Theodore S. Gold

Theodore Sedgwick Gold, commonly referred to by his initials as T. S. Gold (March 2, 1818 — March 20, 1906), was an American farmer and schoolteacher who served as Secretary of the State of Connecticut Board of Agriculture (1866–1901) and trustee of the Connecticut Agricultural College from its founding in 1881 through 1901. He played a vital role in establishing the college and fostering agriculture in the state.

Early life and education Gold was born in Madison, New York, on March 2, 1818. He was a son of Dr. Samuel Wadsworth Gold and Phebe (Cleveland) Gold. His family moved to Cornwall, Connecticut, that same year, returning to his father's ancestral farm. In 1824, the family moved to Goshen, where the doctor practiced medicine for fifteen years before returning to Cornwall to cultivate the family farm. Gold attended local public schools and Goshen Academy.

Gold was a charter member of the Connecticut State Agricultural Society in 1852. He and his wife were charter members of the Cornwall Grange and held most meetings in their home. Gold edited The Homestead, an agricultural paper, from 1856 to 1861. In 1864, he obtained from the Connecticut General Assembly a charter for the Connecticut Soldiers' Orphans' Home in Mansfield. He served as secretary of the corporation until 1874. The college was the culmination of Gold's use of "progressive means such as education, scientific methods and state organization to preserve the traditional values and social position of the Connecticut farmer."

Gold retired as secretary of the Board of Agriculture and trustee of the Connecticut Agricultural College in 1901, at the age of 83. In retirement, he continued to give speeches, publish essays, and edit the Handbook of Connecticut Agriculture and the Descriptive Catalogue of Farms in Connecticut for Sale. He wrote an unfinished history of Connecticut Agricultural College.

In 1859, Gold married Emma Tracey Baldwin of Rockville. They had two sons and two daughters: Alice Gold Puttkamer, Martha Gold Morgan, Charles L. Gold, and James Gold.

Gold died at his home in West Cornwall on March 20, 1906.