Daniel D. Tompkins (June 21, 1774 – June 11, 1825) was an American politician. He was the fifth

governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...

from 1807 to 1817, and the sixth

vice president of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...

from 1817 to 1825. Born in

Scarsdale, New York Scarsdale is a town and village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The Town of Scarsdale is coextensive with the Village of Scarsdale, but the community has opted to operate solely with a village government, one of several village ...

, Tompkins practiced law in

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 ...

after graduating from Columbia College. He was a delegate to the 1801 New York constitutional convention and served on the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

from 1804 to 1807. In 1807, he defeated incumbent Morgan Lewis to become the Governor of New York. He held that office from 1807 to 1817, serving for the duration of 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 bega ...

. During the war, he often spent his own money to equip and pay the militia when the legislature was not in session, or would not approve the necessary funds. Tompkins was the

Democratic-Republican Party The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

's vice presidential nominee in the 1816 presidential election. The ticket of

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

and Tompkins easily prevailed over limited

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 ...

opposition. He served as vice president from 1817 to 1825, and was the only 19th century vice president to serve two full terms, and was also the only vice president to serve a full eight years, until

Thomas R. Marshall Thomas Riley Marshall (March 14, 1854 – June 1, 1925) was an American politician who served as the 28th vice president of the United States from 1913 to 1921 under President Woodrow Wilson. A prominent lawyer in Indiana, he became an acti ...

, 96 years later. In 1820, he sought another term as Governor of New York, but was defeated by

DeWitt Clinton DeWitt Clinton (March 2, 1769February 11, 1828) was an American politician and naturalist. He served as a United States senator, as the mayor of New York City, and as the seventh governor of New York. In this last capacity, he was largely res ...

. After the War of 1812, Tompkins was in poor physical and financial health, the latter condition stemming largely from his spending for the military effort during the War of 1812. He fell into alcoholism and was unable to re-establish fiscal solvency despite winning partial reimbursement from the federal government in 1823. He died in June 1825, soon after leaving office.

Name

Tompkins was

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

Daniel Tompkins, but added the middle initial "D." while a student at Columbia College to distinguish himself from another Daniel Tompkins who was a student there. There is controversy as to what the middle initial stood for; some have suggested "Decius." The generally accepted conclusion is that it did not stand for anything, and served only to distinguish him from the other Daniel Tompkins.

Early life, family, and career

Daniel D. Tompkins was born on June 21, 1774 in Scarsdale,

Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, at his home, the estate of Fox Meadow. His parents were Sarah Ann (Hyatt) and Jonathan Griffin Tompkins. His older brother, Caleb Tompkins was a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from 1817 to 1821. Daniel Tompkins graduated from Columbia College in

in 1795, and then studied law with

James Kent James Kent may refer to: *James Kent (jurist) (1763–1847), American jurist and legal scholar * James Kent (composer) (1700–1776), English composer *James Kent, better known as Perturbator, French electronic/synthwave musician *James Tyler Kent ...

and

Peter Jay Munro Peter Jay Munro (January 10, 1767 – September 22, 1833) was an American lawyer and Federalist politician from New York. Early life Munro was born on January 10, 1767, in Rye in the Province of New York in what was then British America. He wa ...

. He was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1797, and practiced in New York City. Despite the

leanings of Kent and Munro, Tompkins entered politics as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

. He was a delegate to the

New York State Constitutional Convention The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...

in 1801, and 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 Assem ...

in 1804. He was elected to the

9th United States Congress The 9th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1805, t ...

, but resigned before the beginning of the term to accept, at age 30, an appointment as associate justice of the New York Supreme Court of Judicature, in which capacity he served from 1804 to 1807. On February 20, 1798, Daniel Tompkins, 23, married 16-year-old Hannah Minthorne, the daughter of Mangle Minthorne, an assistant alderman of New York City.Irwin, Ray W
Daniel D. Tompkins: Governor of New York and Vice President of the United States
p. 27 (1968)(March 3, 1798)
Marriages
''The Weekly Magazine'', p. 160 (1798) The couple had eight children, including Arietta Minthorn Tompkins (born July 31, 1800), who married a son of

Smith Thompson Smith Thompson (January 17, 1768 – December 18, 1843) was a US Secretary of the Navy from 1819 to 1823 and a US Supreme Court Associate Justice from 1823 to his death. Early life and the law Born in Amenia, New York, Thompson graduated ...

in 1818, and (Mangle) Minthorne Tompkins (December 26, 1807 – June 5, 1881), who was the

Free Soil Party The Free Soil Party was a short-lived coalition political party in the United States active from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party. The party was largely focused on the single issue of opposing the expansion of slavery into ...

candidate for Governor of New York in 1852. The Tompkinses also fostered

Henry Brewerton Henry Brewerton (September 25, 1801 – April 17, 1879) was a career engineering officer in the United States Army, serving as the superintendent of the United States Military Academy and then as a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civ ...

