Joseph Bloomfield (October 18, 1753October 3, 1823) was the fourth

governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

. He also served two terms in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

from 1817 to 1821. The township of

Bloomfield, New Jersey Bloomfield is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and an inner-ring suburb of Newark. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 53,105, an increase of 5,790 (+12.2%) from the 2010 census cou ...

, is named for him.

Birth

Joseph Bloomfield was born in Woodbridge in the

Province of New Jersey The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial history of the United States, Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1776. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherla ...

to Moses Bloomfield, a physician, and Sarah Ogden on October 18, 1753. Moses Bloomfield was a surgeon and an

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

who represented Middlesex County in the

Provincial Congress of New Jersey The Provincial Congress of New Jersey was a transitional governing body of the Province of New Jersey in the early part of the American Revolution. It first met in 1775 with representatives from all New Jersey's then-thirteen counties, to supersed ...

Education and military service

Joseph was educated at Reverend Enoch Green's school in

Deerfield Township, New Jersey Deerfield Township is a township in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Vineland-- Bridgeton metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses those cities and all of Cumberland County for statistical purposes ...

, where Green was the pastor of the local Presbyterian Church. Bloomfield studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1775 and began his law practice in

Bridgeton, New Jersey Bridgeton is a City (New Jersey), city in Cumberland County, New Jersey, Cumberland County, within the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the county seat of Cumberland County 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 ...

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the 3rd New Jersey Regiment on February 9, 1776. He attained the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

on November 28, 1776, and was appointed judge advocate of the northern army. He was wounded at the

Battle of Brandywine The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American Continental Army of General George Washington and the British Army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777, as part of the Am ...

in September 1777. He resigned from the Continental Army on October 28, 1778, after he was elected clerk of 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 1794, Bloomfield led Federal and New Jersey state troops to put down the

Whiskey Rebellion The Whiskey Rebellion (also known as the Whiskey Insurrection) was a violent tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791 and ending in 1794 during the presidency of George Washington. The so-called "whiskey tax" was the first tax impo ...

, a popular uprising conducted by Appalachian settlers who resisted the excise tax on liquor and distilled drinks, near

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. From 1795 to 1800 he served as Mayor of Burlington, New Jersey. At the start of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

Bloomfield was commissioned as a brigadier general in the

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on March 13, 1812. He served until June 15, 1815, along the Canada–US border.

Marriages

Joseph married Mary McIlvaine (1752–1818), the daughter of William McIlvaine (1722–1770), a physician from

Burlington, New Jersey Burlington is a City (New Jersey), city situated on the banks of the Delaware River in Burlington County, New Jersey, Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 United States census, the c ...

. Her brother, Col. Joseph McIlvaine (1749–1787), was the father of

Joseph McIlvaine Joseph McIlvaine (October 2, 1769August 19, 1826) was a United States senator from New Jersey from 1823 until his death. He served as the Mayor of Burlington, New Jersey, from 1816 to 1823. Biography McIlvaine was born in Bristol, Pennsylva ...

(1769–1826),

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 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 ...

. They had no children. After the death of his first wife, he married Isabella Ramsey (1779–1871), the daughter of John Ramsey.

Public life

At the close of the Revolutionary War, Bloomfield became one of the founding members of The

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a lineage society, fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of milita ...

in the state of New Jersey, and served as the State Society's president from 1808 until his death in 1823. He practiced law in Burlington, New Jersey, and was the registrar of the

admiralty court Admiralty courts, also known as maritime courts, are courts exercising jurisdiction over all admiralty law, maritime contracts, torts, injuries, and offenses. United Kingdom England and Wales Scotland The Scottish court's earliest records, ...

from 1779 to 1783.

Elected office

He served as the

New Jersey attorney general The attorney general of New Jersey is a member of the executive cabinet of the state and oversees the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, Department of Law and Public Safety. The office is appointed by the governor of New Jersey, confi ...

from 1783 to 1792 and as a

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

of Princeton College from 1793 until his death. He was elected

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

as a Democratic-Republican and served in office from 1801 to 1802 and from 1803 to 1812. In 1814, Bloomfield was elected a member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...

Congress

Bloomfield was elected as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed l ...

to the

Fifteenth United States Congress The 15th 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. It met in the Old Brick Capitol in Washington, ...

and reelected to the Sixteenth Congress from March 4, 1817, through March 3, 1821, where he represented New Jersey's at-large congressional district. While in Congress, he led the Committee on Revolutionary Pensions. Bloomfield ran for, but was not elected to, the Seventeenth Congress. He also previously ran in the 1795 and 1797 elections for the at-large seat, both of in which the top 5 would win; he finished 7th both times.

Death and burial

Bloomfield died in Burlington, New Jersey, on October 3, 1823, and was buried in Saint Mary's Episcopal Churchyard in Burlington.

Legacy

In 1796, what had been known as the Old First Church was formed and was named the Presbyterian Society of Bloomfield in honor of Joseph Bloomfield. When the Township of Bloomfield was formed, the name was taken from the name of the church.Bloomfield, New Jersey – A Brief History
, Bloomfield Presbyterian Church. Accessed August 21, 2007.

References

External links

Biography of Joseph Bloomfield

New Jersey State Library The New Jersey State Library, based in Trenton, New Jersey, was established in 1796 to serve the information needs of New Jersey's Governor of New Jersey, Governor, New Jersey Legislature, Legislature and Judiciary of New Jersey, Judiciary. The S ...

New Jersey Governor Joseph Bloomfield

National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American Politics of the United States, political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 U.S. state, states, Territories of the United States, territories ...

*
The Society of the Cincinnati

The American Revolution Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloomfield, Joseph 1753 births 1823 deaths Continental Army officers from New Jersey Governors of New Jersey New Jersey attorneys general Lawyers from Burlington County, New Jersey Lawyers from Middlesex County, New Jersey People from Burlington, New Jersey Politicians from Woodbridge Township, New Jersey United States Army generals American Presbyterians Mayors of Burlington, New Jersey Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States 19th-century American lawyers 18th-century New Jersey politicians 18th-century mayors of places in New Jersey 19th-century New Jersey politicians 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives Candidates in the 1795 United States elections Candidates in the 1797 United States elections