Ingersoll was born on April 16, 1747, in Ridgefield in what was then called the Province of Connecticut, a part of British America.{{cite book |title=1708--Ridgefield, Connecticut--1908: Bi-centennial Celebration, July 6th and 7th, 1908; Report of the Proceedings, Together with the Papers Presented and the Addresses Made |date=1908 |publisher=Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company |page=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924028843146/page/n2 1] |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924028843146 |accessdate=7 September 2018 |language=en}} He was the son of Rev. Jonathan Ingersoll (1713–1778) and Dorcas (née Moss) Ingersoll (1725–1811). His father was the chaplain for the Connecticut Troops during the French and Indian War.{{cite book |last1=Goodwin |first1=Nathaniel |title=Genealogical Notes Or Contributions to the Family History of Some of the First Settlers of Connecticut and Massachusetts |date=1982 |publisher=Genealogical Publishing Com |isbn=9780806301594 |page=124 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BTI6rl97_pcC&pg=PA124 |accessdate=7 September 2018 |language=en}} His sister, Esther Ingersoll, was married to Lt. Ebenezer Olmsted.{{cite book |last1=Sanders |first1=Jack |title=Ridgefield Chronicles |date=2014 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=9781625852328 |page=49 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=thx3CQAAQBAJ&pg=PT49 |accessdate=7 September 2018 |language=en}}

His uncle was Jared Ingersoll Sr., a British colonial official, and his cousin, Jared Ingersoll, served as Attorney General of Pennsylvania. His cousin's son (his first cousin once removed), Charles Jared Ingersoll, was a U.S. Representative and the father of author Edward Ingersoll.{{cite book |last1=Clay |first1=Henry |title=The Papers of Henry Clay: Secretary of State 1826 |date=2015 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=9780813162461 |page=196 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z9oeBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA196 |accessdate=7 September 2018 |language=en}}

He graduated from Yale College in 1766 and began practicing as a lawyer.

Career

From 1792 until 1797, he was a member of Connecticut council of assistants;{{cite book |title=Papers of the New Haven Colony Historical Society, Vol. IX |date=1918 |publisher=The Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Press |page=175 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7l8LAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA175 |accessdate=7 September 2018 |language=en}} he simultaneously served as a judge of the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors from 1792 to 1798.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TLtLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR7|title=Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of Errors, of the State of Connecticut, in the years 1805, 1806, and 1807|year=1809|volume=2|last=Day|first=Thomas|page=xii-xiii}}

On September 16, 1793, he was elected as a member representing his state at-large in the United States House of Representatives, by a special election (to replace Congressman-elect Benjamin Huntington who had become a Judge). However he declined this office before the 3rd Congress convened, so he was never sworn in. A replacement was elected at a special election on November 11, 1793.United States Congressional Elections, 1788–1997: The Official Results, by Michael J. Dubin (McFarland and Company, 1998) He served as Superior court judge in Connecticut, 1798–1801 and 1811–1816.{{cite web |last1=Kestenbaum |first1=Lawrence |title=The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Ingersoll |url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/ingersoll.html#RYC1F6BXS |website=politicalgraveyard.com |accessdate=7 September 2018}}

Ingersoll was the ninth Lieutenant Governor of the State Connecticut, and twenty-ninth overall, being elected to the office annually from 1816 to 1822, and serving until his death in 1823.{{cite book |last1=Allen |first1=William |title=An American Biographical and Historical Dictionary: Containing an Account of The Lives, Characters, and Writings of the Most Eminent Persons in North America from its First Settlement, and a Summary of The History of the Several Colonies and of the United States |date=1832 |publisher=W. Hyde |page=[https://archive.org/details/anamericanbiogr00allegoog/page/n498 484] |url=https://archive.org/details/anamericanbiogr00allegoog |accessdate=7 September 2018 |language=en}}

Personal life

On April 1, 1786, he was married to Grace Isaacs (1772–1850), the daughter of Ralph Isaacs, Jr., a Yale educated merchant who was prominent in New Haven and Branford. Together, they were the parents of:{{cite book |last1=Avery |first1=Lillian Drake |title=A Genealogy of the Ingersoll Family in America, 1629-1925: Comprising Descendants of Richard Ingersoll of Salem, Massachusetts, John Ingersoll of Westfield, Mass., and John Ingersoll of Huntington, Long Island |date=2006 |publisher=Higginson Book Co. |pages=39, 159 |isbn=9780740405921 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m2JVAAAAMAAJ |accessdate=7 September 2018 |language=en}}

Grace Ingersoll (1787–1816), who married Peter Grellet and died aged 29 in Paris, France.{{cite book |last1=Drake |first1=Francis Samuel |title=Dictionary of American Biography, Including Men of the Time: Containing Nearly Ten Thousand Notices of Persons of Both Sexes, of Native and Foreign Birth, who Have Been Remarkable, Or Prominently Connected with the Arts, Sciences, Literature, Politics, Or History of the American Continent. Giving Also the Pronunciation of Many of the Foreign and Peculiar American Names, a Key to the Assumed Names of Writers, and a Supplement |date=1879 |publisher=J.R. Osgood |page=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryameri02drakgoog/page/n478 472] |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryameri02drakgoog |accessdate=7 September 2018 |language=en}}
Ralph Isaacs Ingersoll (1789–1872), a U.S. Representative from Connecticut who served as the U.S. Minister to the Russian Empire under President James K. Polk.{{cite web |title=INGERSOLL, Ralph Isaacs - Biographical Information |url=https://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=I000020 |website=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress |accessdate=7 September 2018}}
Mary Ingersoll (1791–1842)
William Isaacs Ingersoll (1793–1830)
Charles Jared Ingersoll (1795–1795), who died in infancy.
Charles Anthony Ingersoll (1798–1860), a United States federal judge nominated by President Franklin Pierce.{{cite book |title=The University Magazine, Volume 6, Issue 2 |date=1892 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania |page=198 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YBQJF_1q-7IC&pg=PA198 |accessdate=7 September 2018 |language=en}}
Harriet Ingersoll (1798–1872)
Jonathan Ingersoll (1803–1875)
Edward Ingersoll (1809–1809), who died in infancy.
Edward Ingersoll (1810–1883), an Episcopal minister in Buffalo, New York.{{cite book |title=Journal of the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America |date=1854 |publisher=Convention |page=[https://archive.org/details/journalgeneralc00convgoog/page/n24 12] |url=https://archive.org/details/journalgeneralc00convgoog |accessdate=7 September 2018 |language=en}}

Ingersoll died while in office on January 12, 1823, in New Haven, Connecticut. He was buried in Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven.

=Descendants=

Through his son Ralph, he was the grandfather of seven, including John Van den Heuvel Ingersoll (1815–1846), a Yale educated lawyer who edited a political paper in Ohio and served as secretary of the Indian Commission,{{cite book |last1=Dexter |first1=Franklin Bowditch |title=Biographical Notices of Graduates of Yale College: Including Those Graduated in Classes Later Than 1815, who are Not Commemorated in the Annual Obituary Records |date=1913 |publisher=Yale College |page=252 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ePk-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA252 |accessdate=7 September 2018 |language=en}} Colin Macrae Ingersoll (1819–1903),{{cite news |title=Colin M. Ingersoll Dead: Pneumonia Carries Off a Man Prominent in Connecticut for Half a Century |work=The New York Times |date=September 14, 1903 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1903/09/14/102022124.pdf}} who was a member of Congress from Connecticut and married Julia Harriet Pratt, the daughter of U.S. Representative Zadock Pratt,{{cite web |title=INGERSOLL, Colin Macrae - Biographical Information |url=https://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=I000016 |website=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress |accessdate=7 September 2018}} and Charles Roberts Ingersoll (1821–1903), who served as Governor of Connecticut from 1873 to 1877 and married Virginia Gregory, the daughter of Admiral Francis Gregory.{{cite book |last1=Selleck, A.M. |first1=Rev. Charles Melbourne |title=Norwalk |date=1896 |page=331 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FulEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA331 |accessdate=7 September 2018 |language=en}}

Through his son Charles, he was the grandfather of Charles Dennis Ingersoll (1843–1905), a lawyer in New York City, and Thomas Chester Ingersoll (1845–1884).