Joseph Wright Alsop IV (April 2, 1876 – March 17, 1953) was an American politician and father of Joseph Wright Alsop V and

Stewart Alsop Stewart Johonnot Oliver Alsop (May 17, 1914 – May 26, 1974) was an American newspaper columnist and political analyst. Early life Alsop was born and raised in Avon, Connecticut, from an old Yankee family. Alsop attended Groton School and Yal ...

. He served in the

Connecticut General Assembly The Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member House of Representatives and the 36-member Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford. The ...

and ran for Congress on the

Bull Moose Party The Progressive Party, popularly nicknamed the Bull Moose Party, was a Third party (U.S. politics), third party in the United States formed in 1912 by former president Theodore Roosevelt after he lost the 1912 Republican Party presidential prim ...

ticket.

Early life and education

Alsop was born on April 2, 1876, in

Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles (25.749504 km) south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. Middletown is the largest city in the L ...

, to parents Joseph Wright Alsop III (1838–1891) and Elizabeth Winthrop (Beach) Alsop (1847–1889). Alsop IV was a scion of the Alsop family of Middletown, which included

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

delegate John Alsop, author Richard Alsop, and New York governor John Alsop King. His father, Joseph III, was a wealthy physician and state senator who was the Democratic nominee for

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 ...

in 1890. Alsop IV attended the

Groton School Groton School is a Private school, private, college-preparatory school, college-preparatory, day school, day and boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts, United States. It is affiliated with the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcop ...

in Massachusetts and spent a year studying at the Friedrich Wilhelm University in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

before receiving the engineering curriculum at the

Sheffield Scientific School Sheffield Scientific School was founded in 1847 as a school of Yale University, Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut, for instruction in science and engineering. Originally named the Yale Scientific School, it was renamed in 1861 in honor of Jos ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. He graduated in 1898. Alsop then worked for a Colorado ranching company until 1901 and for a manufacturing company in Middletown until 1903, when he moved to Avon, Connecticut, purchased a 150-acre farm, grew tobacco, and raised cattle, specializing in Ayreshires.

Career

Alsop worked as president of two insurance companies: the Hartford County Municipal Fire Insurance Company and the Connecticut Valley Mutual Hail Insurance Company. He served on the board of the State Public Utilities Commission for 26 years and chaired the board for twelve of those years. He served as first selectman of Avon for 35 years. Alsop served one term in the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an equal number of districts, with each ...

(1907), serving on the Committee for Incorporations. He went on to serve two terms in the

Connecticut State Senate The Connecticut State Senate is the upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 99,280 inhabitants. Sena ...

(1909 and 1911), chairing the Committee on Roads, Bridges, and Rivers. A Republican during his legislative service, Alsop ran unsuccessfully for the US House of Representatives on the Progressive Party ticket in 1912 and served on the Progressive Party's national committee that year as well. Alsop was committed to the cause of Connecticut agriculture. He served as president of the Connecticut Valley Tobacco Association (1922–1927), the Connecticut Dairymen's Association, and the American Ayreshire Breeders Association. He was a long-time member of the board of directors of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, retiring in 1950. Alsop served over three decades on the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

's Board of Trustees (1909–1942), when the institution's teaching emphasis was on agriculture. The Joseph Wright Alsop Hall on UConn's Storrs campus was named in his honor.

Personal life

Alsop married Corinne Douglas Robinson (1886–1971) on November 4, 1909. She was a member of the

Roosevelt family The Roosevelt family is an American political family from New York whose members have included two United States presidents, a First Lady, and various merchants, bankers, politicians, inventors, clergymen, artists, and socialites. The progeny ...

(

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

was her cousin and

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

her uncle) and had her own political career, serving in the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1924 and again in 1931. The couple had four children, all of whom became prominent society figures: Joseph Wright Alsop V,

, John deKoven Alsop, and Corinne Roosevelt Alsop (wife of the heir to

Chubb Limited Chubb Limited is an American–Swiss company incorporated in Zürich, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) where it is a component of the S&P 500. Chubb is a global provider of insurance products covering property and casualty, acci ...

). Alsop IV died on March 17, 1953, while on vacation in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. His wife and children survived him. He was interred at Indian Hill Cemetery.

References

External links

Alsop family papers
- Yale University Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Alsop IV, Joseph Wright 1876 births 1953 deaths People from Middletown, Connecticut People from Avon, Connecticut Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science alumni Farmers from Connecticut Mayors of places in Connecticut American businesspeople in insurance Republican Party Connecticut state senators Republican Party members of the Connecticut House of Representatives Burials at Indian Hill Cemetery 20th-century members of the Connecticut General Assembly