Colin Macrae Ingersoll (March 11, 1819 – September 13, 1903) was a

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

attorney, politician, and military leader. He served as a member of the

United States House of Representatives 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

for two terms in the 1850s.

Early life

Ingersoll was born in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

on March 11, 1819, to diplomat and

U.S. 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 c ...

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 House, a United States representative from Conne ...

and Margaret (

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

Van den Heuvel) Ingersoll. His brother was

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 ...

, who served as the 47th Governor of Connecticut. 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 in what was then called the Province of ...

, a judge of the Supreme Court and

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 ...

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 ( nl, Demerary, ) 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 fro ...

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

Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ( ...

. He pursued academic studies in New Haven, and graduated from

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

in 1839. Ingersoll was a founding member of the Phi Kappa Society while an undergraduate. This secret society would later become the school’s current chapter of the

Alpha Delta Phi Alpha Delta Phi (), commonly known as Alpha Delt, ADPhi, A-Delt, or ADP, is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. Alpha Delta Phi was originally founded as a literary society by Samuel Eells in 1832 at Hamilton College in Cli ...

. He graduated from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...

, was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1841, and practiced in New Haven.

Career

In 1843, Ingersoll served as clerk of 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 ...

. When his father was Minister to Russia, Colin Ingersoll was appointed Secretary of the legation at

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

serving in 1847 and 1848. He was acting

Chargé d'Affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...

in 1848. In 1850, Ingersoll was 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

32nd United States Congress The 32nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1851, ...

. He served in Congress from March 4, 1851, was reelected two years later and served in the Thirty-third Congress until March 3, 1855. After leaving Congress he resumed the practice of law. Ingersoll served as adjutant general of Connecticut from 1867 to 1868 and again from 1870 to 1871.

Personal life

In 1853, Ingersoll married Julia Harriet Pratt, the daughter of Abigail P. (née Watson) Pratt and

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. Pratt served in the New York militia from 1819–1826, and was Colonel of the 116th regiment ...

, a U.S. Representative from New York who built the largest

tannery Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...

in the world at its time and built the town of Prattsville. Their children included: * Mary E. Ingersoll (b. 1854) * Colin Macrae Ingersoll Jr. (b. 1859) * George Pratt Ingersoll (b. 1861) * Maude Margaret Ingersoll (b. 1863) Ingersoll died of pneumonia in

on September 13, 1903. He was interred in New Haven's

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 the ...

References

External sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ingersoll, Colin M. 1819 births 1903 deaths Politicians from New Haven, Connecticut Ingersoll family Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut Connecticut Adjutant Generals Yale Law School alumni Burials at Grove Street Cemetery 19th-century American politicians Lawyers from New Haven, Connecticut