John Laurance
John Laurance | |
---|---|
United States District Court for the District of New York | |
In office May 6, 1794 – November 8, 1796 | |
Appointed by | George Washington |
Preceded by | James Duane |
Succeeded by | Robert Troup |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 2nd district | |
In office March 4, 1789 – March 3, 1793 | |
Preceded by | Seat established |
Succeeded by | John Watts |
Personal details | |
Born | John Laurance 1750 read law |
John Laurance (sometimes spelled "Lawrence" or "Laurence") (1750 – November 11, 1810) was a delegate to the 6th, 7th, and 8th
Laurance briefly served as President pro tempore of the United States Senate in December 1798.
Education and career
Born in 1750, near Falmouth, Cornwall, England,[1] Laurance immigrated to the Province of New York, British America in 1767 and settled in New York City.[2]
He pursued academic studies,
He was admitted to the bar and entered private practice in New York City, Province of New York, from July 4, 1776) from 1772 to 1776.[1]
In 1775, Laurance married Elizabeth McDougall, the daughter of General Alexander McDougall.[3]
Military service
Laurance served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War as a commissioned officer from 1775 to 1782.[1][2] At the outbreak of war in 1775, he was appointed a second lieutenant in the 4th New York Regiment, and took part in the 1775 Invasion of Quebec.[3] In 1776, he received a commission as captain and paymaster of the Continental Army's 1st New York Regiment, serving under his father-in-law Alexander McDougall (sometimes spelled MacDougall).[3]
He was
Laurance attained the rank of colonel and resigned his commission in 1782.[4] He was a charter member of the Society of the Cincinnati.[3]
Post-war career
He resumed private practice in New York City from 1782 to 1785.[1] Among Laurance's legal apprentices was Charles Adams, son of President John Adams.[3] He was also active in land speculation and other business ventures with Alexander Hamilton.[3]
He was a member of the
He was a regent of the
He was a delegate to the 6th, 7th and 8th Congresses of the Confederation (Continental Congresses) from 1785 to 1787.[1]
He was a member of the New York State Senate from 1788 to 1790.[1] While serving in the State Senate, Laurance was also a member of New York City's Board of Aldermen.[3]
He was an ardent supporter of adopting the
United States representative
Laurance was elected as a Federalist from New York's 2nd congressional district to the United States House of Representatives of the 1st and 2nd United States Congresses, serving from March 4, 1789, to March 3, 1793.[2] During this time, in 1790, his first wife Elizabeth (McDougall) Laurance died, and in 1791 he married Elizabeth Lawrence Allen (d. 1800), the widow of attorney James Allen, and mother of four children.[3]
Federal judicial service
Laurance was nominated by President
United States senator
Laurance was elected as a Federalist to the
Later career and death
Following his departure from Congress, Laurance resumed private practice in New York City from 1800 to 1810,[1] also residing there until his death.[3] He died on November 11, 1810, in New York City.[1] He was interred at the First Presbyterian Church in Manhattan.[2]
Legacy
After more than two centuries of neglect by historians, the first book-length study of John Laurance was published by the American Philosophical Society in 2019.[5]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Laurance, John | Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k United States Congress. "John Laurance (id: L000120)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Bickford, Charlene; et al. (2002). "John Laurance, Representative from New York". Documentary History of the First Federal Congress Project. Columbia, SC: Model Editions Partnership.
- ^ a b c d Judge Advocate General's Corps (January 1, 1964). "John Lawrence, Judge Advocate General, 1777-1782". Military Law Review. Washington, DC: Headquarters, Department of the Army.
- ^ Jones, Keith Marshall, III. John Laurance: The Immigrant Founding Father America Never Knew. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 2019.
Sources
Internet
- Bickford, Charlene; et al. (2002). "John Laurance, Representative from New York". Documentary History of the First Federal Congress Project. Columbia, SC: Model Editions Partnership.
Magazines
- Judge Advocate General's Corps (January 1, 1964). "John Lawrence, Judge Advocate General, 1777-1782". Military Law Review. Washington, DC: Headquarters, Department of the Army.
External sources
- United States Congress. "John Laurance (id: L000120)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- "Laurance, John | Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
- The New York Civil List compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 62, 113f, 142, 161f and 287; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858) [gives surname as "Lawrence"]
- Members of the 4th U.S. Congress
- Members of the 6th U.S. Congress
- Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). Encyclopedia Americana. .