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Thomas Ruggles Gold


Gender:
Male
Born:
November 4, 1764
Died:
October 24, 1827
Home Town:
Cornwall, CT
Later Residences:
Whitesboro, NY
Marriage(s):
Sarah Sill Gold (1787)
Biographical Notes:
Thomas Ruggles Gold married Sarah Sill, who was the sister of Litchfield Law School graduate Theodore Sill. Thomas and Sarah had seven children. Gold and his wife moved to New York in 1792, where the new area of Whitesboro was being settled. He then established himself as one of the pioneer lawyers of that area. In 1800, he formed a partnership with his wife's brother Theodore Sill. He was defeated in his first attempt to be elected to the U.S. Congress and instead was elected to the New York House in 1807. He was successful in his second run for the U.S. Congress. Gold lost the third election due to redistricting, but was reelected in 1815.

Education
Years at LLS:
1786
Other Education:
Graduated from Yale College in 1820.

Profession / Service
Profession:
Lawyer; Political Office
Political Party:
Federalist
Federal Posts:
U.S. Representative (NY) 1809-1813, 1815-1817
State Posts:
State Senator (NY) 1796-1802
Assistant Attorney General (NY) 1796-1802

help The Citation of Attendance provides primary source documentation of the student’s attendance at the Litchfield Female Academy and/or the Litchfield Law School. If a citation is absent, the student is thought to have attended but currently lacks primary source confirmation.

Records for the schools were sporadic, especially in the formative years of both institutions. If instructors kept comprehensive records for the Litchfield Female Academy or the Litchfield Law School, they do not survive. Researchers and staff have identified students through letters, diaries, family histories and genealogies, and town histories as well as catalogues of students printed in various years. Art and needlework have provided further identification of Female Academy Students, and Litchfield County Bar records document a number of Law School students. The history of both schools and the identification of the students who attended them owe credit to the early 20th century research and documentation efforts of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel and Samuel Fisher, and the late 20th century research and documentation efforts of Lynne Templeton Brickley and the Litchfield Historical Society staff.
CITATION OF ATTENDANCE:
[We are currently working to update and confirm citations of attendance.]
Secondary Sources:
Dexter, Franklin Bowditch. Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College with Annals of College History, Vol. 4. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1907. ; Gould, William Tracy. Biograpihcal Sketches of the Class of 1816, Yale College. T.J. Stafford, 1867.

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