William Darius Bishop (September 14, 1827 – February 4, 1904) was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut's 4th district from 1857 to 1859. He also was a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1872, and in the Connecticut Senate from 1866 to 1874, and from 1877 to 1878. He was the president of the Naugatuck Railroad Company and the New York and New Haven Railroad Company

William Darius Bishop
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Connecticut's 4th district
In office
March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1859
Preceded byWilliam W. Welch
Succeeded byOrris S. Ferry
Member of the Connecticut House of Representatives
In office
1866
1871
Member of the Connecticut Senate
In office
1877-1878
Personal details
Born(1827-09-14)September 14, 1827
Bloomfield, New Jersey
DiedFebruary 4, 1904(1904-02-04) (aged 76)
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseJulia Ann Tomlinson Bishop
ChildrenMary Ferris Bishop, Dr. Russell T. Bishop, Gen. Henry Alfred Bishop, William D. Bishop, Jr., Nathaniel Wheeler Bishop
Alma materYale College
Occupationrailroad president, politician

Biography

edit
 
Bishop's wife's portrait hanging in the Bridgeport Public Library

Bishop was born in Bloomfield, New Jersey son of Alfred Bishop and Mary (Ferris) Bishop, and pursued preparatory studies. Graduating from Yale College in 1849, he studied law, and was admitted to the bar but did not practice. He married Julia A. Tomlinson in 1850, and they had six children.[1]

Career

edit

Bishop carried on his father's railroad enterprises which involved the construction of the Naugatuck and the New York and New Haven Railroads in Connecticut and the railroad between Saratoga Springs and Whitehall in New York. He was a founder of the Eastern Railroad Association and its president until the time of his death.

Bishop was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-fifth Congress for the 4th District and served from March 4, 1857, to March 3, 1859.[2] He was chairman of the Committee on Manufactures (Thirty-fifth Congress). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1858 to the Thirty-sixth Congress, but served as Commissioner of Patents from May 23, 1859, to January 1860. He was a delegate to Democratic National Convention from Connecticut in 1860.

As well as being vice president and president of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company, Bishop served as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1866 and 1871. He was also in the Connecticut Senate in 1877 and 1878.[3]

Death

edit

Bishop died of chronic endocarditis, a heart disease, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on February 4, 1904 (age 76 years, 143 days). He was cremated and his ashes are interred at Mountain Grove Cemetery.[4]

References

edit
  1. ^ "William Darius Bishop" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  2. ^ "William Darius Bishop". Govtrack US Congress. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  3. ^ "William Darius Bishop". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  4. ^ "William Darius Bishop". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
edit

  This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

Political offices
Preceded by
.
Member of the Connecticut House of Representatives
1866 and 1871
Succeeded by
.
Preceded by
.
Member of the Connecticut Senate
1877 and 1878.
Succeeded by
.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Connecticut's 4th congressional district

March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1859
Succeeded by