Aaron Ogden (December 3, 1756April 19, 1839) was an American soldier, lawyer,

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

and the fifth

governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official r ...

. Ogden is perhaps best known today as the complainant in '' Gibbons v. Ogden'' which destroyed the monopoly power of steamboats on the Hudson River in 1824.

Early life

Ogden was born in Elizabethtown (known today as "Elizabeth") in the

Province of New Jersey The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1783. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherland but came under English rule after t ...

. He was the son of Robert Ogden, a lawyer and public official who served as Speaker of the New Jersey lower house immediately preceding the Revolution, and Phebe (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Hatfield) Ogden. Ogden's brother Matthias Ogden (1754–1791) was a Revolutionary War soldier and his nephew, Daniel Haines, also served as Governor of New Jersey on two separate occasions. Ogden, a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

, graduated from the College of New Jersey (now

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

) in 1773, and served as a grammar school tutor from 1773 to 1775.

Career

In the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, Ogden was appointed a lieutenant in the 1st New Jersey Regiment; his older brother Matthias Ogden was the lieutenant colonel. Aaron Ogden served in various roles through the war, seeing action and rising to the rank of brigade major. In 1778, he visited the house occupied by the family of diarist Sally Wister, who described him as "a genteel young fellow, with an aquiline nose." Ogden was wounded at the

siege of Yorktown The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virg ...

in 1781. Ogden was admitted as an original member of The

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers wh ...

in the state of New Jersey when it was established in 1783. He went on to serve as the President of the New Jersey Society from 1824 until his death in 1839, and President General of The Society of the Cincinnati from 1829 until his death.

Political career

After the war, Ogden studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1784. He commenced practice in Elizabeth and served as a presidential elector in the 1796 electoral college that elected

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

. He was clerk of Essex County from 1785 to 1803, and was elected as a

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of

James Schureman James Schureman (February 12, 1756January 22, 1824) was an American merchant and statesman from New Brunswick, New Jersey. He represented New Jersey in the Continental Congress as well as the United States House of Representatives and United Sta ...

and served from February 28, 1801 to March 3, 1803. He lost his bid for re-election to the Senate in 1802. In 1803, Ogden was elected to the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

, where he served until 1812. Ogden was elected trustee of the College of New Jersey (later to become

) in 1803, a post in which he served until his death. In 1812, Ogden was elected as

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official r ...

in a wave of

victories across the state due to opposition to the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

. Ogden had been nominated by his Federalist colleagues as governor many times before, but the Republicans held the majority in the Assembly and elected their choice from 1803 to 1812. During his term as governor, "funds were secured for the military's use in the war against Britain." After running unsuccessfully for re-election, the Federalists lost their majority in the Assembly and Ogden retired from political life. Ogden was nominated by President

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for h ...

as major general of the Army in 1813, but declined the appointment.

Steamboat operations

In 1811, he became engaged in steamboat navigation by building the

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

''Sea Horse'' to run between Elizabeth and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. In 1812, in ''Livingston v. Van Ingen'', the courts chose to upheld a steamboat monopoly over the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...

. In 1813, the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an officia ...

further upheld the monopoly created by Chancellor Robert Livingston and

Robert Fulton Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the world's first commercially successful steamboat, the (also known as ''Clermont''). In 1807, that steambo ...

, who had designed the steamboat. In response, Ogden agreed to pay them for a ten-year monopoly to run his line. As a result of a feud with his neighbor and competing steamboat operator who violated the statutory monopoly, Thomas Gibbons, Ogden filed the complaint in '' Gibbons v. Ogden'', seeking to enjoin Gibbons from operating a steamboat on New York waters. As a result, the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

declared unconstitutional

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's attempted monopoly on steamboat operation between New York and New Jersey based on the Commerce Clause. In the case, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1824, Ogden was represented by Samuel L. Southard and

Joseph Hopkinson Joseph Hopkinson (November 12, 1770January 15, 1842) was a United States representative from Pennsylvania and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Education and career Bor ...

, while Livingston was represented by Thomas Addis Emmet, and Gibbons by

Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison ...

and U.S. Attorney General William Wirt.

Later life

Ogden moved to

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark. He was released several months later under an act of the Legislature that provided "that no Revolutionary officer or soldier should be imprisoned for debt. The law was so framed as to cover the case of Col. Ogden, and he was released." In 1830, he was appointed as Collector of Customs of Jersey City, an office created specifically for him by an act of Congress, and served until his death in Jersey City.

Personal life

Ogden was married to Elizabeth Chetwood (1766–1826), the daughter of John Chetwood, an attorney, and Mary (née Emott) Chetwood (d. 1786). She was the older sister of U.S. Representative and Mayor of Elizabeth William Chetwood (1771–1857). Together, they were the parents of: * Mary Chetwood Ogden (1789–1863), who was married to George Clinton Barber. * Phebe Ann Ogden (1790–1865), who served as Vice Regent of the

Mount Vernon Ladies' Association The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association (MVLA) is a non-profit organization that preserves and maintains the Mount Vernon estate originally owned by the family of President George Washington. The association was founded in 1853 by Ann Pamela Cunning ...

. * Matthias Ogden (1792–1860), who married Lucille Robert. * John Robert Ogden (1794–1845). * Elias Bailey Dayton Ogden (1797–1799), who died young. * Elias Bailey Dayton Ogden (1800–1865), who was named after his deceased brother. Elias, who married three times, served as an associate justice of the

New Jersey Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases challenging th ...

from 1842 until his death in 1865. * Aaron Ogden Jr. (1803–1803), who died young. Ogden died in

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

on April 19, 1839. Ogden's body is interred at the burial ground of the First Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth. He was a slaveholder.

Descendants

Through his son Elias, he was the grandfather of Frederick Beasley Ogden (1827–1893), who served as

Mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey The Mayor of the City of Hoboken is the head of the executive branch of government of Hoboken, New Jersey, United States. The mayor has the duty to enforce the municipal charter and ordinances; prepare the annual budget; appoint deputy may ...

from 1865 to 1867; Aaron Ogden (1828–1896), who married Harriet Emily Travers; and Susan Dayton Ogden (1831–1878), who married William Shepard Biddle, and were the parents of U.S. Army general John Biddle.

References

;Notes ;Sources * Baxter, Maurice G. ''Dictionary of American Biography'' *''The Steamboat Monopoly: Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824''. New York:

Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers i ...

, 1972. * Ogden, Aaron. ''Autobiography of Col. Aaron Ogden, of Elizabethtown''. Paterson, NJ: Press Printing & Publishing Co., 1893. * Purcell, L. Edward. ''Who Was Who in the American Revolution''. New York: Facts on File, 1993. .

External links

Retrieved on 2009-02-26
Biography of Aaron Ogden (PDF)

New Jersey State Library The New Jersey State Library, based in Trenton, New Jersey, was established in 1796 to serve the information needs of New Jersey's Governor, Legislature and Judiciary. The State Library is also responsible to assist in the provision of library and ...

New Jersey Governor Aaron Ogden

National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 states, territories and commonwealths. Members come to the association from across the politica ...

Dead Governors of New Jersey bio for Aaron Ogden

The Society of the Cincinnati

American Revolution Institute
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ogden, Aaron 1756 births 1839 deaths Politicians from Elizabeth, New Jersey People of colonial New Jersey American people of English descent American Presbyterians Federalist Party United States senators from New Jersey Governors of New Jersey Federalist Party state governors of the United States New Jersey Federalists Members of the New Jersey General Assembly Princeton University alumni Continental Army officers from New Jersey Burials in New Jersey 19th-century American politicians