Joseph Trumbull (December 7, 1782 – August 4, 1861) was a
U.S. lawyer, banker, and politician from
Connecticut. He represented Connecticut in the
U.S. Congress from 1834 to 1835, then again from 1839 to 1843. He later served as the
35th Governor of Connecticut from 1849 to 1850.
Early life
Joseph Trumbull was born in
Lebanon, Connecticut
Lebanon is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 7,142 at the 2020 census. The town lies just to the northwest of Norwich, directly south of Willimantic, north of New London, and east of Hartford. The farm ...
on December 7, 1782. He graduated from
Yale University in 1801, and studied law with his cousin William Trumbull Williams.
In 1802 he moved to the Connecticut
Western Reserve (now
Trumbull County, Ohio
Trumbull County is a county in the far northeast portion of U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 201,977. Its county seat is Warren, which developed industry along the Mahoning River. Trumbull County is part of the You ...
) and was admitted to the bar. Shortly thereafter he moved back to Connecticut, establishing a law practice in
Hartford.
Career
In addition to a successful law practice, Trumbull was active in several businesses. From 1828 to 1839 he was president of the Hartford Bank, and he served as president of the
Providence, Hartford & Fishkill Railroad.
Originally a
national Republican
The National Republican Party, also known as the Anti-Jacksonian Party or simply Republicans, was a political party in the United States that evolved from a conservative-leaning faction of the Democratic-Republican Party that supported John Qu ...
, and later a
Whig, Trumbull began his political career with election to the
Connecticut House of Representatives in 1832.
He was sent to the U.S. Congress in December 1834 to complete the term of
William W. Ellsworth
William Wolcott Ellsworth (November 10, 1791 – January 15, 1868) was a Yale-educated attorney who served as the 30th Governor of Connecticut, a three-term United States Congressman, a justice of the State Supreme Court.
Biography
Born in W ...
who had resigned, and was elected as a
Whig to the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh Congresses (March 4, 1839 – March 3, 1843).
Trumbull served as
Governor of Connecticut in 1849 and 1850.
In 1849 he received the
honorary degree of
LL.D. from Yale. In 1851 he served again in the Connecticut House of Representatives.
Death and burial
He died Hartford on August 4, 1861 as the result of typhoid fever. He was buried at Old North Cemetery in Hartford.
Two days later, his second wife Eliza also died.
Within a year of his death ten of his close relatives died, including his sister Abigail, his wife Eliza, his brother-in-law
William L. Storrs
William Lucius Storrs (March 25, 1795 – June 25, 1861) was a U.S. Representative from Connecticut, brother of Henry Randolph Storrs.
Born in Middletown, Connecticut, Storrs was graduated from Yale College in 1814.
He studied law and was admi ...
, Joseph and Eliza's daughter Eliza, their son-in-law Lucius Robinson and Lucius' father David Robinson.
Family
Joseph Trumbull was born into an influential and politically active family. His grandfather,
Jonathan Trumbull
Jonathan Trumbull Sr. (October 12, 1710August 17, 1785) was an American politician and statesman who served as Governor of Connecticut during the American Revolution. Trumbull and Nicholas Cooke of Rhode Island were the only men to serve as gov ...
, was a colonial Connecticut governor and was the first governor of the State of Connecticut, serving a total of fourteen one year terms. His uncle,
Jonathan Trumbull Jr.
Jonathan Trumbull Jr. (March 26, 1740 – August 7, 1809) was an American politician who served as the 20th governor of Connecticut, the second speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the 24th Lieutenant Governor of Connectic ...
served as governor for ten terms. Another uncle,
John Trumbull
John Trumbull (June 6, 1756November 10, 1843) was an American artist of the early independence period, notable for his historical paintings of the American Revolutionary War, of which he was a veteran. He has been called the "Painter of the Rev ...
, served as a personal aide to
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
during the Revolutionary War and became a famous painter. Several of his paintings are hanging in the
Capitol Rotunda
The United States Capitol rotunda is the tall central rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. It has been described as the Capitol's "symbolic and physical heart". Built between 1818 and 1824, the rotunda is located below the ...
in Washington, D.C. His aunt Mary Trumbull married
William Williams, a political activist and signer of the
Declaration of Independence.
His first wife, Harriet Champion, was the daughter of
Henry Champion, a general in the Revolutionary War. His second wife was the sister of
William L. Storrs
William Lucius Storrs (March 25, 1795 – June 25, 1861) was a U.S. Representative from Connecticut, brother of Henry Randolph Storrs.
Born in Middletown, Connecticut, Storrs was graduated from Yale College in 1814.
He studied law and was admi ...
, a U.S. Congressman and later the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Connecticut.
Joseph Trumbull was born to David Trumbull and his wife ''
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 ...
'' Sarah Backus in
Lebanon, Connecticut
Lebanon is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 7,142 at the 2020 census. The town lies just to the northwest of Norwich, directly south of Willimantic, north of New London, and east of Hartford. The farm ...
. He lived in the family home known as Redwood, on the Lebanon green.
David and Sarah had five children. Joseph's siblings were:
* Sarah Trumbull (1779–1839), who married William Trumbull Williams (1779–1839), her cousin
* Abigail Trumbull (1781–1861), who married Peter Lanman (1771–1854)
* John Trumbull (1784–1859), who married Anne Gibbons (1789–1823), Hanna Wallace Tunis (1800–1823) and Eliza Bruen (1793–1857)
* Jonathan G. W. Trumbull (about 1790-1853), who married Jane Eliza Lathrop (1795–1843)
Harriet died in 1823 and Joseph married Eliza Storrs (1784–1861), sister of
William L. Storrs
William Lucius Storrs (March 25, 1795 – June 25, 1861) was a U.S. Representative from Connecticut, brother of Henry Randolph Storrs.
Born in Middletown, Connecticut, Storrs was graduated from Yale College in 1814.
He studied law and was admi ...
, on December 1 of the following year. With his second wife he was the father of a daughter, Eliza Storrs Trumbull (1826–1862).
References
External links
Trumbull’s Congressional biographyat
National Governors Association'
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trumbull, Joseph
1782 births
1861 deaths
People from Lebanon, Connecticut
Yale University alumni
Connecticut lawyers
Connecticut Whigs
Members of the Connecticut House of Representatives
Governors of Connecticut
National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut
Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives
Burials in Connecticut
19th-century American politicians
19th-century American lawyers