William Alfred Buckingham

William Alfred Buckingham (May 28, 1804 – February 5, 1875) was a Republican who served as the governor of Connecticut during the Civil War and later as a United States senator. Biography Born in Lebanon, Connecticut, the son of Samuel Buckingham (1770–1850) and Joanna (Matson) Buckingham (1777–1846), Buckingham attended the common schools and Bacon Academy in Colchester, Connecticut but never attended college. He was married on September 30, 1830, to Eliza Ripley, daughter of Dwight and Eliza (Coit) Ripley of Norwich. The couple had two children. William Ripley Buckingham was born October 27, 1836, and died in early childhood on December 12, 1838. Eliza Coit Buckingham was born December 7, 1838, and married William A. Aiken on August 28, 1862. Career Buckingham entered into a career in the mercantile industry, and in 1848 helped to organize the Hayward Rubber Company, a business that developed into a successful enterprise. Buckingham served as the mayor of Norwich, Connecticut from 1849 to 1850, and again from 1856 to 1857. He also served as Norwich's town treasurer and a member of the city council. Winning the 1858 Republican gubernatorial nomination, Buckingham was elected in 1858 and served as the 41st Governor of Connecticut. He was reelected to the governorship each of the next seven years, in 1859, 1860, 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864 and 1865, serving from May 5, 1858, until May 2, 1866. During his tenure, he dealt successfully with the effects of an economic panic that occurred in the state and with the outbreak of the Civil war. Buckingham arranged for troops, with 54 companies enlisting instead of 10. Before the General Assembly appropriated $2 million for military expenses, Buckingham had begun borrowing money in his own name to finance Connecticut's war efforts.