Nehemiah D. Sperry

Nehemiah Day Sperry (Connecticut Congressman)

Nehemiah Day Sperry (July 10, 1827 –November 13, 1911) was a U.S. Representative from Connecticut.

Biography

Born in Woodbridge, Connecticut, Sperry attended the common schools and a private school in New Haven.^[1] He engaged in agricultural pursuits and worked in a mill. He taught school for several years, and then became a partner in a building and contracting firm.

He served as member of the New Haven common council in 1853, and an Alderman in 1854. He served as Secretary of the State of Connecticut in 1855 and 1856.

He served as delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1856, 1864, and 1888. He served as member and secretary of the national and executive committees. He served as chairman of the Republican State committee for a number of years.

He served as chairman of the recruiting committee of New Haven during the Civil War. He was appointed in 1861 as postmaster of New Haven, and served until removed by President Cleveland in 1886. He was again postmaster from 1890 to 1894.

Sperry was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fourth and to the seven succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1911). He served as chairman of the Committee on Alcohol Liquor Traffic (Fifty-sixth through Sixty-first Congresses). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1910.

Death and burial

He died in New Haven, Connecticut, on November 13, 1911. He was interred in Evergreen Cemetery.

References

1. Men of Mark in Connecticut: Ideals of American Life Told in Biographies and Autobiographies of Eminent Living Americans. Volume 1, pg. 58-61, W.R. Goodspeed, 1906 - Connecticut

External links

• United States Congress. "Nehemiah D. Sperry (id: S000733)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http://bioguide.congress.gov.