Cadwallader David Colden (April 4, 1769 – February 7, 1834) was an American politician who served as the 54th
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 mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...
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 ...
Willett) Colden. He was the brother of Alice Christy Colden, Maria Colden, who married Josiah Ogden Hoffman, Elizabeth Colden, who married Edward Laight, and Catherine Colden, who married Thomas Cooper.
He was the grandson of Alice (née Chrystie) Colden and Cadwallader Colden (1688–1776), who served as the Governor of the Province of New York several times in the 1750s and 1770s.
He was taught by a private tutor, and then provided a classical education in Jamaica, New York and in London. After returning to the United States in 1785, he studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1791.
Career
Colden first practiced law in New York City, then moved to Poughkeepsie, New York in 1793. He returned to New York in 1796 and from 1798 to 1801, he was Assistant Attorney General for the First District, comprising
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
Kings
Kings or King's may refer to:
*Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings
*One of several works known as the "Book of Kings":
**The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts
**The ''Shahnameh'' ...
,
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
and
Westchester
Westchester most commonly refers to Westchester County, New York, immediately north of New York City.
__NOTOC__
It may also refer to: Geography Canada
*Westchester Station, Nova Scotia, Canada
United States
*Town of Westchester, the original seat ...
counties. From 1810 to 1811, he was
District Attorney
In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...
of the First District, comprising the above-mentioned counties and New York County.
Colden was an active
Freemason
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
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 ...
in 1801-1805 and 1810–1819.
He became a Colonel of Volunteers in the War of 1812. Despite having owned slaves, in 1815 he became president of the
New York Manumission Society
The New-York Manumission Society was an American organization founded in 1785 by U.S. Founding Father John Jay, among others, to promote the gradual abolition of slavery and manumission of slaves of African descent within the state of New York. ...
, established in 1785 to promote the abolition of slavery in the state. He oversaw the rebuilding of the Society's African Free School in New York City. Later historians cited the energetic aid of Colden,
Peter A. Jay
Peter Augustus Jay (January 24, 1776 – February 20, 1843) was a prominent New York lawyer, politician and the eldest son of Founding Father and first United States Chief Justice John Jay.
Early life
Peter Augustus Jay was born at Liberty ...
Daniel D. Tompkins
Daniel D. Tompkins (June 21, 1774 – June 11, 1825) was an American politician. He was the fifth governor of New York from 1807 to 1817, and the sixth vice president of the United States from 1817 to 1825.
Born in Scarsdale, New York, Tompkins ...
, and others in influencing the New York legislature to set the date of July 4, 1827, for the abolition of slavery in the state.
Colden was also 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 1818, and the 54th Mayor of New York City from 1818 to 1821, appointed by Governor
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 ...
17th United States Congress
The 17th 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. While its term was officially March 4, 1821, t ...
and served from December 12, 1821, to March 3, 1823. He was a member of the
New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate.
Partisan com ...
(1st District) from 1825 to 1827, when he resigned.
After his resignation from the State Senate, he moved to
A proponent of a national canal system, in 1825 Colden was commissioned by the Common Council of New York City, during the last days of the construction of the Erie Canal, to write his ''Memoir, Prepared at the Request of a Committee of the Common Council of the City of New York, and Presented to the Mayor of the City, at the Celebration of the Completion of the New York Canals''. The work and its Appendix contain period lithographs of the canal construction and highlights of the "Grand Canal Celebration" at New York City.
Personal life
On April 8, 1793, Colden was married to Maria Provoost (1770–1837), the daughter of Rt. Rev. Dr.
Samuel Provoost
Samuel Provoost (March 11, 1742 – September 6, 1815) was an American Clergyman. He was the first Chaplain of the United States Senate and the first Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, as well as the third Presiding Bishop of the Epis ...
, 1st Bishop of New York and Maria Bousefield Provoost. Together, they were the parents of:
* David Cadwallader Colden (1797–1850), who married Francis Wilkes (1796–1877), daughter of banker Charles Wilkes and sister of Rear Admiral Charles Wilkes.
Colden died in Jersey City, in 1834. His body was removed in 1843 from an interment in New Jersey to a receiving vault in Trinity Church Cemetery in upper Manhattan in New York City. He was removed in 1845 to a prominent spot in the cemetery's Easterly Division, overlooking the then rural intersection of the Bloomingdale Road (now Broadway) at West 153rd Street. By 1869, preparations to widen Broadway where the road cut through the cemetery caused Colden to be removed to another plot. His inconspicuous plot in the cemetery's Westerly Division was essentially forgotten until a local historian rediscovered it in July 2011.