Jacob H. De Witt

Jacob H. De Witt, New York Congressman

Jacob Hasbrouck De Witt (October 2, 1784 – January 30, 1857) was a U.S. Representative from New York.

Born in Marbletown, New York, De Witt was raised in Twaalskill (now part of the city of Kingston). His father was Colonel Thomas De Witt, a veteran of the American Revolution. His aunt Mary De Witt was the first wife of General James Clinton, and was the mother of DeWitt Clinton. Jacob De Witt attended the rural schools of Twaalskill and the Kingston (New York) Academy, afterwards becoming a farmer.

He served as the adjutant of a militia regiment in the War of 1812. He continued his militia service, and later attained the rank of Colonel as commander of the New York Militia's 131st Regiment..

De Witt was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Sixteenth Congress (March 4, 1819 – March 3, 1821). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1820, and returned to farming. In 1823 he married Sarah Ann Sleight, a granddaughter of Jacobus Swartwout. Their children included John Sleight, Elsie, Mary and Anna. Mary was the wife of Kingston banker James S. Evans, and Anna was the wife of Charles Lytle Lamberton.

In 1827 and 1840 De Witt was Kingston's Town Supervisor and a member of the Ulster County Board of Supervisors. He was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1839 and 1847.

De Witt died in Kingston on January 30, 1857. He was originally buried at Sharpe Cemetery on Albany Avenue, and later reinterred at Kinsgton's Old Dutch Churchyard.

References

• Jacob H. De Witt at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Jacob H. De Witt at Find a Grave
• Jacob H. De Witt in History of Ulster County, New York by Nathaniel Bartlett Sylvester
• Jacob H. De Witt, list of Kingston Town Supervisors in Proceedings of the Ulster County Legislature
• Jacob H. Dewitt, commander of the 131st Regiment in Annual Report of the New York State Historian

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.