Charles Augustus Templeton

George Templeton was the 68th governor of the state of Connecticut.

Templeton was born in Sharon, Connecticut, the son of Union Army veteran Theodore Templeton and Ella Middlebrooks Templeton. The family moved to Winsted when he was a young boy.

He received some education in local schools but went to work at the age of 8 as an errand boy earning 25 cents a day. As a young man, Templeton worked at several jobs, including a machinist at the Seth Thomas Clock Company in Thomaston, a janitor at a high school and a church, a grocery store clerk, and an assistant postmaster of Plymouth.

While on a visit to Waterbury, he answered an ad for a bookkeeper in a hardware store. Even though he had no experience as a bookkeeper, he said he could do any task that anyone else could. He was hired and eventually bought the business with a partner. Later he opened his own hardware business in the city.

A Republican, Templeton became an alderman of Waterbury and later a member for the 15th District of the Connecticut State Senate from 1919 to 1921. He was the 77th Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut from 1921 to 1923.

Templeton became governor in 1923. During his tenure, legislation was passed that limited funding to state institutions in order to balance the budget. A bill was enacted that banned medical school correspondence course graduates from practicing in the state. He left office in 1925.

After completing his term as governor, Templeton returned to the hardware business in Waterbury. He also became a trustee of the St. Margaret’s School for Girls and director of Waterbury’s YMCA.