Charles H. Pond
Charles Hobby Pond was an American politician who was the 42nd and 44th Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut and who served as the 37th Governor for seven months after the resignation of Governor Thomas Hart Seymour. He was named after his direct ancestor Sir Charles Hobby who was knighted by Queen Anne in 1705.
Biography
Born in Milford, Connecticut on April 26, 1781, Pond was the son of Captain and Martha Pond. Prepared by his pastor, he attended college beginning at age seventeen and graduated from Yale University in 1802. He studied law with Hon. Roger Minot Sherman, of Fairfield, for two years and admitted to the bar in Fairfield County. Instead of beginning practice, he took a long sea voyage for his health and it suited him so well that he took another. The result was he followed the sea for several years as an employee of his father's shipping business; first as a supercargo, then as captain. Regaining his former health he took up his residence on land again. He was married in 1809 to Catherine Dickinson and they had seven children.Career
Pond served as an associate judge of New Haven County Court from 1818 to 1819, sheriff of New Haven from 1819 to 1834, and as judge of New Haven County Court from 1836 to 1837.Pond was elected Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut in 1850, 1852, and 1853. On October 13, 1853, Governor Thomas H. Seymour resigned from office, and Pond, who was Lieutenant Governor at the time, assumed the duties of Governor. During his tenure, the U.S. Senate passed the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, which caused great controversy throughout the state. Pond did not seek reelection and left office, retiring from public service.