Egbert Benson | |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromNew York | |
| In office March 4, 1813 – August 2, 1813 | |
| Preceded by | William Paulding Jr. |
| Succeeded by | William Irving |
| Constituency | 2nd district |
| In office March 4, 1789 – March 3, 1793 | |
| Preceded by | Seat established |
| Succeeded by | Philip Van Cortlandt |
| Constituency | 3rd district |
| Chief Judge of theUnited States Circuit Court for the Second Circuit | |
| In office February 20, 1801 – July 1, 1802 | |
| Appointed by | John Adams |
| Preceded by | Seat established by 2 Stat. 89 |
| Succeeded by | Seat abolished |
| 1stAttorney General of New York | |
| In office May 8, 1777 – May 14, 1788 | |
| Governor | George Clinton |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Richard Varick |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1746-06-21)June 21, 1746 New York City, Province of New York, British America |
| Died | August 24, 1833(1833-08-24) (aged 87) Jamaica,New York |
| Resting place | Prospect Cemetery Jamaica,New York |
| Political party | Federalist |
| Relatives | Egbert Benson |
| Education | Columbia University (BA) |
Egbert Benson (June 21, 1746 – August 24, 1833) was an American lawyer, jurist, politician andFounding Father who representedNew York State in theContinental Congress,Annapolis Convention, andUnited States House of Representatives. He served as a member of the New York constitutional convention in 1788 which ratified theUnited States Constitution. He also served as the firstattorney general of New York, chief justice of theNew York Supreme Court, and as thechief United States circuit judge of theUnited States circuit court for the second circuit.
Benson's ancestor, Dirck Benson, who settled inNew Amsterdam in 1649, was the founder of the Benson family in America.[1] Egbert Benson was born inNew York City in theProvince of New York, the son of Robert Benson (1715–1762) and Catherine (Van Borsum) Benson (1718–1794). The Benson family was one of the earliest Dutch families to have settled inManhattan.[2][3] In a letter written to Arthur D. Benson, Egbert Benson lived at the corner of Puntine and Fulton streets in the home of William Puntine.[4][a] His home was one of the centers of cultural life in New York City.[1] Benson lived with his maternal grandmother, a widow who lived onBroad Street, at the corner of Beaver, during the early part of his life.[5]
Benson was taught inDutch, and he learned hiscatechism in that language.[5] Upon reaching a suitable age, Benson attended theCollegiate School,[6] a school of repute, and prepared himself for college.[5] During this time, he was guided and assisted by Reverend Doctor Barclay, rector ofTrinity Church.[5] He was privately educated, then attended King's College (nowColumbia University), graduating in 1765.[7] Heread law, was admitted to the bar and moved toRed Hook inDutchess County, New York.[7] He practiced law both there and in New York City.[7] Benson was also honored byHarvard University andDartmouth College.[1]
A relative of Benson's was Benjamin Benson, aRevolutionary War soldier and member of thecommittee of correspondence.[citation needed] He signed one of theArticles of Association, or "Association Test", which was preliminary to theDeclaration of Independence, atHaverstraw, New York, in May 1775.[1] Egbert Benson was the brother of Lieutenant Colonel Robert Benson and Captain Henry Benson, who commanded an armed vessel in the Revolution.[1]
Benson owned slaves; in the 1790 census, he was recorded as having one slave, and in the 1800 census, two slaves.[8] Despite his personal ownership of slaves, he was involved in the anti-slavery New York Manumission Society.[9]
Towards the start of the American Revolutionary War, Benson approved the course of theSons of Liberty and gave up, in a measure, his professional prospects then brightly opening and devoted himself to his country.[5] He aided the Sons of Liberty, who were in Dutchess County where Benson, as a part of his first efforts, gave proper directions to the political meetings.[5] When the British occupied New York City in 1776, Benson remained in Dutchess County for several years.[citation needed] From 1777 to 1781, Benson served as a member of theNew York State Assembly and drafted every important bill passed there in during the Revolution.[10] The county made him the president of their committee of safety and in 1777 sent him to the revolutionary New York State Assembly.[citation needed] When the first state government was organized, Benson was appointed the first New York attorney general and served until 1788.[7] He was elected to the Assembly annually until 1781 and again in 1788.[7]
