lawyers 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers Lawyers from New Haven, Connecticut