Abraham Ogden Abraham Ogden (December 30, 1743 – January 31, 1798) was an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey from 1791 to 1798 and negotiated the Treaty of New York (1796). Early life Ogden was bor ...

Gouverneur Morris Gouverneur Morris ( ; January 31, 1752 – November 6, 1816) was an American statesman, a Founding Father of the United States, and a signatory to the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. He wrote the Preamble to th ...

Ogdensburg, New York Ogdensburg ( moh, Kaniatarahòn:tsi) is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,436 at the 2019 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and de ...

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.née Gouverneur) Ogden (1716—1775). His father was a noted jurist and a member of the supreme court for the royal Province of New Jersey before the Revolutionary War. Among his siblings were Sarah (née Ogden) Hoffman (who married Nicholas Hoffman and was the mother of

Josiah Ogden Hoffman Josiah Ogden Hoffman (April 14, 1766 – January 24, 1837) was an American lawyer and politician. Early life Josiah Ogden Hoffman was born on April 14, 1766, in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Nicholas Hoffman (1736–1800) and Sarah Ogden Hoffma ...

);

Abraham Ogden Abraham Ogden (December 30, 1743 – January 31, 1798) was an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey from 1791 to 1798 and negotiated the Treaty of New York (1796). Early life Ogden was bor ...

(who married Sarah Frances Ludlow); Chief Justice Isaac Ogden (father of Peter Skene Ogden); and Nicholas Ogden (who married Hannah Cuyler). His paternal grandparents were Catherine (née Hardenbrock) Ogden and Col. Josiah Ogden, a direct descendant of John Ogden, who was known as "The Pilgrim" and was an early settler in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

who was an original

patentee This is a list of legal terms relating to patents. A patent is not a right to practice or use the invention, but a territorial right to exclude others from commercially exploiting the invention, granted to an inventor or his successor in rights i ...

of the Elizabethtown Purchase, "the first English settlement in the

Colony 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 th ...

." His maternal grandparents were Isaac Gouverneur (brother of Speaker of the Assembly Abraham Gouverneur) and Sarah (née Staats) Gouverneur (herself a granddaughter of

Abraham Staats Major Abraham Staats or Abram Staes (Amsterdam January 19, 1620 (baptized)– New York ca. 1694) was one of the first settlers of the New Netherland colonies and is the founder of the Staats family in New Amsterdam and the early American colonies. ...

).

Career

Ogden became prominent in the iron business in New Jersey, founding the Boonton Iron Works in 1770 on six acres of land located along the Rockaway River, near

Boonton Boonton is a town in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 8,815, an increase of 468 (+5.6%) from the 2010 census count of 8,347, which in turn reflected a decline of 149 (− ...

. Such enterprises became critical to the American war effort. Ogden and his brother Abraham supported the Patriots during the Revolution, but their father and three other brothers were

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

. Ogden served as a Colonel of the New Jersey Militia during the Revolutionary War. Samuel's brother

Abraham Ogden Abraham Ogden (December 30, 1743 – January 31, 1798) was an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey from 1791 to 1798 and negotiated the Treaty of New York (1796). Early life Ogden was bor ...

served as Commissioner to the Indians in Northern New York after the Revolutionary War, and became aware that the state was selling large portions of land that had been ceded by the Iroquois nations. The brothers purchased a large tract of land in New York with

Gouverneur Morris Gouverneur Morris ( ; January 31, 1752 – November 6, 1816) was an American statesman, a Founding Father of the United States, and a signatory to the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. He wrote the Preamble to th ...

and others, south of the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...

. They intended to plat, develop and sell off the land to settlers. Many land-hungry migrants were entering the state from New England. There was considerable

land speculation In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable shortly. (It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hopes for a decline in value.) Many ...

going on in upstate New York, as some five million acres of land had been sold by the state after the Six Nations had been forced to cede most of their lands. The Mohawk and three other nations had been allies (highly decentralized in band actions) during the war with the British, who were defeated. The City of

Ogdensburg, New York Ogdensburg ( moh, Kaniatarahòn:tsi) is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,436 at the 2019 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and de ...

, one of the principal settlements in this tract, was named after Samuel Ogden.

Adventuring in South America

In 1805, Samuel Ogden was working with Colonel

William Stephens Smith William Stephens Smith (November 8, 1755 – June 10, 1816) was a United States representative from New York. He married Abigail "Nabby" Adams, the daughter of President John Adams, and so was a brother-in-law of President John Quincy A ...

, a prominent federal official in New York, to obtain soldiers, money, and war material for General

Francisco de Miranda Sebastián Francisco de Miranda y Rodríguez de Espinoza (28 March 1750 – 14 July 1816), commonly known as Francisco de Miranda (), was a Venezuelan military leader and revolutionary. Although his own plans for the independence of the Spani ...

, a Venezuelan war hero who was waging revolution to liberate South America from oppressive Spanish rule. On February 2, 1806, Miranda sailed from New York City for Venezuela on the ''Leander'' armored by Ogden, and carrying 180 men and weapons. Among the adventurers was Colonel Smith's 19-year-old son, William Steuben Smith. The expedition failed and two ships were captured by the Spanish. Miranda escaped, but the young Smith and the other mercenaries did not. Put on trial in Puerto Cabello for piracy, ten of the mercenaries (mostly Americans) were sentenced to

death by hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging ...

. Their bodies were beheaded and quartered, with pieces sent to nearby towns as a warning. William Steuben Smith had survived; he later escaped his captors and made his way home. When the expedition was publicized by the Spanish ambassador in Washington, Smith and Ogden were arrested in New York for violating the federal

Neutrality Act of 1794 The Neutrality Act of 1794 was a United States law which made it illegal for a United States citizen to wage war against any country at peace with the United States. The Act declares in part: If any person shall within the territory or jurisdi ...

. That law made it illegal to "set on foot directly or indirectly within the United States any military expedition or enterprise to be carried on against the territory of a foreign state with whom the United States is at peace." On March 1, 1806, Judge Matthias Talmadge of the U.S. District Court in New York questioned Smith and Ogden. They signed incriminating statements outlining their roles in the affair. Smith and Ogden were formally indicted on April 7. If convicted, they each faced up to three years in prison. In the meantime, President

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...

dismissed Smith from his post. Colonel Smith claimed in court that his orders came from President Thomas Jefferson and U.S. Secretary of State

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 ...

, both of whom refused to appear in court. Judge William Paterson of the US Supreme Court ruled that the President "cannot authorize a person to do what the law forbids." Both Smith and Ogden stood trial and were each acquitted. On November 24, 1807, Col. Ogden moved to quash the indictment of Aaron Burr for the murder of General Alexander Hamilton after the

Burr–Hamilton duel The Burr–Hamilton duel took place in Weehawken, New Jersey, between Aaron Burr, the Vice President of the United States, and Alexander Hamilton, the first and former Secretary of the Treasury, on the morning of July 11, 1804. The duel was t ...

.

Personal life

On February 5, 1775, after having established himself in business, Ogden was married to Euphemia Morris (1754—1818) by Rev.

Samuel Seabury Samuel Seabury (November 30, 1729February 25, 1796) was the first American Episcopal bishop, the second Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, and the first Bishop of Connecticut. He was a leading Loyalist ...

. Euphemia was a daughter of Lewis Morris Jr., a wealthy landowner and judge, and his second wife, Sarah (née Gouverneur) Morris. She was a sister of

Gouverneur Morris Gouverneur Morris ( ; January 31, 1752 – November 6, 1816) was an American statesman, a Founding Father of the United States, and a signatory to the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. He wrote the Preamble to th ...

(a U.S. Senator and U.S. Minister to France), and among her half-siblings was Lewis Morris, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and

Staats Long Morris General Staats Long Morris (27 August 1728 – 28 January 1800) was a British Army officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons representing the constituency of Elgin Burghs from 1774 to 1784. He also served as governor of Quebec fr ...

, a loyalist and major-general in the

British army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. Together, they were the parents of: * David Bayard Ogden (1775—1849), who married his first cousin, Margaretta E. Ogden (1783–1834) (daughter of

Abraham Ogden Abraham Ogden (December 30, 1743 – January 31, 1798) was an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey from 1791 to 1798 and negotiated the Treaty of New York (1796). Early life Ogden was bor ...

). * Gertrude Gouverneur Ogden (1777—1828), who married William Meredith (1777—1844), brother of Jonathan Meredith. Their daughter, Sarah Ogden Meredith, was married to Isaac Ogden (son of

Abraham Ogden Abraham Ogden (December 30, 1743 – January 31, 1798) was an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey from 1791 to 1798 and negotiated the Treaty of New York (1796). Early life Ogden was bor ...

). * Sarah Morris Ogden (1779—1832), who died unmarried onboard ''Nashville'' from

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. * Catharine Morris Ogden (1781—1863), who married James Parker, a 1793 Columbia College graduate who became a

U.S. 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 c ...

. * Euphemia Ogden (b. 1782) * Lewis Morris Ogden (1783—1810) * Morris M. Ogden * Isabella W. Ogden (1787—1820) * Caroline Knox Ogden (1789—1790), who died young. * Caroline Knox Ogden II (1791—1844), who married Isaac A. Johnson. * Gouverneur Morris Ogden (1792—1793), who died young. * Samuel Gouverneur Morris Ogden (1794—1797), who died young. Col. Ogden was a very prominent Episcopal churchman and was a delegate to all the conventions from 1791 to 1809. Ogden died on December 1, 1810. After his widows death in 1818, a tablet inscribed to her memory is in Grace Church in New York City at

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

and 10th street which reads "Euphemia Ogden Relict of Samuel Ogden Esq. of Newark, N.J. Born Sept. 10, 1754, Died June 2, 1818" along with "Isabella W. Ogden, her daughter Born Feb. 17, 1787, Died 15th April, 1820."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogden, Samuel 1746 births 1810 deaths Continental Army officers from New Jersey New Jersey militiamen in the American Revolution People of colonial New Jersey 18th-century American businesspeople Colonial American merchants People from Newark, New Jersey