New York sent Benson as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1784.[11] Although he was reappointed in 1785,[11] he did not attend sessions.[citation needed] In 1786, he was named by the Legislature to accompanyAlexander Hamilton as a delegate to theAnnapolis Convention, which issued a call for theUnited States Constitutional Convention held the following year. He returned to the Congress in 1787 and 1788, and in 1788 attended the New York state convention that ratified the United States Constitution.[11]
When the new federal government was established, Benson was elected fromNew York's 3rd congressional district to the United States House of Representatives of the1st and2nd United States Congresses, serving from March 4, 1789, to March 3, 1793.[11] In 1794, Benson was appointed a justice of theNew York Supreme Court, a position he held until 1801.[7]
Benson was part of the three-man commission that decided the location of theSt. Croix River in 1798.[citation needed] He was nominated by PresidentJohn Adams on February 18, 1801, to theUnited States Circuit Court for the Second Circuit, to the new chief judge seat authorized by 2 Stat. 89.[7] He was confirmed by theUnited States Senate on February 20, 1801, and received his commission the same day.[7] His service terminated on July 1, 1802, due to abolition of the court.[7]
Benson returned to the private practice of law in New York City in 1802.[7] He joined other civic leaders to found theNew-York Historical Society and served as its first president from 1804 to 1816.[11] He was the author of several books, includingVindication of the Captors of Major Andre, defending the three AmericanPatriots who captured the spy MajorJohn André, which led to the discovery of the plot to surrenderWest Point to the British byBenedict Arnold.[citation needed]
In 1812, Benson was again elected fromNew York's 2nd congressional district to the United States House of Representatives of the13th United States Congress as aFederalist but served only five months before he resigned on August 2, 1813.[11] In December 1813, Benson was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society.[12]
Benson's writings includeA Biographical Sketch of Gouverneur Morris (published in November 1816), andBrief Remarks on the 'Wife' of Washington Irving (published in 1819).[10] Benson also wrote and published in theNew York American a series of able and highly interesting articles, in condemnation of what he regarded as the absurd and anti-Christian practice of calling the first day of the week theSabbath.[10]
Benson married late in life, on May 17, 1820, to Maria Conover (1796–1867).[8] He died on August 24, 1833, inJamaica,Queens, and is buried in theProspect Cemetery there.[11] His grave has been designated by a historical marker.[2]
Egbert's oldest brother was clerk of the New York State Senate,Robert Benson (1739–1823),[13] father of his namesake,Egbert Benson.[14]
According to manuscripts and notes found in the Arthur D. Benson manuscript collection at Queens Library, Benson's name was engraved on a bronze tablet on theButterick Building on 6th Avenue and Spring Street in New York City; this tablet was placed there by the Greenwich Village Historical Society.[1] Hevelyn D. Benson, great-grandnephew of Egbert Benson, sentJerome D. Greene, director of Harvard's Trancentanery, seven photostats concerning Egbert Benson.[15] Hevelyn Benson was also a member of the New York Historical Society, founded in 1804 by his ancestor, Egbert Benson.[15] Benson also included a photostat of an article inThe Eagle from September 16, 1935, which designated Egbert Benson as the man behind the Constitution.[15] The state historical marker for Benson's grave was applied to SenatorThomas C. Desmond, a trustee of the New York State Historical Society, by Hevelyn Benson.[15]
| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by Office established | Attorney General of New York 1777–1789 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Seat established by 2 Stat. 89 | Chief Judge of theUnited States Circuit Court for the Second Circuit 1801–1802 | Succeeded by Seat abolished |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by Seat established | United States Representative fromNew York's 3rd congressional district 1789–1793 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Representative fromNew York's 2nd congressional district 1813 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
