Elizur Goodrich

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Elizur Goodrich (March 24, 1761-November 1, 1849) was an American lawyer and politician from Connecticut.

Born in Durham, Connecticut, he was the son of Elizur Goodrich. He graduated from Yale in 1779 and studied law. After his admission to the bar in 1783, he practiced in New Haven. He served in the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1795 to 1802 and was its Clerk for six sessions and its Speaker for two.

In the 1796 United States presidential election he was a Federalist elector for President, supporting Federalist candidate John Adams against Democratic-Republican Party candidate Thomas Jefferson. He was elected to represent Connecticut At-Large to the Sixth and Seventh Congresses, but only served in the Sixth (March 4, 1799 to March 3, 1801) because President John Adams appointed him collector of customs for the Port of New Haven. After his removal by Adams' successor, President Thomas Jefferson, Goodrich was elected to the Governor's Council in Connecticut, serving until 1818.

He taught law at Yale from 1801 to 1810 and was probate judge from 1802 to 1818. From 1803 to 1822 he was also Mayor of New Haven. He was a member of the Yale Corporation, the University's governing body, from 1809 to 1818 and was its Secretary from 1818 to 1846.

Goodrich died in New Haven.

His son, Chauncey Allen Goodrich, married Noah Webster's daughter. His brother, also named Chauncey Goodrich, was a member of the United States House of Representatives.