John Laurance

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John Laurance
United States District Court for the District of New York
In office
May 6, 1794 – November 8, 1796
Appointed byGeorge Washington
Preceded byJames Duane
Succeeded byRobert Troup
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 2nd district
In office
March 4, 1789 – March 3, 1793
Preceded bySeat established
Succeeded byJohn Watts
Personal details
Born
John Laurance

1750 (1750)
read law

John Laurance (sometimes spelled "Lawrence" or "Laurence") (1750 – November 11, 1810) was a delegate to the 6th, 7th, and 8th

United States District Court for the District of New York
.

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

Judge Advocate General from 1777 to 1782.[1][2][4] Among the cases he handled were prosecuting at the court-martial of Charles Lee for insubordination in 1778, and the 1779 court-martial of Benedict Arnold for corruption.[4] He also presided at the trial of Major John André,[2] serving on the 1780 board that convicted the major of spying and sentenced him to death by hanging, and was the board's recorder.[4]

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

New York County from 1784 to 1785.[3]

He was a regent of the

Columbia College (now Columbia University) from 1784 to 1810.[2]

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 Constitution.[3]

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

election as United States Senator from New York.[3]

United States senator

Laurance was elected as a Federalist to the

United States Senator Rufus King and served from November 9, 1796, until August 1800, when he resigned.[2] He served as President pro tempore of the United States Senate during the 5th United States Congress.[2]

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

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Laurance, John | Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Jones, Keith Marshall, III. John Laurance: The Immigrant Founding Father America Never Knew. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 2019.

Sources

Internet

Magazines

External sources

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Seat established
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 2nd congressional district

1789–1793
Succeeded by
Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the
United States District Court for the District of New York

1794–1796
Succeeded by
U.S. Senate
Preceded by U.S. senator (Class 3) from New York
1796–1800
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by President pro tempore of the United States Senate
1798
Succeeded by