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Higher Office(s) Served: Representative, Senator

SAMUEL AUGUSTUS FOOT, also known as Samuel Augustus Foote, Connecticut's 11th governor was born on November 8, 1780, in Cheshire, Connecticut. He graduated from Yale University in 1797, and attended Litchfield Law School for a short time, but poor health compelled him to drop out. Instead, Foot pursued careers in the transportation and farming industries. He first entered politics as a member of Connecticut's House of Representatives, a position he held from 1817 to 1818, from 1821 to 1823, and from 1825 to 1826 when he served as speaker. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1819 to 1821, from 1823 to 1825, and again from 1833 to 1834. He also was a member of the U.S. Senate from 1827 to 1833. Foot won the 1834 Whig gubernatorial nomination, and was elected Governor of Connecticut by a legislative vote of 154 to 70. During his tenure, Foot's administration dealt with Connecticut's ongoing financial recession, which resulted in his defeat in his 1835 reelection bid. Foot later served as a presidential elector on the Clay-Frelinghuysen ticket in 1844. Governor Samuel A. Foot died on September 15, 1846, and is buried at the Hillside Cemetery in Cheshire.

Sources:

Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 1, Westport, Conn.; Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.

Connecticut General Assembly

Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress