Isaac Hill Bromley (1833–1899) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

, editor, politician, railroad director, and

humorist A humorist (American) or humourist (British spelling) is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking, but is not an artist who seeks only to elicit laughs. Humorists are distinct from comedians, who are show business e ...

Biography

Isaac Hill Bromley was born on March 6, 1833, in

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 ...

. He was educated at

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

, but left in the November of his

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

year, but was awarded a degree in 1868.Obituary Record of the Graduates of Yale University
Yale University Alumni Association, June 1899 He studied law at Norwich and

New Haven 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 ...

and was admitted to the bar in 1854. In 1855 he edited a weekly newspaper, ''The State Guard'' in Norwich, where he married, on December 25, Miss Adelaide E. Roath. In January 1856 he formed a law partnership, but was soon diverted from it by his chosen profession, editorial journalism, and never returned to it. He was made Assistant Clerk of the State House of Representatives in 1856, Clerk in 1857, and Clark of the Senate on 1858. In November 1858 he moved to Norwich and began the publication of a new paper, ''The Bulletin''. In August 1862 he enlisted in the 18th Connecticut Volunteers and was commissioned as captain. He served for most of his time as

Provost Marshal Provost marshal is a title given to a person in charge of a group of Military Police (MP). The title originated with an older term for MPs, '' provosts'', from the Old French ''prévost'' (Modern French ''prévôt''). While a provost marshal i ...

of the Third District of Connecticut until his resignation in March 1964. In 1866 he was elected to the legislature from Norwich. In 1868 he moved to

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

and took editorial control of the ''Evening Post'', with which he continued until 1872. In February 1873 he joined the editorial staff of the ''

New York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s through the 1860s it was the domi ...

'' and remained with that paper for ten years. In the meantime, in June 1873, he was appointed by President Arthur as one of the Government Directors of the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

. After a series of brief editorial engagement with the ''Commercial Adventurer'' and the ''Evening Telegram'' of New York, and the ''Rochester Post-Express'', he became in 1884 Assistant to the President of the Union Pacific Railroad, and held that office until 1889. In October 1891, he resumed editorial work on the ''New York Tribune'', and continued in active service until a few months before his death. In April 1898 after several years of poor health, he became seriously ill, and in June was removed to the

Backus Hospital The William W. Backus Hospital is a 213-bed, not-for-profit, acute care community hospital in Norwich, Connecticut. Backus Hospital provides inpatient care for approximately 11,000 patients each year, and has more than 400,000 outpatient visits. T ...

in Norwich, where he died from

neuritis Neuritis () is inflammation of a nerve or the general inflammation of the peripheral nervous system. Inflammation, and frequently concomitant demyelination, cause impaired transmission of neural signals and leads to aberrant nerve function. Neurit ...

on August 11, in his 66th year. His Yale University obituary describes him thus: "A trenchant writer, gifted with a style of unusual brilliancy and unique in its quality of wit, he ranked easily among the leaders of his profession in his generation and was as warmly beloved as he was admired.

References

Notes

*This article is based on the ''Obituary Record of the Graduates of Yale University, deceased in the academical year ending June 1899'', which is in the public domain.

External links

"Our Chauncey." After dinner rhymes
1891, by Isaac H. Bromley, from the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

Isaac H. Bromley
1920, by Norris Galpin Osborn, from the Internet Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Bromley, Isaac Hill 1833 births 1899 deaths American newspaper editors 19th-century American journalists American male journalists 19th-century American male writers People from Norwich, Connecticut