Simon Boerum (February 29, 1724 – July 11, 1775) was a farmer, miller, and political leader from

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York. He represented New York in the Continental Congress in 1774 and 1775. He 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 ...

. Boerum's family settled on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

when it was a part of the Dutch colony of New Netherland. His parents were William Jacob Boerum (1687–1766) and Rachel (Bloom) Boerum (1690–1738), who farmed in the town of New Lots, in Kings County, New York, which is now part of

. Simon was born there on February 29, 1724, and was baptized in the Dutch Reformed Church on March 8. He attended and graduated from the Dutch school in Flatbush. Boerum farmed and operated a mill in Flatbush. In 1748, he bought a home and garden at what is today the southwest corner of Fulton and Hoyt streets in downtown Brooklyn. On April 30, 1748, he married Maria Schenck (1726–1771), and the house became their home for the rest of their lives. In 1750, Governor George Clinton appointed Boerum as county clerk for Kings County. He would hold that office for the rest of his life, as well as a seat in the

Province of New York The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to ...

Assembly after 1761. In 1774, the Assembly could not reach agreement about the Continental Congress. Kings County selected him to represent them, and on October 1, 1774, the Congress added him to the New York delegation. In the Congress, he supported the non-importation agreement and the more radical members in general. He helped to defeat the Galloway Plan for union and reconciliation with England. Early in 1775, the Colony's Assembly rejected the work of the first Congress and was hurriedly adjourned to prevent further measures from consideration. In April, Boerum was elected to the revolutionary

New York Provincial Congress The New York Provincial Congress (1775–1777) was a revolutionary provisional government formed by colonists in 1775, during the American Revolution, as a pro-American alternative to the more conservative New York General Assembly, and as a repla ...

. That body in turn named him once again to the Continental Congress, but illness soon forced his return from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Simon died at home on July 11, 1775, and was originally buried in the Dutch Burying Ground in New Lots. In 1848, he and his wife, Maria, were re-interred in the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress''
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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boerum, Simon 1724 births 1775 deaths Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery Members of the New York General Assembly Members of the New York Provincial Congress Continental Congressmen from New York (state) Politicians from Brooklyn People from colonial New York Signers of the Continental Association 18th-century American farmers Millers