Marcus H. Holcomb

Marcus H. Holcomb (November 28, 1844 - March 5, 1932) was an American politician and the 51st Governor of Connecticut.

Early life

Holcomb was born in New Hartford, Connecticut on November 28, 1844. He studied at public school system New Hartford. He then studied at Wesleyan Seminary in Massachusetts. Later he also studied law.

Career

In 1871 Holcomb was admitted to the bar. He was a judge of Southington's probate court from 1873 to 1910, Hartford's treasurer from 1893 to 1908, a member of the Connecticut State Senate from 1893 to 1894, speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1905 to 1906, and Connecticut Attorney General from 1906 to 1907.

Governor of Connecticut

Holcomb became the Governor of Connecticut in 1915. He was reelected in 1916 and 1918. During his terms, the state of Connecticut prepared for the First World War war. A food supply council and a state council of defense were established. Connecticut's debt was reduced and a bill was enacted that regulated maximum working hours for women. However he became a storm center when he refused to convene the Connecticut Legislature to act on ratification of women's Suffrage Amendment to the US Constitution because of his personal opposition to it.

He left office on January 5, 1921.

Personal life

Holcomb was married to Sarah Carpenter Bennet. They had one son, Marcus Hensey Holcomb Jr., who died young. He was a baptist.

He died on March 5, 1932, aged 87, in Southington, Connecticut.

Holcomb's former home at 76 Main St., on the Green in downtown Southington, still stands. It is at present the site of the Southington Masonic Temple, Friendship Lodge #33, of which he was a past Secretary. The Holcomb School on Main Street in Southington was named in his honor when it opened in 1926. At the time it was the town's largest grammar school. It closed to students in 1974 and was converted into the headquarters of the town's police department in 1981. The building was razed in 2004.

Sources

• Sobel, Robert and John Raimo. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978. Greenwood Press, 1988. ISBN 0-313-28093-2

External links

Biography portal

• Connecticut State Library

Persondata
Name	Holcomb, Marcus H.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	November 28, 1844
Place of birth
Date of death	March 5, 1932
Place of death