{{short description|American politician}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2021}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Benjamin Douglas | image = Benjamin Douglas, Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut.jpg | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1816|04|03}} | birth_place = Northford, Connecticut | death_date = {{Death date and age|1894|06|26|1816|04|03}} | death_place = Middletown, Connecticut | resting_place = | other_names = | occupation = Businessman, politician | spouse = | children = | awards = | education = | party = Republican | signature = Signature of Benjamin Douglas (1816–1894).png | office = Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut | term_start = 1861 | term_end = 1862 }} '''Benjamin Douglas''' (April 3, 1816 – June 26, 1894) was an American politician, inventor, and abolitionist who was the 50th lieutenant governor of Connecticut from 1861 to 1862.<ref>[http://www.cslib.org/agencies/lieutenantgovernor.htm Brief Descriptions of Connecticut State Agencies, Lieutenant Governor] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071026194408/http://www.cslib.org/agencies/lieutenantgovernor.htm |date=October 26, 2007 }}</ref>
==Family== Douglas was born in Northford, Connecticut, on April 3, 1816. His paternal grandfather was an American Revolutionary War soldier, William Douglas. His first sixteen years were spent working on his parents' farm. In 1838 he married Mary Adaline Parker (born 1821), daughter of Elias and Grace Mansfield Parker. The following year his brother William married Mary's sister Grace.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20141224205252/http://articles.courant.com/1998-04-22/news/9804190040_1_pumps-charles-douglas-factory Hartford Courant April 4, 1998]</ref> In 1850 he bought the former home of Thomas Mather, a Middletown businessman, on Maine Street in Middletown. This home, built between 1811 and 1813, is listed on the Connecticut Freedom Trail as an Underground Railroad stop.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ctfreedomtrail.org/trail/freedom/sites#!/benjamin-douglas-house |title=Connecticut Freedom Trail |access-date=March 15, 2015 |archive-date=August 31, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831095256/http://ctfreedomtrail.org/trail/freedom/sites/#!/benjamin-douglas-house |url-status=dead }}</ref>
He had five children: John Mansfield (born 1839), Sarah Kirtland (born 1841), Benjamin (born 1843), William (born 1845), Benjamin (born 1849), and Edward (1854-1889).<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=7_UsAAAAYAAJ&dq=W+%26+B+Douglas+revolving+pump+stand&pg=PA1293 New England Families Genealogical and Memorial Vol 3 by William Richard Cutter 1913]</ref>
==Invention== In 1832 Douglas apprenticed to a machinist. Following his apprenticeship, and together with his brother William, he founded a machine shop and foundry in 1839. In 1842 his brother and he patented a hand pump design for use in farms, homes, and businesses.<ref>[http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?Docid=00002895&homeurl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetacgi%2Fnph-Parser%3FSect1%3DPTO1%2526Sect2%3DHITOFF%2526d%3DPALL%2526p%3D1%2526u%3D%25252Fnetahtml%25252FPTO%25252Fsrchnum.htm%2526r%3D1%2526f%3DG%2526l%3D50%2526s1%3D0002895.PN.%2526OS%3DPN%2F0002895%2526RS%3DPN%2F0002895&PageNum=&Rtype=&SectionNum=&idkey=NONE&Input=View+first+page United States Patent Office Patent #us000002895]</ref> This was the first of many patents <ref>[http://www.douglashistory.co.uk/history/Businesses/w&b_douglas.htm#.VQWRf-FBnfc The Douglas Archives]</ref> relating to pumps that became the basis of their successful manufacturing business W & B Douglas Company.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.middlesexhistory.org/exhibits/civilwar/homefront-douglas.htm |title=Middlesex County Historical Society |access-date=2015-03-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520190600/http://www.middlesexhistory.org//exhibits/civilwar/homefront-douglas.htm |archive-date=2011-05-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~36319~1201476:W--&-B--Douglas- David Rumsey Map Collection]</ref>
They also made fire hydrants and hand fire pumpers.<ref>[http://www.firehydrant.org/pictures/i1/1211.gif www.firehydrant.org]</ref> Their Middletown pump works occupied two acres and consisted of twenty one buildings. In 1876 the company employed 300 people and had over 700 products displayed at Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. The factory closed around 1923, and the buildings were razed in 1940.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20141224205252/http://articles.courant.com/1998-04-22/news/9804190040_1_pumps-charles-douglas-factory Hartford Courant April 4, 1998]</ref> Many of their pumps remain in operation today.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jghhM6fy8uA W & B Pump Fountain]</ref>
==Political career== As an adult, Douglas lived in Middletown, Middlesex County, Connecticut. He was a Republican and served in the state general assembly for several years. He was mayor of Middletown from 1850 to 1853. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention from Connecticut in 1856 and cast his vote for Abraham Lincoln. Later, he was the lieutenant governor of Connecticut for a single one-year term, from 1861 to 1862, during one of the eight years that William A. Buckingham was governor of Connecticut.<ref>[https://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/douglas.html The Political Graveyard, Index to Politicians: Douglas]</ref> Douglas succeeded Julius Catlin as lieutenant governor and his successor was Roger Averill, both of whom also served when Buckingham was governor.
==Abolition== Benjamin Douglas was a founding member of the Middletown Anti-Slavery Society. In 1839 he was one of eleven members and the group met at his factory.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20141224205252/http://articles.courant.com/1998-04-22/news/9804190040_1_pumps-charles-douglas-factory Hartford Courant April 22, 1998]</ref> His home is believed to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad in Middletown.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ctfreedomtrail.org/trail/underground-railroad/sites/#!/benjamin-douglas-house |title=Escape on the Underground Railway |access-date=March 15, 2015 |archive-date=March 16, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316012349/http://www.ctfreedomtrail.org/trail/underground-railroad/sites#!/benjamin-douglas-house |url-status=dead }}</ref> During his time as mayor of Middletown, he refused to comply with the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.middlesexhistory.org/exhibits/civilwar/homefront-douglas.htm |title=Middlesex County Historical Society |access-date=2015-03-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520190600/http://www.middlesexhistory.org//exhibits/civilwar/homefront-douglas.htm |archive-date=2011-05-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Death== Douglas died at his home in Middletown on June 26, 1894.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68630299/benjamin-douglas-founder-of-douglas/ |title=Benjamin Douglas: Founder of Douglas Pump Works Dead |newspaper=Hartford Courant |location=Middletown |page=1 |date=1894-06-27 |access-date=2021-01-26 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
==See also== *List of governors of Connecticut
==References== <references/>
{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{succession box | before= Julius Catlin | title= Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut | years= 1861–1862 | after= Roger Averill}} {{s-end}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Benjamin}} Category:1816 births Category:1894 deaths Category:People from North Branford, Connecticut Category:Connecticut Republicans Category:Lieutenant governors of Connecticut Category:Mayors of Middletown, Connecticut Category:19th-century mayors of places in Connecticut