George Clinton Jr.

George Clinton Jr. (June 6, 1771 – September 16, 1809) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a U.S. representative from New York from 1805 to 1809.

George Clinton Jr.
John Vanderlyn portrait, circa 1805. Museum of the City of New York collections.
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from New York
In office
February 14, 1805 – March 3, 1809
Preceded bySamuel L. Mitchill
Succeeded byGurdon S. Mumford
William Denning
Jonathan Fisk
Constituency3rd district (1805)
2nd district (1805–09)
Personal details
Born(1771-06-06)June 6, 1771
New York City
DiedSeptember 16, 1809(1809-09-16) (aged 38)
New York City
Political partyDemocratic-Republican
SpouseHannah Franklin
RelationsSee Clinton family
Parent(s)James Clinton
Mary De Witt
Alma materColumbia College
OccupationLawyer, politician

Early life

He was born in New York City on June 6, 1771, the son of Mary De Witt and James Clinton, a brevet major general in the American Revolutionary War. He was the brother of DeWitt Clinton (1769–1828), the 6th governor of New York, and half-brother of James Graham Clinton, also a U.S. Representative.[1]

He was the nephew of George Clinton (1739–1812), who served as the 1st and 3rd governor of New York from 1777 to 1795 and the U.S. Vice President from 1805 to 1812. His grandfather was Col. Charles Clinton (1690–1773), an Anglo-Irish colonel during the French and Indian War.[2]

He graduated from Columbia College in 1793, studied law, and became an attorney.[3]

Career

He was involved in farming and business in New York City and New Windsor, and was an incorporator of the Newburgh and Cochecton Turnpike Company.[4][5]

Politics and elected office

Clinton was an early member of the Tammany Hall organization, including serving as one of its sachems.[6][7] He was a delegate to the New York State constitutional convention in 1801.[8] In political organizing and at conventions, George Clinton Jr. was a manager and leader of the allies of his uncle George, in opposition to adherents of Aaron Burr as the two groups fought for supremacy in the Democratic-Republican Party.[9]

He served in the New York State Assembly from 1804 to 1805. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Democratic-Republican to fill the vacancy caused when Samuel L. Mitchill resigned to accept election to the United States Senate.[10] He was subsequently elected to two full terms, and served from February 14, 1805, to March 3, 1809.

While in Congress George Clinton was one of the signers of a document protesting the caucus which nominated James Madison as the candidate of the Democratic-Republicans for President in 1808.[11]

Personal life

In 1801 George Clinton married Hannah Franklin (1788–1855). His wife was the sister of DeWitt Clinton's first wife, Mary Franklin,[12][13] and a descendant of John Bowne and Elizabeth Fones. They had three children:

  • Mary Caroline Clinton (1802–1870), who married Henry Overing[14]
  • Franklin Clinton, who died as a child[14]
  • Julia Matilda Clinton (d. 1880), who first married George C. Tallmadge. She later married James Foster Jr.[14][15]

George Clinton died at his home in the Bloomingdale area of New York City, aged 38, on September 16, 1809.[16][17]

References
  1. Historical Society of Newburgh Bay and the Highlands, History of the Town of New Windsor, Orange County, N.Y., 1907, page 143
  2. Campbell, William W. (1849), The Life and Writings of De Witt Clinton, Baker and Scribner, pp. x–xiv, ISBN 9780795010972, retrieved 9 February 2008
  3. Columbia University, Catalogue of Columbia College in the City of New-York, 1826, page 38
  4. James Eldridge Quinlan, Thomas Antisell, History of Sullivan County, 1878, page 11
  5. Samuel Latham Mitchill, The Medical Repository, Volume 6, 1809, page 316
  6. Franklin Benjamin Hough, William Elliot Woodward, Washingtoniana: or, Memorials of the Death of George Washington, Volume 1, 1865, page 131
  7. Edwin P. Kilroe, Saint Tammany and the Origin of the Society of Tammany, 1913, page 218
  8. Charles Zebina Lincoln, The Constitutional History of New York, Volume 1, 1906, page 609
  9. Joseph Dennie, John Elihu Hall, The Port Folio, Volume 2, 1802, page 258 to 259
  10. United States Congress, Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States, 1826, page 703
  11. C. & A. Conrad & Co., Philadelphia, The American Register, or General Repository of History, Politics and Science, Part 1, 1809, page 84
  12. Henry Laurens, The Papers of Henry Laurens: Aug. 1, 1769-Oct. 9, 1771, 1979, page 564
  13. Mrs. Martha Joanna Lamb, Mrs. Burton Harrison, History of the City of New York, Volume 2, 1877, page 151
  14. William Smith Pelletreau, Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Family History of New York, Volume 3, 1907, page 183
  15. Address of Students in Union College, to Their Parents & Guardians. Cabinet Printing-House. 1825. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  16. New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Volumes 25-26, 1894, page 163
  17. South Carolina Historical Society, The South Carolina Historical Magazine, Volume 33, 1932, page 211
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