William T. Minor

Biography

Minor was born in Stamford, Fairfield County, Connecticut, on October 3, 1815, to Simeon Hinman Minor and Catherine Lockwood Minor.{{cite web|url=http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=gen1775&id=I7849|title = Stamford, CT Families (1641-1935)

Career

In 1840, Minor was admitted to the bar and began the practice of law in Stamford. Minor became a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1841, and served in that position until 1848. He was a judge for the Fairfield County, Connecticut Court. He married Mary Catherine Leeds on April 16, 1849, and they had five children. He became a member of the Connecticut State Senate representing the 12th District in 1854.

As candidate of the American Party, Minor was elected Governor of Connecticut in 1855 over Samuel Ingham by the Connecticut General Assembly by a 177 to 70 vote. He was re-elected to a second term in 1856 by the Connecticut General Assembly, again over Ingham, by a vote of 135 to 116. While Governor, Minor was a supporter of lengthening the period of residency before naturalization. He also supported the dismissal of six military companies that consisted mostly of Irishmen. This step further enraged immigrants. Legislation was passed that deprived suffrage to men unable to read the state constitution. He supported better schools in Connecticut and held the belief that the schools should be free for all the children in the state. He also supported the antislavery measures of the Republicans.{{cite web|url=http://www.ctstatelibrary.org/node/9835|title = WILLIAM T. MINOR, GOVERNOR OF CONNECTICUT, 1855-1857

In 1864, Minor was a delegate from Connecticut to the Republican National Convention, which assembled at Baltimore in June of that year. He voted with his delegation for Abraham Lincoln for president and Andrew Johnson for vice-president of the United States. In July 1864, Minor was appointed by Lincoln as Consul-General to Havana, Cuba. Three years later he returned to Connecticut and spent one year as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives. In 1868, he was appointed judge on the Connecticut Superior Court, and served in that position until 1873 when he resigned his judgeship and returned to his private law practice.{{cite web|url=https://www.stamfordhistory.org/cw_tbios.htm|title = Stamford's Civil War: At Home and in the Field, a 2003 Exhibit and more

Death

Minor died on October 13, 1889, in Stamford. He is interred at Woodland Cemetery in Stamford.

References

References

1. Yale University. (1890). "docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:X-Xw1mS8HG8J:mssa.library.yale.edu/obituary_record/1859_1924/1889-90.pdf+&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgCgFrloICfNftVoV4msaID9lbtht9SWcErfisbGFpWJVIL_eHA9moi1yZ327oYy4MgihTkBKIz6lGEHM347HaX7CtNQDdt8UlOjtou4GHC3NZysI2LYw1lxAuXmjn3eyqDltO3&sig=AHIEtbTNSjUFzO5_GeMd6ha9UlBlJ2t-Hg". Yale University.
2. "Minor, William Thomas (1815-1889)". The Political Graveyard.
3. "William T. Minor". Connecticut State Library.
4. "Yale Officers". Yale University Library.
5. "William T. Minor". The Political Graveyard.
6. "William T. Minor". Connecticut State Library.
7. "William T. Minor". National Governors Association.