Background
Lounsbury was born in Ridgefield, Connecticut on January 10, 1841, the son of Nathan Lounsbury (1807 - 1894), and Delia A Scofield Lounsbury (1809 - 1895). He worked on his father"s farm and attended the local schools.
Lounsbury was born in Ridgefield, Connecticut on January 10, 1841, the son of Nathan Lounsbury (1807 - 1894), and Delia A Scofield Lounsbury (1809 - 1895). He worked on his father"s farm and attended the local schools.
In New York City, he secured a position as clerk in a shoe store, and in time familiarized himself with all departments of the business. When the civil war broke out Lounsbury enlisted as a private in the Seventeenth Connecticut Regiment, but after four months" active service wag compelled by severe sickness to return, being honorably discharged and recommended for a pension, which he would not accept. The business was afterward moved to South Norwalk, and carried on under the firm name of Lounsbury, Matthewson & Company
Winning the 1886 Republican gubernatorial nomination, Lounsbury was elected governor by a legislative decision.
During his term, he signed the Incorrigible Criminal Acting.
He did not run for re-election and retired from public service. After serving as the Governor of Connecticut, Lounsbury returned to his business and served as president of the Connecticut Merchants Exchange National Bank.
In 1883, he built a Great Camp, Echo Camp, on Raquette Lake in the Adirondack. Lounsbury died in Ridgefield, Connecticut on June 22, 1925.
He is interred at Lounsbury Cemetery, Ridgefield, Fairfield County, Connecticut.
His home, the Phineas Chapman Lounsbury House, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
Lounsbury became a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1874 and held that position till 1876.