Samuel R. Spencer

Samuel R. Spencer
Samuel R. Spencer
	Spencer in 1918
Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut
	In office; 1931–1933
Governor	Wilbur Lucius Cross
Connecticut State Treasurer
	In office; 1929–1931
Governor	John H. Trumbull
Personal details
Born	November 4, 1871; Suffield, Connecticut, US
Died	September 29, 1961 (aged 89); Suffield, Connecticut
Political party	Republican Party
Education	Suffield Academy
Alma mater	Yale University
Occupation	Politician, businessman

Samuel Reid Spencer (November 4, 1871 – September 29, 1961)^[1] was an American politician who served as Connecticut State Treasurer from 1929 to 1931 and as the 82nd Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut from 1931 to 1933.^[2] He was the first blind lieutenant governor of Connecticut.^{[citation needed]}

Early life and education

Spencer was born in Suffield, Connecticut, on November 4, 1871, to Alfred and Caroline Frances (Reid) Spencer. He attended Suffield Academy and received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University in 1893.^[3] He worked in Windsor Locks for the J. R. Montgomery Company, a textile manufacturing firm, from 1893 to 1900.^[4] In 1900, he and his older brother, Clinton Spencer (1856–1917) co-founded the Spencer Brothers hardware, lumber, coal, and grain company in Suffield.^[5]

Political and civic career

Spencer was a lifelong resident of Suffield and served as the town treasurer for 33 years starting in 1900. A Republican, Spencer served in the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1915 and 1917 and in the Connecticut State Senate in 1927.^[6] Spencer went on to serve as state treasurer (1929–1931) and lieutenant governor (1931–1933) under fellow Republican governors John H. Trumbull and Wilbur Lucius Cross. In addition, he held several appointed offices, including state commissioner of motor vehicles and member of the state board of finance and the state liquor control commission.^[3]

Along his state service, Spencer was president of the Suffield Savings Bank from 1914 to 1951 and served on the boards of the First National Bank in Suffield, the Hartford Mutual Fire Insurance Company, the J. R. Montgomery Company, the Suffield Town Forest Commission, the Suffield Academy, the Kent Memorial Library, and the Eastern States Exposition.^[3]^[4]

Spencer was a long-time trustee (1933–1949) and chair of the board (1943–1949) of the University of Connecticut. UConn named the Spencer Residence Hall (now Chandler House and Lancaster House) in his honor.^[1]^[6]

Personal life

Spencer married Helena Ellsworth Bailey in 1899.^[4] The couple were known for their commitment to conservation. Spencer planted about a thousand oak and maple trees along Suffield highways.^[6] Helena Bailey-Spencer willed Bailey's Ravine (an 80-acre natural area in Franklin, Connecticut) to the Nature Conservancy in 1989.^[7]

Spencer died after a long illness at his Suffield home on September 29, 1961. He had no children. He had been blind for 20 years at the time of his death.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b "Student Housing: West Campus". University of Connecticut Residential Life. Archived from the original on 2011-08-06. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
^ "Lieutenant Governor". Connecticut State Library. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-10-26.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "S. R. Spencer Dies at 89; Ex-Lieutenant Governor". Hartford Courant. 1961-09-30. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
^ ^a ^b ^c Swayne, Noah H. (1918). Twenty-five Year Record, Class of Ninety-three, Yale College: Including an Account of the Anniversary Reunion in June, 1918. New Haven, CT: Yale University; Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Company. pp. 373–374. hdl:2027/uiug.30112089384835.
^ "Obituary Record of Yale Graduates, 1917–1918" (PDF). Bulletin of Yale University. 15 (5). Yale University: 654. 1919. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
^ ^a ^b ^c Mullgardt, Brian (1999). What's in a Name? Residence Halls at UConn. Storrs, CT: University of Connecticut. p. 53. hdl:11134/20004:20091712.
^ Dunn, Russell (2013). Connecticut Waterfalls: A Guide. Woodstock, VT: The Countryman Press. p. 203. ISBN 978-1-58157-176-9.

Political offices
Preceded by Ernest E. Rogers	Connecticut State Treasurer 1929–1931	Succeeded by Roy C. Wilcox
Preceded by Ernest E. Rogers	Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut 1931–1933	Succeeded by Roy C. Wilcox

[:0-1] "Student Housing: West Campus". University of Connecticut Residential Life. Archived from the original on 2011-08-06. Retrieved 2011-05-18.

[2] "Lieutenant Governor". Connecticut State Library. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-10-26.

[:2-3] "S. R. Spencer Dies at 89; Ex-Lieutenant Governor". Hartford Courant. 1961-09-30. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-12-20.

[:3-4] Swayne, Noah H. (1918). Twenty-five Year Record, Class of Ninety-three, Yale College: Including an Account of the Anniversary Reunion in June, 1918. New Haven, CT: Yale University; Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Company. pp. 373–374. hdl:2027/uiug.30112089384835.

[5] "Obituary Record of Yale Graduates, 1917–1918" (PDF). Bulletin of Yale University. 15 (5). Yale University: 654. 1919. Retrieved 2021-12-20.

[:1-6] Mullgardt, Brian (1999). What's in a Name? Residence Halls at UConn. Storrs, CT: University of Connecticut. p. 53. hdl:11134/20004:20091712.

[7] Dunn, Russell (2013). Connecticut Waterfalls: A Guide. Woodstock, VT: The Countryman Press. p. 203. ISBN 978-1-58157-176-9.

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