Posted by Ron Gillett
on June 23, 2001, 5:03 pm
Francis Gillette, senator, was born in Bloomfield (then a part of Windsor), Hartford County, CT., Dec. 14, 1807; son of Elder Ashbel and Acsah (Francis) Gillette, and a descendant of the two brothers, Nathan and Jonathan Gillette, who came from France to New England in 1630, and settled first in Dorchester, Mass., then removed to Windsor, CT., when that place was settled in 1635, and became proprietors there. Francis was graduated at Yale in 1829 valedictorian of his class. He studied law with Gen. W. W. Ellsworth, but on account of ill health decided to become a farmer. He was a representative in the state legislature, 1832 and 1836; and the unsuccessful candidate of the Liberal party for governor of Connecticut in 1841, and of the Liberal and Free Soil parties for several gubernatorial elections. In 1854 he was elected by a coalition of the Whigs, Temperance men and Free-soilers to fill the vacancy in the U.S. senate caused by the resignation of Truman Smith, and he served from May 25, 1854, to March 4, 1855. He was an active anti-slavery advocate, and introduced into the state legislature a proposition to strike the word "white" from the state constitution. He was an early member of the Republican party, and a silent partner in the Evening Press of Hartford, the first Paper in the state to support the new party. He was a prominent promoter of the cause of education, and a trustee and for many years president of the state normal school. He married in 1834, Elisabeth Daggett, daughter of Edward and Elisabeth (Daggett) Hooker, and a descendant of Thomas Hooker. He died in Hartford, Conn., Sept. 30, 1879.
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