Egbert BENSON, Congress, NY (1746-1833)

BENSON Egbert , a Delegate and a Representative from New York; born in New York City June 21, 1746; was graduated from King's College (now Columbia University) in 1765; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in New York City; deputy to the provincial convention in 1775; member of the council of safety in 1777 and 1778; in 1777 was appointed the first attorney general of New York and served until 1789; member of the State assembly 1777-1781 and again in 1788; in 1783 was appointed one of the three commissioners to direct the embarkation of the Tory refugees for the loyal British provinces; associate judge of the supreme court of New York 1784-1801; Member of the Continental Congress in 1784, 1787 and 1788; member of the State constitutional convention in 1788, which ratified the Federal Constitution; elected as a Pro-Administration candidate to the First and Second Congresses (March 4, 1789-March 3, 1793); regent of the New York University 1789-1802; appointed judge of the United States Circuit Court, second circuit, February 20, 1801; served as the first president of the New-York Historical Society from 1804 to 1816; elected as a Federalist to the Thirteenth Congress and served from March 4, 1813, to August 2, 1813, when he resigned; died in Jamaica, Long Island, N.Y., August 24, 1833; interment in Prospect Cemetery.

Bibliography

Holt, Wythe, and David A. Nourse. Egbert Benson, First Chief Judge of the Second Circuit (1801-1802): Essays. New York: Second Circuit Committee on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution, 1987.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present