Chauncey Fitch Cleveland (February 16, 1799 – June 6, 1887) was an American politician, a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

and the 31st

Governor of Connecticut The governor of Connecticut is the head of government of Connecticut, and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Connecticu ...

Biography

Born in

Canterbury, Connecticut Canterbury is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 5,045 at the 2020 census. History The area was settled by English colonists in the 1680s as ''Peagscomsuck''. It consisted mainly of land north of Norwich, so ...

, Cleveland attended the common schools and taught school from the age of fifteen to twenty. He studied law, was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1819 and commenced practice in

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria Canada * Hampton, New Brunswick *Ha ...

. He was married, December 13, 1821, to Diantha Hovey (1800–1867); was married, January 22, 1869, to Helen Cornelia Litchfield.

Career

Cleveland was a member of the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an ...

from 1826 to 1829, 1832, 1835, 1836, 1838, 1847, and 1848, and served as its

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

in 1836 and 1838. He was

State's attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

in 1832 and State bank commissioner in 1838. In 1841 he moved to

Norwich, Connecticut Norwich ( ) (also called "The Rose of New England") is a city in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Yantic, Shetucket, and Quinebaug Rivers flow into the city and form its harbor, from which the Thames River flows south to Long ...

. Elected Governor of the state by the Democratic party in 1842, and again in 1843, Cleveland was

from May 4, 1842 to May 1, 1844. He then resumed the practice of law in

. Elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Thirty-first and Thirty-second Congresses, Cleveland held office from March 4, 1849 to March 3, 1853. Previous to the breaking out of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, Cleveland had become affiliated with the Republican Party upon its organization. He was a strong supporter of the government during the war, and for several years thereafter he acted with that party. He was a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

s of 1856 and 1860, and was a Presidential Elector on the Republican ticket in 1860. In 1861, he was a member of the

Peace Congress A peace congress, in international relations, has at times been defined in a way that would distinguish it from a peace conference (usually defined as a diplomatic meeting to decide on a peace treaty), as an ambitious forum to carry out dispute re ...

held in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in an effort to devise means to prevent the impending war. Cleveland was again a member of the State house of representatives in 1863 and 1866, serving as speaker in the former year. He retired from public life and engaged in agricultural pursuits and the practice of law.

Death

Cleveland died in

in 1887. He is interred at South Cemetery,

Hampton, Connecticut Hampton is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,728 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, is land and (1.96%) is water. Histo ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cleveland, Chauncey 1799 births 1887 deaths Connecticut lawyers Speakers of the Connecticut House of Representatives Governors of Connecticut Democratic Party governors of Connecticut Republican Party members of the Connecticut House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut People from Canterbury, Connecticut 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers