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 born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

in 1743. He was the third son of David Ogden and Gertrude (

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

Gouverneur) Ogden. His father was a noted jurist and a member of the supreme court for the royal province of New Jersey before the Revolutionary War. His sister, Sarah Ogden (1742–1821), married Nicholas Hoffman (1736–1800), and were the parents of

Josiah Ogden Hoffman Josiah Ogden Hoffman (April 14, 1766 – January 24, 1837) was an American lawyer and politician. He was an esteemed friend of Alexander Hamilton and Washington Irving. Early life Josiah Ogden Hoffman was born on April 14, 1766, in Newark, New J ...

(1766–1837). His brother, Samuel Ogden (1746–1810), served as a Colonel of the New Jersey Militia during the Revolutionary War, and was later prominent in the iron business. Samuel married Euphemia Morris (1754–1818), 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 the ...

, in 1775.

Career

Ogden trained as a lawyer, establishing his practice in

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a Town (New Jersey), town in and the county seat of Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

. He was appointed Surrogate of Morris County in 1768. Among those who studied law at his Morristown office were Richard Stockton (later

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

from New Jersey) and his nephew,

, later the

New York State 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 ...

. During the Revolutionary War, Ogden and his brother

Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...

sided with the

Patriots A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot(s) or The Patriot(s) may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American R ...

, while their father David and brothers Isaac, Nicholas and Peter sided with the

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 Cr ...

. Ogden befriended

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

, who often visited his family residence while the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

was quartered in Morristown. During that time, his young son, Thomas Ludlow Ogden, wounded Washington's hand in a fencing bout. This is believed to be the only injury that Washington suffered in the course of the war.

Post-Revolutionary War

After the war, Ogden settled in Newark. He represented Essex County in 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 ...

in 1790. In 1791 President Washington appointed him U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey,Cite as: ''The Papers of George Washington Digital Edition,'' ed. Theodore J. Crackel. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, Rotunda, 2008. Canonic URL: http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/GEWN-05-07-02-0096 ccessed 15 Nov 2015Original source: ''Presidential Series (24 September 1788 – 31 March 1795),'' Volume 7 (1 December 1790 – 21 March 1791) a position he served until his death. Washington also appointed Ogden as Commissioner to the Indians in Northern New York. He led the delegation that negotiated the Treaty of New York (1796) with the

Seven Nations of Canada The Seven Nations of Canada (called Tsiata Nihononhwentsiá:ke in the Mohawk language) was a historic confederation of First Nations living in and around the Saint Lawrence River valley beginning in the eighteenth century. They were allied to New ...

. They had been allies of the British during the Revolutionary War. Aware that the Iroquois and other tribes were being forced to cede most of their lands in New York State, which wanted to sell the property for development, Ogden, his brother Samuel, Gouverneur Morris and others purchased a large tract of land in

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

, south of the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

. They intended to plat and sell it to new settlers; many migrants were entering the state from New England, and some men made fortunes in land speculation. The town of

Ogdensburg, New York Ogdensburg is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,064 at the 2020 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and developer Samuel Ogden. T ...

was named after his brother, Samuel Ogden.

Personal life

On December 22, 1767, Ogden married Sarah F. Ludlow (1744–1823), the daughter of Catherine (

Le Roux) Ludlow and Thomas Ludlow, merchant of New York. Together, they had 13 children: *

David A. Ogden David Aaron Ogden (January 10, 1770 – June 9, 1829) was a U.S. Representative from New York and a member of the prominent Ogden family. Early life Born in Morristown in the Province of New Jersey, he was the son of Sarah Frances (Ludlow) a ...

(1770–1829),

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

, married Rebecca C. Edwards * Catharine L. Ogden (1771–1814), Abijah Hammond, original landholder of

Hammond, New York Hammond is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in St. Lawrence County, New York, St. Lawrence County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 1,191 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from early land owner ...

* Charles L. Ogden (1772–1826), who married Elizabeth Meredith * Thomas Ludlow Ogden (1773–1844), leading

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

lawyer, who married Martha Hammond * Abraham Ogden (1775–1846), who married Mary L. Barnwell * Gertrude Gouverneur Ogden (1777–1850), who married

Joshua Waddington Joshua Waddington (20 May 1755 – 6 March 1844) was a British-American who was one of the founders of the Saint George's Society, the Bank of New York, and was the defendant in the case '' Rutgers v. Waddington'' before New York City Mayor's Cou ...

(1755–1844) * Gouverneur Ogden (1778–1851), who married Charlotte Curzon Seton * William Ogden (1780–1801) * Sarah F.L. Ogden (1782–1849) * Margaretta E. Ogden (1783–1834), who married David B. Ogden * Isaac Ogden (1784–1867), who married Sarah Ogden Meredith * Samuel N. Ogden (1787–1787) * Frances S. Ogden (1788–1824), who married

Nathaniel Lawrence the younger Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Hebrew name Nathanael. It can be a given or surname. People with the name Nathaniel Given name * Nathaniel Archibald (1952–2018), American basketball player * Nate Archibald (born 1948), Americ ...

, merchant of

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, England Ogden died in 1798 in Newark.

Descendants

His grandson, William D. Waddington (1811–1886), who married Mary Elizabeth Ogden (1810–1867), were the parents of George Waddington (1840–1915), who married Elizabeth Van Rensselaer (1845–1911), the daughter of

Henry Bell Van Rensselaer Henry Bell Van Rensselaer (May 14, 1810 – March 23, 1864) was an American military officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and a politician who served in the United States Congress as a Representative from the state of ...

, a

and the son of New York's Lt. Gov. Stephen Van Rensselaer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogden, Abraham 1743 births 1798 deaths Politicians from Morris County, New Jersey Politicians from Newark, New Jersey Politicians from Morristown, New Jersey Lawyers from Morristown, New Jersey Members of the New Jersey General Assembly United States attorneys for the District of New Jersey 18th-century American lawyers People from colonial New Jersey Patriots in the American Revolution 18th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature