Connecticut Historical Society

GILLETTE, Francis, (father of Edward Hooker Gillette), a Senator from Connecticut; born in that portion of Old Windsor now included in the town of Bloomfield, Hartford County, Conn., December 14, 1807; moved with his parents to Ashfield, Mass.; graduated from Yale College in 1829; commenced the study of law, but his health becoming impaired he engaged in agricultural pursuits in Bloomfield; member, State house of representatives 1832, 1836, 1838; unsuccessful candidate for Governor in 1841 and several times subsequently; chairman of the board of education of Connecticut 1849-1865; moved to Hartford in 1852; elected as a Free Soil candidate to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Truman Smith and served from May 24, 1854, to March 3, 1855; was not a candidate for reelection in 1854; lecturer on agriculture and temperance; trustee of the State normal school and served as its president for many years; aided in the formation of the Republican Party in Connecticut and for several years was a silent partner in the Evening Press, the organ of that party; engaged in the real estate business in Hartford, Conn.; died in Hartford, Conn., on September 30, 1879; interment in Riverside Cemetery, Farmington, Conn.