Representative Jonathan Brace

Jonathan Brace (November 12, 1754 – August 26, 1837) was an eighteenth-century American lawyer, politician, and judge who served as a United States Representative from Connecticut. A member of the Federalist Party, he contributed to the legislative process during two terms in office, representing the interests of his constituents in Congress during a formative period in the early republic.

Brace was born on November 12, 1754, in Harwinton in the Connecticut Colony, the son of Jonathan Brace and Mary (Messenger) Brace. He attended the common schools of his native region and went on to Yale College, from which he graduated in 1779. After college he read law under Oliver Ellsworth, a prominent Connecticut statesman and future Chief Justice of the United States, whose mentorship helped shape Brace’s legal and political outlook. In 1779 he was admitted to the bar in Bennington, Vermont, marking the formal beginning of his legal career.

Upon his admission to the bar, Brace commenced the practice of law in Pawlet, Vermont. In 1782 he moved to Manchester, Vermont, where he continued in private practice and quickly became involved in public affairs. He served as a member of the Vermont council of censors, a body charged with reviewing and revising the state constitution, and from 1784 to 1785 he held the position of prosecuting attorney for Bennington County. In January 1786 he returned to Connecticut, settling in Glastonbury. Although an experienced attorney by that time, he was not admitted to the Connecticut bar until 1790, after which he established himself in legal practice there.

Brace’s public career in Connecticut began in the state legislature. He was elected a member of the Connecticut General Assembly in 1788 and again from 1791 to 1794, participating in state governance as the new federal system took shape. In 1794 he moved to Hartford, which would remain his home for the rest of his life. He was chosen an assistant in the council of the State in May 1798, reflecting his growing influence in Connecticut politics. In Hartford he also entered the judiciary, serving as judge of the city court from 1797 until 1815, with the exception of two years, and beginning in 1798 he served as a judge of the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors, the state’s highest court, during the years 1798 and 1799.

Brace was elected as a Federalist to the Fifth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Representative Joshua Coit, and he was subsequently reelected to the Sixth Congress. His service in the United States House of Representatives extended from December 3, 1798, until his resignation in May 1800. During these two terms in office, he participated in the legislative process at a time when the young nation was confronting issues of foreign policy, party formation, and institutional development. As a Federalist representing Connecticut, he aligned with the party’s emphasis on a strong national government and commercial interests, while continuing to represent the concerns of his state’s constituents.

After leaving Congress, Brace resumed and expanded his judicial and civic responsibilities in Connecticut. He served as an assistant in the council of the State from 1802 to 1818, maintaining a significant role in state governance. In December 1807 he was appointed prosecuting attorney for Hartford County, a position he held until his resignation in May 1809. That same month in 1809 he was appointed judge of the county court and of probate. He continued as judge of the county court until 1821 and as judge of probate until 1824, presiding over a wide range of civil and criminal matters and overseeing the administration of estates in the Hartford region.

In addition to his judicial work, Brace held important municipal and legislative offices in his later career. He served as mayor of Hartford from 1815 to 1824, guiding the city through a period of growth in the early nineteenth century. While mayor, he also represented his district in the Connecticut state senate in 1819 and 1820, further intertwining his local and state responsibilities. His long tenure in public office at multiple levels of government reflected both his legal expertise and his standing within Connecticut’s Federalist political establishment.

Brace married Ann White, and the couple had several children. Their son Thomas Kimberly Brace became a prominent businessman and was the principal founder and developer of the Aetna Insurance Company, which would grow into one of the nation’s leading insurance firms. Jonathan Brace remained in Hartford for the remainder of his life. He died there on August 26, 1837, and was buried in the Old North Cemetery in Hartford, closing a career that had spanned law, legislation, and judicial service in both Vermont and Connecticut during the early decades of the United States.