Charles J. McCurdy

Charles Johnson McCurdy (December 7, 1797 – June 8, 1891) was an American lawyer, diplomat, and the 40th Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut from 1847 to 1849. Among his younger brothers was Robert Henry McCurdy (1800–1880), the co-founder of McCurdy and Aldrich.

McCurdy entered Yale College in 1813, and was graduated in 1817 with high honors.

Career He studied law under Chief Justice Zephaniah Swift of Windham, Connecticut and was admitted to the bar in 1819.

From 1827 and 1844, McCurdy served in the Connecticut General Assembly, first in the Connecticut House of Representatives where he was Speaker of the House in 1840-41 and 1844. In 1832, he became member of the Connecticut State Senate. He was elected in 1847 and 1848 to succeed Noyes Billings as Lieutenant Governor and President of the Senate.

Diplomat and Judge From 1850 until 1852, he was commissioned by then Secretary of State Daniel Webster to serve as U.S. Chargé to the Austrian Empire, succeeding newspaper publisher James Watson Webb (father of H. Walter Webb, William Seward Webb, and Alexander Stewart Webb) who later served as Ambassador to Brazil. After his service, he was relieved by former doctor and newspaper editor Thomas M. Foote In 1861, he was an active member of the Peace Conference of 1861, a meeting held at Willard's Hotel in Washington, DC in an effort to avoid the U.S. Civil War.

In June 1855, he was appointed a judge of the Connecticut Superior Court, and in 1863 a judge of the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors, which position he held until his retirement by constitutional limitation of age in 1867.

Personal life

In 1822, McCurdy was married to Sarah Ann Lord (1800–1835), his second cousin and the daughter of Richard and Anne (née Mitchell) Lord.

He did not remarry after his wife's death, instead "the education of this daughter became one of his greatest pleasures, and as she developed and matured into womanhood it was his delight to make her his confidential friend and familiarize her mind with his legal and business affairs, and share with her his political, intellectual, and social interests."