Lewis Sperry

Lewis Sperry (January 23, 1848 – June 22, 1922) was a United States Representative from Connecticut and a member of the Democratic Party who served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1891 to 1895. He was born at East Windsor Hill, in the town of South Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut, where he spent his early years in a rural New England community. He attended local district schools in South Windsor, receiving a basic common-school education that prepared him for further study.

Pursuing advanced education, Sperry enrolled at Monson Academy in Monson, Massachusetts, a preparatory institution that drew students from across New England. He subsequently attended Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts, one of the region’s leading liberal arts colleges, and was graduated in 1873. His Amherst education provided him with a classical and legal foundation that would shape his professional and political career. After college, he chose to enter the legal profession and undertook the study of law.

Sperry was admitted to the bar in March 1875 and commenced the practice of law in Hartford, Connecticut. Establishing himself as an attorney in the state capital, he became part of the city’s legal and civic life during a period of industrial and commercial growth in Connecticut. His legal practice helped bring him into contact with local political leaders and issues, and he soon moved into public service at the state level.

In 1876, only a year after beginning his law practice, Sperry was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives. As a member of the state legislature, he participated in the formulation of state laws during the post–Civil War era, gaining experience in legislative procedure and public policy. His service in the Connecticut House marked his first elected office and laid the groundwork for his later congressional career.

Sperry was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses and served in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1891, to March 3, 1895. Representing a Connecticut district in the national legislature during a significant period in American history, he took part in the democratic process at the federal level and contributed to the legislative work of the House. His tenure coincided with debates over economic policy, tariffs, and monetary issues during the late nineteenth century, and he represented the interests of his Connecticut constituents within that broader national context. A member of the Democratic Party, he served during the administration of President Grover Cleveland and participated in the party’s efforts to shape federal policy in an era of rapid industrialization.

In 1894, Sperry was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Fifty-fourth Congress, bringing his congressional service to a close on March 3, 1895. Following his departure from Congress, he returned to Hartford and resumed the practice of law, continuing his professional career in the city where he had long been established. He remained identified with the legal community and with Democratic politics in Connecticut, though he did not again hold national office.

Lewis Sperry died at East Windsor Hill, in the town of South Windsor, Connecticut, on June 22, 1922. He was interred in South Windsor Cemetery, returning in death to the community where he had been born and raised. His career reflected the trajectory of a nineteenth-century New England lawyer who advanced from local education and state service to the national legislature and then back to private practice in his home state.