(1801–1879), who was orphaned at a young age. Brewerton entered

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

in 1813, served as an engineer officer during the American Civil War and retired from the Army in 1867. The Tompkinsville section of

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

was named after him; in 1815, Tompkins established a settlement along the eastern shore of the island with the purchase of the Van Buskirk Farm in New Brighton and property on

Grymes Hill Grymes Hill is a tall hill formed of serpentine rock on Staten Island, New York. It is the second highest natural point on the island and in the five boroughs of New York City. The neighborhood of the same name encompasses an area of and has a ...

. His main residence was located on Fort Hill, near Fort Place which burned down in 1874. Their children Hannah and Minthorne were named after their mother, and Hannah and Minthorne streets in Staten Island are named for them. Staten Island's Westervelt Avenue is named for daughter Hannah's husband.Platt, Tevah (June 3, 2010
Neighborhood still memorializes Daniel Tompkins
''

Staten Island Advance The ''Staten Island Advance'' is a daily newspaper published in the borough of Staten Island in New York City. The only daily newspaper published in the borough, and the only major daily paper focused on a borough, it covers news of local and ...

'' Hannah was ill in the year before her husband became vice president, and did not attend his inauguration.Dunlap, Leslie W
Our Vice-Presidents and Second Ladies
p. 32–34 (1988) She survived him by nearly four years in Tompkinsville, Staten Island.

Governor

On April 30, 1807, he defeated the incumbent Governor Morgan LewisTompkins received 35,074 votes, Lewis 30,989 – and remained in office as

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...

until 1817. He was reelected in 1810, defeating

Jonas Platt Jonas Platt (June 30, 1769 – February 22, 1834) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives. Early life Platt was born on June 30, 1769, in Poughkeepsie, Province of New Yor ...

Tompkins received 43,094 votes, Jonas Platt received 36,484. In 1813 he defeated

Stephen Van Rensselaer Stephen Van Rensselaer III (; November 1, 1764January 26, 1839) was an American landowner, businessman, militia officer, and politician. A graduate of Harvard College, at age 21, Van Rensselaer took control of Rensselaerswyck, his family's mano ...

Tompkins received 43,324 votes, Van Rensselaer received 39,718and in 1816, he beat

Rufus King Rufus King (March 24, 1755April 29, 1827) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, politician, and diplomat. He was a delegate for Massachusetts to the Continental Congress and the Philadelphia Convention and was one of the signers of the Unit ...

Tompkins received 45,412 votes, King received 38,647. Tompkins was supported by

in his first run for office, but Tompkins later broke with Clinton by supporting

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 hi ...

over Clinton in the 1808 presidential election. During the

, Tompkins proved to be one of the most effective war governors. He played an important role in reorganizing the

state militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

and promoted the formation of a standing state military force based on select

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

. He declined an appointment as

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

by President

in 1814, instead accepting appointment as commander of the federal military district that included New York City. Tompkins was also elected a member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...

in 1814. In 1815 Tompkins established a settlement along the eastern shore of

that came to be called Tompkinsville. He built a dock along the waterfront in the neighborhood in 1817 and began offering daily

steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

service between Staten Island and

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. In 1816 he purchased much of the land later known as Tompkinsville from the Church of St. Andrew, but his financial troubles later led the church to

foreclose Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the collateral for the loan. Formally, a mortg ...

. His son-in-law and daughter, Dr. John S. and Hannah Westervelt then bought the property, which they later divided into many lots to sell off. In 1817, Governor Tompkins suggested that July 4, 1827, be set as the date on which all slaves in New York state—including those who were born before the Gradual Manumission Act of July 4, 1799, (and who were therefore not eligible for freedom)—should be freed. This was subsequently marked by African Americans in the state by a

Fifth of July ''Fifth of July'' is a 1978 play by Lanford Wilson. Set in rural Missouri in 1977, it revolves around the Talley family and their friends, and focuses on the disillusionment in the wake of the Vietnam War. It premiered on Broadway in 1980 and was ...

celebration.

Vice presidency (1817–1825)

Many New York Democratic-Republicans supported Tompkins for president in the 1816 presidential election, but

received the party's nomination. Tompkins was instead elected Vice President as Monroe's running mate. Tompkins was re-elected in 1820. He served from March 4, 1817, to March 4, 1825. In April 1820, while serving as vice president, he ran for Governor of New York against incumbent

. Tompkins lost, 45,900 votes to 47,447. He was a delegate to the 1821

, serving as its president. When Tompkins became vice president, he was in poor health, due to a fall from a horse on November 3, 1814. His finances were also quite poor. During the War of 1812, he had personally financed New York's war effort with borrowed money, but did not adequately document his expenses. Both the New York legislature and the federal government refused him full reimbursement. He also slipped into

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

. With poor physical and financial health, Tompkins spent much of his vice presidency outside of

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and made for a poor presiding officer of the Senate while it debated the

Missouri Compromise The Missouri Compromise was a federal legislation of the United States that balanced desires of northern states to prevent expansion of slavery in the country with those of southern states to expand it. It admitted Missouri as a Slave states an ...

in 1820. In 1823, Tompkins finally won compensation from the federal government, but he continued to drink heavily and was unable to resolve his business affairs.

