[Lafayette Sabine]. American statesman, born in Franklin, CT, on the 22nd of November 1806; died at Norwich, CT, on the 19th of September 1880. He was graduated from Brown University in 1828; practiced law in Connecticut; and edited the Norwich Journal in 1835. In 1839–40, and again from 1846 to 1848, he sat in the legislature as a Whig, and for two years was speaker. He was mayor of Norwich in 1851; twice unsuccessful as a Whig candidate for the governorship, and in 1854 was again elected to the assembly, and chosen speaker. In May 1854, he was elected to the United States Senate, and re-elected in 1860, serving until March 1867. He joined the Republican party in 1856, and supported the Union cause during the war. In 1865 he was president pro tem. of the Senate, and became acting Vice-President of the United States when Andrew Johnson succeeded to the Presidency. In 1870 he again became a member and speaker of the Connecticut assembly, and in June was elected to the state supreme bench by the legislature. He supported Greeley for the Presidency in 1872, and was defeated as a Democratic candidate for Congress two years later. From 1870 to 1876 he was a judge of the state supreme court.
