Henry Cruger Jr. (November 22, 1739April 24, 1827) was an American and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

merchant at the time of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. He has a unique distinction of having been elected to both the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a ...

(MP, 1774–1780, 1784–1790) and the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

(1792–1796).

Early life

Henry Cruger was born 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 * ...

and was a member of a wealthy merchant family. His parents were Elizabeth (

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 ...

Harris) Cruger (1716–1752) and Henry Cruger Sr. (1707–1780), a member of the

New York General Assembly The General Assembly of New York, commonly known internationally as the New York General Assembly, and domestically simply as General Assembly, was the Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme Legislature, legislative body of the Province of New York d ...

and then the governor's council. His eldest brother, John Harris Cruger, succeeded his father as a member of the governor's council of New York, served as a

Loyalist 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 ...

during the War and later moved to England. Two other brothers settled in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

. His younger sister, Mary Cruger, was married to Jacob Walton, also a representative in General Assembly for New York. His paternal grandparents were Maria (née Cuyler) Cruger, an heiress (and sister of Albany Mayor

Johannes Cuyler Johannes Cuyler (1661 – July 20, 1740) was a prominent American merchant of Dutch ancestry who served as the Mayor of Albany, New York, from 1725 to 1726. Early life and family Cuyler was born in 1661 in New Amsterdam in the Province of New ...

), and John Cruger, an alderman who served as the 38th

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 Mayoralty in the United States, mayor's office administers all ...

and was born in Bristol, England. His uncle John Cruger Jr. served as the 41st mayor of New York City and was the last

Speaker of the New York General Assembly The Speaker of the New York General Assembly was the highest official in the New York General Assembly, the first representative governing body in Province of New York, New York from 1683 to 1775 when the assembly disbanded after the outbreak of ...

. Cruger studied at King's College (now

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

) in New York City, but before being graduated he moved to

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, in 1757.

Career

Upon his relocation to Bristol, he was placed in a family mercantile house and became wealthy until the Stamp Act greatly affected his livelihood and caused him much financial embarrassment. In 1765, Cruger was elected to the Bristol Common Council, a position he held until 1790. He was named

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

of the city for 1766–1767. Cruger was elected a warden of the

Society of Merchant Venturers The Society of Merchant Venturers is a charitable organisation in the English city of Bristol. The society can be traced back to a 13th-century guild which went on to fund the 15th-century voyage of John Cabot to Canada. In 1552, it gained a mono ...

in 1768, and Master of the Society in 1781. His father, who came to England in 1775, died in Bristol in 1780.

Political career

Cruger, who was known for his "ready wit and fine conversational powers," was elected as Member of Parliament for

as a radical Whig in the 1774 general election in which British policy towards the colonies was an important issue. The other Whig candidate, also elected, but by a smaller majority, was

Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January ew Style, NS1729 – 9 July 1797) was an Anglo-Irish Politician, statesman, journalist, writer, literary critic, philosopher, and parliamentary orator who is regarded as the founder of the Social philosophy, soc ...

, who was, among other things, the provincial agent for the Province of New York. In his maiden speech before Parliament, Cruger criticized it for worsening the breach between Britain and her colonies. In 1776, he faulted the ministry for abandoning British sympathizers in the colony of New York. In 1777, he supported the repeal of the

Declaratory Act The American Colonies Act 1766 ( 6 Geo. 3. c. 12), commonly known as the Declaratory Act, was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which accompanied the repeal of the Stamp Act 1765 and the amendment of the Sugar Act. Parliament repeale ...

(1766), and by 1780, he favored American independence. Defeated for reelection in

1780 Events January–March * January 16 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Cape St. Vincent: British Admiral Sir George Rodney defeats a Spanish fleet. * February 19 – The legislature of New York votes to all ...

, he became Bristol's mayor in 1781. In the 1784 general election, Cruger was again returned to Parliament as the member for Bristol as a supporter of

William Pitt the Younger William Pitt (28 May 1759 – 23 January 1806) was a British statesman who served as the last prime minister of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1783 until the Acts of Union 1800, and then first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, p ...

. Throughout his political career in England he urged conciliation with America. In 1789, he sought in vain for a consular appointment in the United States from Pitt.Henry Cruger Van Schaack, ''Henry Cruger: the Colleague of Edmund Burke in the British Parliament; a Paper Read before the

New-York Historical Society The New York Historical (known as the New-York Historical Society from 1804 to 2024) is an American history museum and library on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum. It ...

, January 4, 1859'' (New York: C. B. Richardson, 1859) Cruger returned to New York in 1790 after an absence of 33 years 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 call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

to the New York State Senate in 1792, urging conciliation with Great Britain while serving an otherwise undistinguished single four-year term in the

16th 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. It is the fourth power of two. In English speech, the numbers 16 and 60 are sometimes confused, as they sound similar. Mathematics 16 is the ninth composite number, and a sq ...

to the 19th New York State Legislatures.

Personal life

Cruger was married three times, firstly in December 1765 to Ellin Hannah Peach, a daughter of Samuel Peach of

Tockington Tockington is a village in South Gloucestershire, England. Historically the village developed around farming based mainly on the rearing of cattle on the fertile flood plains. In more recent times Tockington has become an attractive location for ...

a wealthy linen draper and banker. She died in 1767, leaving a son: * Samuel Peach Cruger (1767–1845), who changed his name to Samuel Peach Peach by 1788 after inheriting his grandfather Samuel's fortune, and home Tackington House,

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

. Cruger then married Caroline Elizabeth Blair, with whom he had six children, including: * Henry H. Cruger, who married his first cousin, Mary Cruger, daughter of Nicolas Cruger. * William Cruger. * John Cruger (1774–1812), who married Martha Ramsay (1780–1848). * Matilda Cruger (1776–1812), who married Lawrence Reid Yates (d. 1796) in 1795. After his death, she married her cousin, Judge Henry Walton, with whom she had six children. Henry and Elizabeth returned to New York in 1790, where Elizabeth died shortly thereafter. He married for the third time in 1799, when he was age 60, to Caroline Smith. Together, they were the parents of four more children, including: * Matilda Caroline Cruger (1809–1891), the wife of

Thomas Jackson Oakley Thomas Jackson Oakley (November 10, 1783 – May 11, 1857) was a New York attorney, politician, and judge. He served as a United States representative from 1813 to 1815, and from 1827 to 1828, and as New York State Attorney General from 1819 to ...

, a

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 ...

and

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 ...

, in 1831. Cruger died at home in New York City on April 24, 1827, in his 88th year, and was buried in the

Trinity Church Cemetery The parish of Trinity Church (Manhattan), Trinity Church has three separate cemetery, burial grounds associated with it in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The first, Trinity Churchyard, is located in Lower Manhattan at 74 Trinity Place, n ...

Legacy

Cruger's house in

Park Street, Bristol Park Street is a major shopping street in Bristol, England, linking the city centre to Clifton. It forms part of the A4018. The building of Park Street started in 1761 and it was Bristol's earliest example of uniformly stepped hillside terr ...

, on the corner of Great George Street, is marked by a commemorative plaque.

References

External links

Portrait of Henry Cruger Jr.
by George Romney, , at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruger, Henry 1739 births 1827 deaths British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1784–1790 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Members of the New York General Assembly New York (state) state senators Columbia College (New York) alumni High sheriffs of Bristol Mayors of Bristol Merchants from colonial New York 18th-century American merchants Burials at Trinity Church Cemetery Members of the Society of Merchant Venturers 19th-century American merchants 18th-century members of the New York State Legislature