Newton Case Brainard

Newton Case Brainard was born 26 December 1880 in Hartford, Connecticut, the seventh of ten children of Leverett Brainard and Mary Jerusha Bulkeley. He graduated from Hartford Public High School in 1898. He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Yale in the Class of 1902, and an honorary Master of Arts Degree from Trinity College in 1946 and a Doctor of Laws Degree from Trinity in 1959, in recognition of long service on the Board of Trustees. On 22 July 1936, he married Elsie Logan Burks.

Immediately after graduating from college in 1902, Newton C. Brainard entered the printing business, as Assistant Secretary of The Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company. He was associated with that organization and its successor, Connecticut Printers, Inc. until his death, serving as President from June 30, 1910 until February 18, 1952, when he became Chairman of the Board of Directors. He was a director of the Dime Savings Bank of Hartford, as well as President for fifteen years. He was also a director of The Smyth Manufacturing Company and its affiliate, the E.C. Fuller Company, and The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company. He served for many years as a Director of the First National Bank of Hartford and became an Honary Director of the Hartford National Bank and Trust Company when it consolidated with the First National Bank. He also served as a Director of The Standard Fire Insurance Company, the Burr Index Company, The Hartford Paper Company, and the Eagle Lock Company. His service as Alderman in the City of Hartford was interrupted in 1917 by his attendance at the Second Plattsburg Training Camp, from which he graduated as 2nd Lieutenant Field Artillery, National Army. He was mustered out of the service in December 1918, and was re-elected Alderman.

In 1920, he was elected Mayor of Hartford for a two-year term and later served as a member of the Board of Park Commissioners. He was a leading figure in encouraging the City to erect a municipal airport, and Brainard Field, named for him, was dedicated in 1921. From 1933-1937 he served as Chairman of the Emergency Relief Commission of the State of Connecticut. In 1937, he was appointed to the Connecticut State Bond Commission. For 24 years, he served as Warden of the Borough of Fenwick, in the Town of Old Saybrook. He was President of The Connecticut Historical Society. He is buried at Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hartford.