George Clinton, Jr.

George Clinton (June 6, 1771 – September 16, 1809) was a Representative from New York and served in the Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Congresses.

Life and career

He was born in New York City on June 6, 1771, and was the son of James Clinton, nephew of George Clinton (1739–1812), brother of DeWitt Clinton, and half-brother of James Graham Clinton.^[1] He graduated from Columbia College in 1793, studied law became an attorney.^[2]

The younger George Clinton was an early member of the Tammany Hall organization, including serving as one of its sachems.^[3][4] He was a delegate to the New York State constitutional convention in 1801.^[5] 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.^[6]

He was also involved in farming and business in New York City and New Windsor, and was an incorporator of the Newburgh and Cochecton Turnpike Company.^[7][8]

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.^[9] 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.^[10]

Family

In 1801 George Clinton married Hannah Franklin (1788-1855). His wife was the sister of De Witt Clinton's first wife, Mary Franklin, ^[11][12] and a descendant of John Bowne and Elizabeth Fones. They had three children: Mary Caroline, the wife of Henry Overing; Franklin, who died as a child; and Julia Matilda, the wife of George C. Tallmadge.^[13]

Death and burial

George Clinton died at his home in the Bloomingdale area of New York City on September 16, 1809.^[14][15]

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. Columbia University, Catalogue of Columbia College in the City of New-York, 1826, page 38
3. Franklin Benjamin Hough, William Elliot Woodward, Washingtoniana: or, Memorials of the Death of George Washington, Volume 1, 1865, page 131
4. Edwin P. Kilroe, Saint Tammany and the Origin of the Society of Tammany, 1913, page 218
5. Charles Zebina Lincoln, The Constitutional History of New York, Volume 1, 1906, page 609
6. Joseph Dennie, John Elihu Hall, The Port Folio, Volume 2, 1802, page 258 to 259
7. James Eldridge Quinlan, Thomas Antisell, History of Sullivan County, 1878, page 11
8. Samuel Latham Mitchill, The Medical Repository, Volume 6, 1809, page 316
9. United States Congress, Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States, 1826, page 703
10. C. & A. Conrad & Co., Philadelphia, The American Register, or General Repository of History, Politics and Science, Part 1, 1809, page 84
11. Henry Laurens, The Papers of Henry Laurens: Aug. 1, 1769-Oct. 9, 1771, 1979, page 564
12. Mrs. Martha Joanna Lamb, Mrs. Burton Harrison, History of the City of New York, Volume 2, 1877, page 151
13. William Smith Pelletreau, Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Family History of New York, Volume 3, 1907, page 183
14. New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Volumes 25-26, 1894, page 163
15. South Carolina Historical Society, The South Carolina Historical Magazine, Volume 33, 1932, page 211

External links

• George Clinton, Jr. at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress