Chauncey Goodrich (1759 - 1815)

Born 20 Oct 1759 in Durham, Middlesex, Connecticut

Ancestors

Died 18 Aug 1815 at age 55 in Hartford, Connecticut, USA

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Preceded by Uriah Tracy

Chauncey Goodrich US Senator (Class 3) from Connecticut 1807—1813

Succeeded by David Daggett

Biography

Chauncey Goodrich is Notable.

U. S. Congressman 1794-1800

"GOODRICH, Chauncey (brother of Elizur Goodrich), a Representative and a Senator from Connecticut; born in Durham, Middlesex County, Conn., October 20, 1759; pursued preparatory studies; was graduated from Yale College in 1776; taught in the Hopkins Grammar School in 1777 and 1778 and in Yale College from May 1778 to February 1781; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1781 and began practice in Hartford, Conn.

He was a member of the State house of representatives in 1793 and 1794; elected as a Federalist to the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Congresses (March 4, 1795-March 3, 1801); resumed the practice of law in Hartford; member of the State executive council 1802-1807; elected to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Uriah Tracy; reelected, and served from October 25, 1807, until May 1813, when he resigned to become Lieutenant Governor; elected mayor of Hartford in June 1812 and Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut in 1813, holding both offices at the time of his death; delegate to the Hartford Convention in 1814; died in Hartford, Conn., August 18, 1815; interment in the Old North Cemetery."

"GOODRICH, Chauncey, senator, was born in Durham, Conn., Oct. 20, 1759; son of the Rev. Elizur Goodrich, educator. He was graduated at Yale, A.B., 1776; A.M., 1779; studied law, was tutor in Yale, 1779-81, and was admitted to the bar in 1781. He attained prominence as a lawyer; represented Hartford in the state legislature, 1793; was a representative in the 4th, 5th and 6th congresses, 1795-1801; a member of Governor Trumbull's council, 1802-07; U.S. senator, 1807-13, and lieutenant-governor of Connecticut, 1813-15. He also served as mayor of Hartford, and as a delegate to the Hartford convention of 1814. He was married to Mary Ann, daughter of Oliver Wolcott, signer of the Declaration of Independence. He died in Hartford, Conn., Aug. 18, 1815."

Burial

Old North Cemetery, Hartford, Connecticut^[1]

Chauncey Goodrich. ^[2]

Born 20 OCT 1759. Durham, Connecticut. ^[3]

Died 18 AUG 1815. Hartford, Connecticut. ^[4]

Event: Anecdote Note: 3 Transcribed from Case: "graduated at Yale in 1779; was tutor there for the next two years, and then began the practice of law in Hartford, where he soon rose to eminence; was a member of the State legislature in 1793, and in 1794 was elected to congress, where he served six years. 3 ("From Appendix to Hollister's "History of Connecticut":). 3 "For this station he was peculiarly qualified, not only by the original bent of his mind and his habits of study, but also by the fact that having married into the family of the second Gov. Wolcott, he was brought into the closest relations with public men and measures, which naturally led him to familiarize himself with all the great questions of the day. This led him, from the time he took his seat in Congress, to become intimately acquainted with the plans and policy of the administration, and he gave them his warmest support. 3 "A party in opposition to Gen. Washington was now organized for the first time in Congress. Mr. Goodrich took a large share in the debates which followed, and gained the respect of all parties by his characteristic dignity, candor, and force of judgment, and especially by his habit of contemplating a subject on every side and discussing it in its remotest relations and dependencies. Mr. Albert Gallatin, then the most active leader of the opposition, remarked to a friend near the close of his life that in these debates he usually selected the speech of Chauncey Goodrich as the object of reply, feeling that if he could answer him he would have met every thing truly relevant to the subject which had been urged on the part of the government. 3 "In 1801, he resigned his seat in Congress and returned to the practice of the law at Hartford. The next year he was chosen to the office of councillor (afterward senator) in the State legislature, which he continued to fill until 1807, when he was elected to the Senate of the United States. During the violent conflicts of the next six years he took an active part in the discussions which arose out of the embargo, the non-intercourse laws, and other measures which led to the war with Great Britain. 3 "The same qualities which marked his early efforts were now more fully exhibited in the maturity of his powers, while the whole cast of his character made him peculiarly fitted for the calmer deliberations of the Senate. He had nothing of what Burke calls 'the smartness of debate.' He never indulged in sarcasm or personal attacks. In the most stormy discussions he maintained a courtesy which disarmed rudeness. Mr. Jefferson playfully said to a friend during this period, 'That white-headed Yankee from Connecticut is the most difficult man to deal with in the Senate of the United States.' In 1812, he was chosen mayor of the city of Hartford; and on the year following, being elected lieutenant-governor of his native State, he resigned his seat in the senate. The two last-named offices he retained until his death. 3 "At a meeting of the legislature in 1814, he was appointed a delegate to the celebrated Hartford Convention. Though in feeble health, he took a large share in the deliberation of that body, and especially in those healing measures which were finally adopted". ^[5]

Note: There are no children listed in the Case book for Chauncey or either of his wives.

Sources

1. ↑ Find A Grave Memorial# 20237
2. ↑ Source: #S2 page 75
3. ↑ Source: #S2 page 126
4. ↑ Source: #S2 page 126
5. ↑ Source: #S2 page 126 and 127

• Pease, John Chauncey & Niles, John Milton. A Gazetteer of the States of Connecticut and Rhode-Island (William S. Marsh, 1819) Page 52-3
• The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Vol. IV
• Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1949, page 1221
• Chauncey Goodrich on Wikipedia
• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Source: S2The Goodrich Family in America. A Genealogy of the Descendants of John and William Goodrich of Wethersfield, Conn., Richard Goodrich of Guilford, Conn., and William Goodridge of Watertown, Mass. Lafayette Wallace Case M.D., Author Role: Editor Publication: Fergus Printing Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1889, Second Date, 1984