Joseph and Harriette F. Hawley, 1860-1867

Multi-talented Joseph Roswell Hawley (1826 - 1905) was a lawyer who partnered with John Hooker in 1850, an associate editor of the Hartford Evening Press with Charles Dudley Warner, and a general during the Civil War. Hawley married Harriet W. Foote, and settled in a rented cottage in Nook Farm, adjacent to the property they would later purchase but never build on. Hawley held multiple political offices including governor of Connecticut (1866), state congressman (1873), and U.S. senator (1881-1905). He also led the United States Centennial Commission which organized the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia.

Harriet Foote Hawley (1831-1886)

Harriet Foote Hawley, a first cousin of the Beechers, married Joseph R. Hawley in 1855. During the Civil War Harriet became her husband’s confidential secretary and adviser, and the Seventh Connecticut Regiment honored her for her work. In the 1880s, the Hawleys moved to Washington, D.C., where Harriet served as president of the Indian Rights Association, which advocated equal rights for Native Americans.