Death

Tompkins died in Tompkinsville on June 11, 1825, 99 days after leaving office and 10 days before his 51st birthday. He was interred in the Minthorne vault in the west yard of St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery, New York City, as was his wife. His post-vice presidency lifespan is the shortest of any US vice president, and he also lived the shortest life of any US vice president. He was the youngest US vice president until

John C. Breckinridge John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ...

took office in 1857 at 36, and the only 19th-century vice president to serve two full terms under the same president.

Legacy

The Tompkinsville neighborhood of

is named for Tompkins, and the streets in that neighborhood are named for his children. There is also a

Masonic lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...

in the town named for him. Tompkins is credited with being one of the founding members of the

Brighton Heights Reformed Church Brighton Heights Reformed Church is a Dutch Reformed church at 320 St. Marks Place in St. George, Staten Island, New York City. It is the second of two church buildings that have stood on the site. The ''AIA Guide to New York City'' (1978) states ...

. The church was founded in 1823, during his term as vice president. Its first meeting place was in New York Marine Hospital (then known as the Quarantine), a predecessor of the immigration facility on

Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mi ...

. Four forts in New York State in the

were named for Governor Tompkins, in

Sackets Harbor Sackets Harbor (earlier spelled Sacketts Harbor) is a village in Jefferson County, New York, United States, on Lake Ontario. The population was 1,450 at the 2010 census. The village was named after land developer and owner Augustus Sackett, who ...

, Buffalo, and

Plattsburgh Plattsburgh ( moh, Tsi ietsénhtha) is a city in, and the seat of, Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the 2020 census. The population of the surrounding ...

. Tompkins Park in

Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst t ...

, New York (now called Herbert Von King Park) was named after Tompkins. The nearby Tompkins Avenue and Tompkins Public Houses are likewise named.

Tompkins County Tompkins County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 105,740. The county seat is Ithaca. The name is in honor of Daniel D. Tompkins, who served as Governor of New York and Vice President ...

in New York,

Tompkins Square Park Tompkins Square Park is a public park in the Alphabet City, Manhattan, Alphabet City portion of East Village, Manhattan, East Village, Manhattan, New York City. The square-shaped park, bounded on the north by 10th Street (Manhattan), East 10th ...

in Manhattan, Public School 69 Daniel D. Tompkins School in Staten Island, and the Town of Tompkins are named after him, as is Tompkins Road, running between Post Road (NY-22) and Fenimore Road in

Tompkinsville, Kentucky Tompkinsville is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,402 at the 2010 census, down from 2,660 in 2000. The city was named after Vice President Daniel D. Tompkins who served ...

, is named for Tompkins. It is the county seat of

Monroe County, Kentucky Monroe County is a county located in the Eastern Pennyroyal Plateau region of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Its county seat is Tompkinsville. The county is named for President James Monroe. It is a prohibition or dry county. History Monroe Count ...

, which is named for the president under whom Tompkins served as vice president. Tompkins was member of Hiram Lodge 72,

Mount Pleasant, New York Mount Pleasant is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town population was 44,436. The hamlet (N ...

and became Grand Master of the

Grand Lodge of New York The Grand Lodge of New York (officially, the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York) is the largest and oldest independent organization of Freemasons in the U.S. state of New York. It was at one time the largest grand ...

from 1820 to 1822. The Daniel D. Tompkins Memorial Chapel at the Masonic Home in Utica, New York was built in his honor in 1911. The

celebrated the centennial of the chapel on June 25, 2011. Tompkins was mentioned by Kris Kringle in the 1947 film ''

Miracle on 34th Street ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (initially released as ''The Big Heart'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1947 American List of Christmas films, Christmas comedy-drama film released by 20th Century Fox, written and directed by George Seaton and based on ...

''. The screenplay was incorrect, however, in that Kringle mentions that Tompkins served as vice president under

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States S ...

when Adams's vice president was actually John C. Calhoun. Tompkins was the sixth vice president and Adams was the sixth president, leading to confusion in the script. American actor and producer

Richard Kollmar Richard Tompkins Kollmar (December 31, 1910 – January 7, 1971), also known professionally as Dick Kollmar, was an American stage, radio, film and television actor, television personality and Broadway producer. Kollmar was the husband of jo ...

, husband of columnist and TV personality

Dorothy Kilgallen Dorothy Mae Kilgallen (July 3, 1913 – November 8, 1965) was an American columnist, journalist, and television game show panelist. After spending two semesters at the College of New Rochelle, she started her career shortly before her 18th birth ...

, was a great-great-grandchild of Tompkins.

References

External links

*
Public papers of Daniel D. Tompkins, governor of New York, 1807–1817
Volume 3 (online) , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Tompkins, Daniel D 1774 births 1825 deaths 19th-century vice presidents of the United States 1816 United States vice-presidential candidates 1820 United States vice-presidential candidates American Presbyterians Burials in New York (state) Columbia College (New York) alumni Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States Democratic-Republican Party vice presidents of the United States Governors of New York (state) Members of the American Antiquarian Society American people of English descent Members of the New York State Assembly Monroe administration cabinet members New York (state) Democratic-Republicans New York (state) lawyers New York Supreme Court Justices People from Scarsdale, New York People from Staten Island Vice presidents of the United States Members of the New York Manumission Society