R. Jay Walsh Explained

Robert Jay Walsh
Office:Secretary of the State of Connecticut
Order:39th
Term Start:1889
Term End:1893
Governor:Morgan Bulkeley
Predecessor:Leverett M. Hubbard
Successor:John J. Phelan
Office2:Member of the Connecticut Senate
from the 12th District
Term Start2:1885
Term End2:1888
Predecessor2:Edwin L. Scofield
Successor2:Benjamin P. Mead
Birth Date:1 August 1854
Birth Place:Lewisboro, New York
Death Place:Greenwich, Connecticut
Restingplace:Putnam Cemetery, Greenwich, Connecticut
Residence:Deerfield Drive, Greenwich, Connecticut
Alma Mater:High Ridge Institute
Occupation:blacksmith, lawyer
Party:Republican
Spouse:Annie A. Merritt (daughter of Matthew F. Merritt, m. October 7, 1879)
Children:Lucy, Edith, Roberta

Robert Jay Walsh (August 1, 1854 – December 7, 1916) was Secretary of the State of Connecticut from 1889 to 1893, and a member of the Connecticut Senate representing the 12th District from 1885 to 1888. He also served as President pro tempore of the Connecticut Senate.

He was born August 1, 1854, in Lewisboro, New York, the son of James F. and Annie E. Walsh. At the age of ten, he moved to Ridgefield, Connecticut where he attended High Ridge Institute. At the age of fourteen he became an apprentice in a blacksmith shop. After his apprenticeship, he became a teacher. He enrolled in the Normal School at New Britain.

In 1877, he began studying law in the office of Huested W. R. Hoyt, in Greenwich. In 1880, Walsh was admitted to the Fairfield County bar. In 1882, he opened his own law office in Greenwich.

He campaigned for Garfield in 1880. In the same year, he began his service on the Connecticut Republican Central Committee.

In 1882, he was appointed corporation counsel of the town and borough of Greenwich.

In 1884, he was elected to the Connecticut Senate. In 1886, he was re-elected by a wider margin. In 1886 and 1887 he was President Pro Tempore of the Senate.

He was appointed judge of the Criminal Branch of the Court of Common Pleas, but resigned in 1900 to continue his law practice, business and political pursuits.

He was an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention from Connecticut in 1900.

He died at his home in Greenwich in December 7, 1916.

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