Henry WISNER, Congress, NY (1720-1790)

WISNER, Henry, a Delegate from New York; born near Florida, Orange County, N.Y., in 1720; completed academic studies; invested in real estate and built a gristmill near Goshen, N.Y.; assistant justice of the court of common pleas; member of the colonial assembly 1759-1769; delegate to the New York provincial convention in 1775; Member of the Continental Congress 1775-1776; voted for the Declaration of Independence, but was absent at the time it was signed, attending the Provincial Congress in New York, to which he had just been elected; member of the Provincial Congress in 1776 and 1777; erected three powder mills in the vicinity of Goshen, Orange County, N.Y., and supplied powder to the Continental Army during the Revolution; one of the committee that framed the first constitution of New York in 1777; member of the commission to provide for fortifying the Hudson River in 1777 and 1778; served in the State senate 1777-1782; established an academy at Goshen in 1784; member of the first board of regents of the University of the State of New York 1784-1787; served as a member of the State ratification convention in 1788; died in Goshen, N.Y., on March 4, 1790; interment in the Old Wallkill Cemetery, Phillipsburg, N.Y.

Bibliography

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