Representative Julius Hotchkiss

Julius Hotchkiss (July 11, 1810 – December 23, 1878) was a United States Representative from Connecticut. He was born in Waterbury, New Haven County, Connecticut, the son of Woodward and Polly (Castle) Hotchkiss, who were farmers in the nearby town of Prospect. Raised in a rural, agricultural setting, he acquired an early familiarity with farm life and the conditions of small New England communities in the early nineteenth century.

Hotchkiss received a common-school education and, by the age of seventeen, was teaching in the public schools of Prospect. His early work as a teacher reflected both the limited formal educational opportunities of the period and his own commitment to self-improvement and public service. After several years in education, he left teaching and moved to the growing industrial center of Waterbury, where he began to build a career in business.

In Waterbury, Hotchkiss engaged in mercantile pursuits, operating a store and later establishing a factory that manufactured cotton webbing and suspenders. His involvement in this line of manufacturing placed him within the expanding textile and light industrial economy of Connecticut in the mid-nineteenth century. Through these enterprises he became a prominent local businessman, gaining experience in management, labor, and commerce that would later inform his public life.

Hotchkiss entered public service as a member of the Democratic Party and became active in local and state politics. He served in the Connecticut House of Representatives, where he participated in state legislative affairs, and he was also elected mayor of Waterbury, reflecting the confidence of his community in his leadership. His municipal and state service helped establish his reputation as a capable administrator and advocate for the interests of his city and region.

Building on this record, Hotchkiss was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives. He served one term in the Thirty-ninth Congress, representing Connecticut from March 4, 1865, to March 3, 1867. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, immediately following the Civil War, when the nation was grappling with Reconstruction, the reintegration of the seceded states, and the status of formerly enslaved people. As a member of the Democratic Party representing Connecticut, he contributed to the legislative process during this critical era, participating in debates and votes that shaped the postwar settlement and representing the interests of his constituents in a time of national transition.

After the conclusion of his congressional term, Hotchkiss returned to Connecticut and resumed his business and civic activities in Waterbury. He remained a respected figure in local affairs, drawing on his combined experience as an educator, manufacturer, municipal official, state legislator, and former Member of Congress. Julius Hotchkiss died in Waterbury, Connecticut, on December 23, 1878, and was interred in Riverside Cemetery in that city, leaving a record of service that spanned education, industry, and multiple levels of government.