Jacob Radcliff or Radclift (April 20, 1764 – May 6, 1844) was a jurist, lawyer and politician. He served as

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The Mayoralty in the United States, mayor's office administers all ...

from 1810 to 1811, and from 1815 to 1818.

Early life and education

He was born on April 20, 1764, in Rhinebeck,

Dutchess County, New York Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later o ...

. Radcliff graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1783

Career and marriage

Radcliff practiced law under

Egbert Benson Egbert Benson (June 21, 1746 – August 24, 1833) was an American lawyer, jurist, politician and Founding Father who represented New York State in the Continental Congress, Annapolis Convention, and United States House of Representatives. He ...

, the first

New York Attorney General The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has existed in various forms since 1626, originally established under the Dutch c ...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1786. About the same time, he married Juliana Smith, the daughter of Cotton Mather Smith and descendent of

Richard Mather Richard Mather (1596 – 22 April 1669) was a New England Puritan minister in colonial Boston. He was father to Increase Mather and grandfather to Cotton Mather, both celebrated Boston theologians. Biography Mather was born to Thomas Mather ...

. While practicing law in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ) is a city within the Poughkeepsie (town), New York, Town of Poughkeepsie, New York (state), New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, New York, Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie i ...

, he was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

(Dutchess County) in the 1795

18th New York State Legislature The 18th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 6 to April 9, 1795, during the eighteenth year of George Clinton (vice president), George Clinton's Governor of New Yo ...

and was one of the twelve members of the Joint Committee on Elections of the Senate and Assembly of New York. He was appointed Assistant Attorney General on February 23, 1796. On December 27, 1798, he became a justice of the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

. In this position, he helped revise the state's laws. He resigned from the bench in 1804, and practiced chancery law in Brooklyn. When the

Federalist Party The Federalist Party was a conservativeMultiple sources: * * * * * * * * and nationalist American political party and the first political party in the United States. It dominated the national government under Alexander Hamilton from 17 ...

gained the majority in 1810, Radcliff was appointed mayor of New York City. When the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

divided the Federalist party, Radcliff aligned with the

Tammany Society Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was an American political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789, as the Tammany Society. It became the main local ...

, which was poised to gain a majority in state politics. Grand Sachem of Tammany Hall John Ferguson became mayor in 1815 but resigned to take the appointment of Surveyor of the Port of New York. Radcliff was chosen as his replacement.

Death

He died in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in and the county seat of Rensselaer County, New York, United States. It is located on the western edge of the county, on the eastern bank of the Hudson River just northeast of the capital city of Albany, New York, Albany. At the ...

, on May 6, 1844.''

New York Evening Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost.com; PageSix.com, a gossip site; and Decider.com, an entertainm ...

''. Death Notice. Jacob Radcliff. May 7, 1844.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Radcliff, Jacob Mayors of New York City 1764 births 1844 deaths 18th-century American judges 18th-century American lawyers 19th-century New York state court judges 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century mayors of places in New York (state) Lawyers from Brooklyn Members of the New York State Assembly New York (state) Democratic-Republicans New York (state) Federalists New York state court judges Politicians from Brooklyn Politicians from Poughkeepsie, New York People from Rhinebeck, New York Princeton University alumni 18th-century members of the New York State Legislature