Egbert Benson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Egbert Benson (June 21, 1746–August 24, 1833) was an lawyer, jurist and politician from Upper Red Hook, New York. He represented New York in both the Continental Congress and the United States House of Representatives and served as Chief Justice of the New York Supreme Court.
Egbert was born in New York City, the son of Robert (1715-1762) and Catherine Van Borsum (1718-1794) Benson. He was the third of their five children. He was privately educated then attended King's College (now Columbia University), graduating in 1765. He read law, was admitted to the bar and moved to Red Hook in Dutchess County. He practiced law both there and in New York City.
When the British occupied New York City in 1776, Benson remained in Dutchess County for several years. The county made him the president of their Committee of Safety and in 1777 sent him to the revolutionary state Assembly in 1777. When the Assembly organized a state government Benson was named as Attorney General and served until 1788. He was elected to the Assembly annually until 1781 and would return in 1788.
New York sent Benson as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1784. Although he was reappointed in 1785, he did not attend sessions. In 1786 he was named by the Legislature to accompany Alexander Hamilton as a delegate to the Annapolis Convention which issued a call for the U.S. Constitutional Convention held the following year. He returned to the Congress in 1787 and 1788, and in 1788 attended the state convention that ratified the United States Constitution.
When the new federal government was established, Benson was elected to the United States House of Representatives and served in the first two congresses from 1789 to 1793. In 1794 Benson was named as an Associate Justice of the New York state Supreme Court, a position he held until 1801, when President John Adams named him to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He served as chief judge in that court until 1802.
Benson returned to the private practice of law in New York City in 1803. He joined other civic leaers to found the New York Historical Society and served as its first president from 1804 until 1816. In 1812 he was again elected to the U.S. Congress as a Federalist but served only five months before he resigned on August 2, 1813.
Benson married late in life, on May 17, 1820 to Maria Conover (1796-1867). He died in 1833 in Jamaica, Queens and is buried in the Prospect Cemetery there.
[edit] External links
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Benson's federal judicial profile
| Attorneys General of New York |  |
|---|---|
| Benson • Varick • Burr • Lewis • Lawrence • J. Hoffman • Spencer • Woodworth • Hildreth • Emmett • Van Vechten • M. Van Buren • Oakley • Talcott • Bronson • Beardsley • Hall • Barker • J. Van Buren • Jordan • Chatfield • Stow • O. Hoffman • Cushing • Tremain • Myers • Dickinson • Cochrane • Martindale • Barlow • Pratt • Fairchild • Schoonmaker • Ward • Russell • O'Brien • Tabor • Rosendale • Hancock • Davies • Cunneen • Mayer • Jackson • O'Malley • Carmody • Parsons • Woodbury • Lewis • Newton • Sherman • Ottinger • Ward • Bennett • Goldstein • Javits • Lefkowitz • Abrams • Koppell • Vacco • Spitzer |
