# E. Stevens Henry

Edward Stevens Henry (February 10, 1836 – October 10, 1921) was an American businessman and politician from Connecticut who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representative for Connecticut's 1st congressional district from 1895 to 1913. He also served as the 44th Treasurer of Connecticut from 1889 to 1893, in the Connecticut House of Representatives and the Connecticut Senate, and as mayor of Rockville, Connecticut.

## Early life

Henry was born in the town of Gill, Massachusetts, the oldest of six children, and moved with his parents at age 13 to Rockville, Connecticut in 1849. He attended the public schools and at the age of 19 went into the dry-goods business. He was an organizer of the People's Saving Bank in Rockville and served as its Treasurer from 1870 to 1921. He was also a farmer and breeder of livestock.

## Career

Henry served as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1883 and as a member of the Connecticut Senate from 1887 to 1888. He served as delegate at large to the Republican National Convention in 1888, and served Treasurer of the State of Connecticut from 1889 to 1893. During his time as State Treasurer, he abolished the state tax. Following his term as Treasurer, he served as the 3rd mayor of Rockville from 1894 to 1895.
Henry was nominated by his party for Congressman in 1892 but lost to Democrat Lewis Sperry. In 1894 he was elected as a Republican to the 54th Congress and to the eight succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1913). He served on the House Committee on Agriculture for much of his time in Congress, and served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures on Public Buildings (60th and 61st Congresses). During his time in Congress, Henry was seen as a proponent of agriculture, a protectionist, and as a supporter of the gold standard. He introduced the Oleomargarine Act, known as the Henry Bill, a law discouraging the imitation of butter. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1912.
He resumed his former mercantile pursuits in Rockville, Connecticut where he died on October 10, 1921. He was interred in Grove Hill Cemetery.

## Legacy

Henry Park in Rockville, Connecticut is located on land donated by Henry and named in his honor.

## Footnotes

* ↑ Encyclopedia of Connecticut Biography. Boston - New York - Chicago: The American Historical Society Incorporated. 1917. p. 280. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
* 1 2 Osborn, Norris Galpin (1906). Men of Mark in Connecticut Ideals of American Life Told in Biographies and Autobiographies of Eminent Living Americans. Hartford, CT: William R. Goodspeed. ISBN 9781314714821.
* 1 2 Commemorative biographical record of Tolland and Windham counties Connecticut. Chicago: J.H. Beers & Co. 1903. pp. 126–128. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
* ↑ "S. Doc. 58-1 - Fifty-eighth Congress. (Extraordinary session -- beginning November 9, 1903.) Official Congressional Directory for the use of the United States Congress. Compiled under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing by A.J. Halford. Special edition. Corrections made to November 5, 1903". GovInfo.gov. U.S. Government Printing Office. 9 November 1903. p. 11. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
* ↑ Schultz, Harold (2012-12-06). Food Law Handbook. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-94-011-7373-5.
* ↑ Pelland, Dave. "War Memorial Tower, Rockville". www.ctmonuments.net. Retrieved 25 January 2020.