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• Suffix	Hon.
  Birth	of Scotland, Conn.
  Gender	Male
  Person ID	I95930	Brainard (Brainerd) / Foster / Fish
  Last Modified	11 Aug 1998 00:00:00
  Family	Mary Jane BELDEN, b. 19 Mar 1834
  Married	2 Dec 1862
  Children	1. Charles R. BURNHAM, b. 21 Feb 1864   2. Julia BURNHAM, b. 1 Oct 1869
  Family ID	F41711	Group Sheet

• Notes

  Name Suffix: Hon. !He was a native of Windham, Connecticut. He was bornin what is now the town of Scotland; attended the District School till 14 years of age, and then had the benefit of a Select School kept by Ebenezer Gray, atScotland Green. His father was a mechanic, and owned and operated a saw mill.At the age of 16 he went to the Conn. Literary Institute at Suffield, Conn.;entered Trinity College, and remained there a year or more. Soon after leavingCollege he commenced the study of law in the office of Gov. Chauncey F. Cleveland, of Hampton; was admitted to the Bar in 1843. In 1844, was elected by theDemocratic Party to the State Legislature, and the following year, having changed his residence to his native town, represented Windham in the Legislature. He was Clerk of the Senate in 1847. The same year he removed to Danbury, Conn.,and was appointed Judge of Probate for that District. In 1849 he returned toHampton, and in 1850 was again elected by the Democratic Party to the Legislature. Five years later he was with J.K. Hawley, Gideon Welles and Gov. Clevelandorganizing the Republican Party in Hartford, Conn. He was a delegate from Conn. to the first National Republican Convention at Philadelphia; was chosen Lieutenant Governor in 1857, with Gov. Holley. In 1858 he was returned to the House by the Republicans of Windham, and elected Speaker; in 1859, elected by the Republicans to the 36th Congress and re-elected in 1861; he served 2 years on the Commitee of Foreign Affairs; in 1870, was again sent to the House by Windham.He married early in life a daughter of Governor Cleveland, who lived but a few years. His second wife was Mary Jane Belden.

• Sources

  [S718] GEDCom File from Cassandra Olmstead [CassandraO@msn.com], with information from"Genealogy of the Olmsted Family in Americ, 10 Jun 2002.