Jonathan Ingersoll (April 16, 1747 – January 12, 1823) was a

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. ...

politician of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

Early life

Ingersoll was born on April 16, 1747, in Ridgefield in what was then called the

Province of Connecticut The Connecticut Colony, originally known as the Connecticut River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became the state of Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636, as a settlement for a Puritan congregation of settlers ...

, a part of

British America British America collectively refers to various British colonization of the Americas, colonies of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and its predecessors states in the Americas prior to the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War in 1 ...

. He was the son of Rev. Jonathan Ingersoll (1713–1778) and Dorcas (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Moss) Ingersoll (1725–1811). His father was the chaplain for the Connecticut Troops during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

. His sister, Esther Ingersoll, was married to Lt. Ebenezer Olmsted. His uncle was Jared Ingersoll Sr., a British colonial official, and his cousin,

Jared Ingersoll Jared Ingersoll Jr. (October 24, 1749 – October 31, 1822) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, and statesman from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a signer of the United States Constitution. He ...

, served as

Attorney General of Pennsylvania The Pennsylvania attorney general is the chief law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It became an elected office in 1980. The current attorney general is Republican Dave Sunday (politician), Dave ...

. His cousin's son (his first cousin once removed),

Charles Jared Ingersoll Charles Jared Ingersoll (October 3, 1782 – May 14, 1862) was an American lawyer, writer and politician who served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 1st congressional district from 1813 to 1815, Pen ...

, was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

and the father of author

Edward Ingersoll Edward Ingersoll (2 April 1817, Philadelphia - 19 February 1893 Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was a United States author. Biography He was the son of Mary Wilcocks and politician and writer Charles Jared Ingersoll. He graduated from the U ...

. 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, ...

in 1766 and began practicing as a lawyer.

Career

From 1792 until 1797, he was a member of Connecticut council of assistants; he simultaneously served as a judge of the

Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors The Connecticut Supreme Court, formerly known as the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors, is the highest court in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The seven justices sit in Hartford, ac ...

from 1792 to 1798. On September 16, 1793, he was elected as a member representing his state at-large in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, by a special election (to replace Congressman-elect

Benjamin Huntington Benjamin Huntington (April 19, 1736 – October 16, 1800) was an eighteenth-century American lawyer, jurist and politician from Connecticut and served as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress and as a member of the U.S. House of Repr ...

who had become a Judge). However he declined this office before the 3rd Congress convened, so he was never sworn in. A replacement was elected at a special election on November 11, 1793.''United States Congressional Elections, 1788–1997: The Official Results'', by Michael J. Dubin (McFarland and Company, 1998) He served as Superior court judge in Connecticut, 1798–1801 and 1811–1816. Ingersoll was the ninth Lieutenant Governor of the State Connecticut, and twenty-ninth overall, being elected to the office annually from 1816 to 1822, and serving until his death in 1823.

Personal life

On April 1, 1786, he was married to Grace Isaacs (1772–1850), the daughter of Ralph Isaacs, Jr., a Yale educated merchant who was prominent in New Haven and Branford. Together, they were the parents of: * Grace Ingersoll (1787–1816), who married Peter Grellet and died aged 29 in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. *

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 ...

(1789–1872), a U.S. Representative from

who served as the U.S. Minister to the Russian Empire under President

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (; November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. A protégé of Andrew Jackson and a member of the Democratic Party, he was an advocate of Jacksonian democracy and ...

. * Mary Ingersoll (1791–1842) * William Isaacs Ingersoll (1793–1830) * Charles Jared Ingersoll (1795–1795), who died in infancy. * Charles Anthony Ingersoll (1798–1860), a

United States federal judge In the United States, a federal judge is a judge who serves on a court established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. Often called "Article III judges", federal judges include the chief justice and associate justices of the U.S. S ...

nominated by President

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. A northern Democratic Party (United States), Democrat who believed that the Abolitionism in the United States, abolitio ...

. * Harriet Ingersoll (1798–1872) * Jonathan Ingersoll (1803–1875) * Edward Ingersoll (1809–1809), who died in infancy. * Edward Ingersoll (1810–1883), an Episcopal minister in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

. Ingersoll died while in office on January 12, 1823, 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 ...

. He was buried in

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 ...

in New Haven.

Descendants

Through his son Ralph, he was the grandfather of seven, including John Van den Heuvel Ingersoll (1815–1846), a Yale educated lawyer who edited a political paper in Ohio and served as secretary of the Indian Commission,

Colin Macrae Ingersoll Colin Macrae Ingersoll (March 11, 1819 – September 13, 1903) was a Connecticut attorney, politician, and military leader. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for two terms in the 1850s. Early life Ingersoll was ...

(1819–1903), who was a member of Congress from Connecticut and married Julia Harriet Pratt, the daughter of U.S. Representative

Zadock Pratt Zadock Pratt Jr. (October 30, 1790 – April 5, 1871) was a tanner, banker, soldier, and member of the United States House of Representatives for two non-consecutive terms in the mid-19th century. Pratt served in the New York militia from ...

, and

Charles Roberts Ingersoll Charles Roberts Ingersoll (September 16, 1821 – January 25, 1903) was an American lawyer and the 47th Governor of Connecticut from 1873 to 1877.''Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale University Deceased during the Academical Year ending in J ...

(1821–1903), who served as

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, ...

from 1873 to 1877 and married Virginia Gregory, the daughter of Admiral

Francis Gregory Francis Hoyt Gregory (October 9, 1789 – October 4, 1866) was an officer in the United States Navy during the War of 1812 through to the American Civil War, Civil War, serving then as a Rear admiral (United States), rear admiral. Early life Gre ...

. Through his son Charles, he was the grandfather of Charles Dennis Ingersoll (1843–1905), a lawyer in New York City, and Thomas Chester Ingersoll (1845–1884).

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ingersoll, Jonathan 1747 births 1823 deaths American people of English descent Ingersoll family Lieutenant governors of Connecticut Members of the Connecticut General Assembly Council of Assistants (1662–1818) People from Ridgefield, Connecticut Toleration Party politicians Connecticut Democratic-Republicans Yale College alumni Justices of the Connecticut Supreme Court 18th-century American politicians 19th-century American politicians People from colonial Connecticut Connecticut lawyers Burials at Grove Street Cemetery Candidates in the 1792 United States elections