William Wolcott Ellsworth
| William Wolcott Ellsworth | |
|---|---|
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| 30th Governor of Connecticut | |
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In office May 2, 1838 – May 4, 1842 |
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| Lieutenant | Charles Hawley |
| Preceded by | Henry W. Edwards |
| Succeeded by | Chauncey Fitch Cleveland |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut's At-large district |
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In office March 4, 1829 – July 8, 1834 |
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| Preceded by | David Plant |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Trumbull |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 10, 1791 Windsor, Connecticut |
| Died | January 15, 1868 (aged 76) Hartford, Connecticut |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Emily S. Webster Ellsworth |
| Children | Pickney Webster Ellsworth |
| Alma mater | Yale College, Litchfield Law School |
| Profession | lawyer, politician, judge |
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 on the State Supreme Court.
Born in Windsor on November 10, 1791, Ellsworth was the son of Founding Father Oliver Ellsworth, and son-in-law of Noah Webster, who named Ellsworth executor of his will. His twin brother was Henry Leavitt Ellsworth, first Commissioner of the United States Patent Office. He completed preparatory studies, and graduated from Yale College in 1810. He studied law at Tapping Reeve's Litchfield Law School in Litchfield, was afterwards admitted to the bar in 1811.
Among Ellsworth's Yale classmates was Samuel F. B. Morse, whose idea of the telegraph would later be championed by Ellsworth's twin brother Henry Leavitt Ellsworth during his term as the first Commissioner of the U.S. Patent Office.
On September 14, 1813, he was married to Emily S. Webster, eldest daughter of Rebecca Greenleaf and Noah Webster Jr., publisher of dictionaries. Noah Webster named Ellsworth as one of the executors of his will of 1843.
Ellsworth was appointed professor of law at Trinity College in 1827, which position he held until his death. His law partner starting in 1817 was his brother-in-law Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court Thomas Scott Williams, who was elected to the U.S. Congress that year and sought a younger partner to manage his practice in his absence. (Judge Williams was married to Ellsworth's sister.) Aged 26, Ellsworth took up the reins of Congressman Williams' law practice, the largest in the state.
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