History of Enfield, (Hartford County) Connecticut United States of America

Our database does not include an historic photo for Enfield, (Hartford County) Connecticut, do you have one you would like to contribute? Contact Us!

Biographies:

Elisha Marshall Pease, governor of Texas, was born at Enfield, Conn., Jan. 3, 1812; son of Lorain Thompson and Sarah (Marshall) Pease, and grandson of John Pease, a soldier in the Continental army during the Revolutionary war. His first ancestors in America, Robert and Margaret Pease, emigrated from Great Baddow, England, and settled in Boston in 1634. Elisha attended the district schools of Enfield and an academy at Westfield, Mass., and in 1826 obtained employment as a clerk in a country store. He removed to Mina, Col., in 1834; studied law with Col. D.C. Barrett; entered the Texan insurgent army in 1835, and engaged in the battle of Gonzales. He was secretary of the provisional council of Texas, 1835-36; chief clerk of the navy and treasury departments, and for a short time acted as secretary of the treasury. He was a member of the committee that framed the state constitution, and in November, 1836, was appointed clerk of the judiciary committee of the state legislature. He was admitted to the bar in April, 1837, and practised in Brazoria, Texas. He was district attorney of Brazoria, and upon the annexation of Texas in 1845, a representative in the state legislature for two terms, and state senator in 1849. He was married in 1850 to L. C. Niles of Windsor, Conn. He was governor of Texas, 1853-57, and during the civil war lived in retirement, being opposed to secession. In 1866 be was a delegate to the convention of southern loyalists and chosen vice-president of the same. He was candidate for governor on the Union ticket being defeated by J. W. Throckmorton in 1866, but served as provisional governor by appointment of General Sheridan, 1867-69. He retired from law practice in 1877 and was appointed collector of the port of Galveston, Texas, in 1879. He died at Lampasas Springs, Tex., Aug. 26, 1883.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

James Dixon, senator, was born in Enfield, Conn., Aug. 5, 1814; son of Judge William Dixon. He was graduated from Williams college in 1834, studied law in his father's office in Enfield and practised with him until 1837, when he removed to Hartford and formed a partnership with E.E. Ellsworth. He was married in 1840 to Elizabeth L., daughter of the Rev. Jonathan Cogswell. He represented his town in the state legislature in 1837, 1838 and 1844, and his district in the 29th and 30th congresses, 1845-49, as a Whig; and was a state senator, 1849-54. He was president of the Whig state convention in 1854, and was elected a U.S. senator in 1857 and re-elected in 1863, serving, 1857-69. He supported the administrations of Presidents Lincoln and Johnson with equal loyalty, and refused to join the majority of his party in the movement to impeach President Johnson. He withdrew from public life in 1869, having refused the mission to Russia offered him by President Johnson. He travelled extensively in Europe chiefly for recreation and devoted himself to literary work and study. He received the degree of A.M. from Willlares in 1837 and that of LL.D. from Trinity in 1862. His poems are included in Poets of Connecticut and in Laigh Hunt's Book of the Sonnet, and he was a contributor beth in prose and verse to the New England and other magazines and periodicals. He died in Hartford, Conn., March 27, 1873.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor