John De Hart (July 25, 1727 – June 1, 1795) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician from

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

as a delegate to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

in 1774 and 1775 and signed the

Continental Association The Continental Association, also known as the Articles of Association or simply the Association, was an agreement among the Thirteen Colonies, American colonies, adopted by the First Continental Congress, which met inside Carpenters' Hall in Phi ...

Biography

De Hart was born at Elizabethtown (since renamed as

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.First Continental Congress The First Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates of twelve of the Thirteen Colonies held from September 5 to October 26, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia at the beginning of the American Revolution. The meeting was organized b ...

. While he supported the non-importation agreement and the first

petition to the King The Petition to the King was a petition sent to King George III by the First Continental Congress in 1774, calling for the repeal of the Intolerable Acts. The King's rejection of the petition was one of the causes of the later United States Dec ...

, he was in favor of reconciliation. He was returned to the Second Congress in 1775, but as differences with

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became more pronounced, the Congress began to adopt a harder line. Finally, on November 13, 1775, he wrote his resignation to 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 ...

, and they accepted it on November 22. In 1776, New Jersey began crafting an independent government. De Hart attended the convention and served on the committee that drafted the New Jersey State Constitution in June. He was appointed to serve on the

New Jersey Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases cha ...

on September 4, 1776, but also made a living practicing law. Governor William Livingston replaced him in February 1777 for failing to attend court sessions. De Hart's last act of public service was as Mayor of Elizabeth, New Jersey (then Elizabethtown). He was elected in November 1789 and served until his death. He died at his home in 1795 and is buried in St. John's Episcopal Churchyard in Elizabeth. The home that he built in 1766 and lived in for 29 years was called the ''De Hart House'' and stood at the intersection of Rahway Avenue and Cherry Street in Elizabeth. His daughter Abigail married John Mayo, a prominent Virginia planter, and had a daughter, Maria D. Mayo, who was married to General

Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as Commanding General of the United States Army from 1841 to 1861, and was a veteran of the War of 1812, American Indian Wars, Mexica ...

External links

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John De Hart
at

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1727 births 1795 deaths Continental Congressmen from New Jersey 18th-century American judges 18th-century American lawyers 18th-century mayors of places in New Jersey Mayors of Elizabeth, New Jersey Justices of the Supreme Court of New Jersey Lawyers from Union County, New Jersey People from colonial New Jersey Signers of the Continental Association {{NewJersey-mayor-stub