Crowbar Governor: The Life and Times of Morgan Gardner Bulkeley

Illustrations [some images not available in digital version]

Thanks to his willingness to purchase votes, Bulkeley won every ward in the city and became Hartford’s mayor in 1880. He married five years later, and remained mayor until 1888. (Bulkeley Collection, Connecticut State Library) During World War I— with her two sons fighting in Europe—Fannie (left) was state chair of the Women’s Liberty Bond Campaign. Her counterpart in Hartford was Mrs. Richard M. Bissell (right), whose husband was president of Hartford Fire Insurance Co. (Bulkeley Collection, Connecticut State Library) During the day, Fannie sold Liberty Bonds and was the perfect politician’s wife—bright and charming. At night she smoked cigarettes by the fire in her bedchamber. (Bulkeley Collection, Connecticut State Library) In later years, Bulkeley loved to be photographed sitting at this richly carved mahogany table, which once belonged to Thomas Je√erson. (Hartford History Center, Hartford Public Library) ...