Charles Sigourney

Charles Sigourney (July 21, 1778 - December 30, 1854) was an American businessman, banker, philanthropist, and founding trustee of Washington (later Trinity) College in Hartford, Connecticut. In addition to his myriad activities on behalf of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut, Sigourney is notable for his marriage to American poet Lydia Huntley Sigourney. Biography Early life Charles Sigourney was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1778 to Charles Sigourney, a Boston merchant with “distinguished early-American forbears” of French Huguenot stock. Little is known about his mother, but the Sigourney entry in the 1790 Census indicated that four women lived in the household. After an elite education, including a short stint at an art school in Hamstead, England, Sigourney became apprentice to his father at the age of thirteen and was sent to Hartford in 1799 to make a career in the hardware business. Involvement in Episcopal Church and Founding of Washington College From his early days in Hartford, Sigourney was heavily involved in the Episcopalian Church in Connecticut. From 1803 to 1817, he served as clerk of the newly incorporated Christ Church Cathedral in Hartford, later becoming vestryman and warden. Sigourney was integral in successfully petitioning the state legislature for permission to form the Phoenix National Bank in 1814, which was locally known as the “Episcopal Bank.” He would serve as the second president of the bank from 1822 to 1837, when a public quarrel between Sigourney and cashier George Beach led to his abrupt resignation. Sigourney accused Beach of various conflicts of interest tied to the latter's involvement in Western land speculation and questionable friendships with untrustworthy individuals. An internal investigation made by the bank exonerated Beach and admonished both men.