Background
Austin Henry was born on December 4, 1804 in Mount Carmel, Connecticut, United States. He was a son of Daniel and Adah (Dorman) Austin.
Austin Henry was born on December 4, 1804 in Mount Carmel, Connecticut, United States. He was a son of Daniel and Adah (Dorman) Austin.
Henry studied architecture in the office of Ithiel Town, New Haven, Connecticut, until 1836.
Henry worked as a carpenter's apprentice, later turned his attention to architecture. He began his studies in New York in the office of the firm of Town 6 Davis, where several young men who later made a name for themselves in the profession, were being trained. During his connection with the office, Austin took advantage of the opportunity to study in Ithiel Town's private library, containing one of the largest collections of architectural books and drawings in the country at that time.
Following his return to Connecticut in 1837, Austin opened an office in New Haven, and for more than half a century continued in architectural practice. He designed a number of churches and other public buildings, mainly of Classic type, also participated to a large extent in the architectural development of New Haven. Among his best known works (some of them designed in association with other architects) were: the old Railroad Station with its lofty tower: New Haven Savings Bank: the Eton School: the old New Haven House, site of the present Hotel Taft; the City Library, built in 1871, (in collaboration with David Russell Brown, a member of the Town 6 Davis office); the Library at Yale University, 1842, modeled after Ring’s College at Cambridge, England, on which he was assisted by Henry Flockton, a British architect, then a member of the Town & Davis office. Several churches in Connecticut are also attributed to Mr. Austin, one of special note being the First Congregational at Danbury (“the pride of Danbury"), built in 1858 and destroyed by fire in 1907.
In domestic architecture, one of his most notable creations was the home of Moses Yale Beach at Wallingford, Connecticut, "a rose-bedecked mansion" now occupied as St. George’s Inn. Also attributed to him is the Morse-Libby house at Portland, Maine, a two-story brown-stone mansion of Italianate type, dating from 1859.
Austin was married twice. First to Harriet M. Hooker, then to Jane Hempstead, and had four children who survived into adulthood: Willard, Henry, David, and Fred.