Stephen De Lancey (December 1738 – May 1809) was a lawyer and political figure 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 * ...

state and

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. He represented Annapolis Township in the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (; ), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia, and together with the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia makes up the Nova Scotia Legislature. The assembly is ...

from 1784 to 1789.

Early life

He was born in West Farms, New York, the eldest son of Peter DeLancey (1705–1770) and 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 ...

Colden) DeLancey. His sister, Susan DeLancey (1754–1837), was married to

Thomas Henry Barclay Thomas Henry Barclay (October 12, 1753 – April 21, 1830) was an American lawyer who became one of the United Empire Loyalists in Nova Scotia and served in the colony's government. Early life Thomas Henry Barclay came from a prominent New York ...

(1753–1830), a lawyer who became one of the

United Empire Loyalists United Empire Loyalist (UEL; or simply Loyalist) is an honorific title which was first given by Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, the 1st Lord Dorchester, the governor of Province of Quebec (1763–1791), Quebec and Governor General, governor ...

and served in the colony's government. His paternal grandparents were Etienne de Lancey and Anne van Cortlandt (1676–1724), herself the third child of Gertrude Schuyler (born 1654) and

Stephanus van Cortlandt Stephanus van Cortlandt (May 7, 1643 – November 25, 1700) was the first native-born mayor of New York City, a position which he held from 1677 to 1678 and from 1686 to 1688. He was the patroon of Van Cortlandt Manor and was on the governor ...

(1643–1700), the Chief Justice of 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 ...

. Both his uncle,

James DeLancey James De Lancey (November 27, 1703 – July 30, 1760) was an American politician from the colonial period who served as chief justice, lieutenant governor, and acting colonial governor of the Province of New York. Early life and educatio ...

(1703–1760), and maternal grandfather,

Cadwallader Colden Cadwallader Colden (7 February 1688 – 28 September 1776) was an Irish-born physician, scientist and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New York from 1760 to 1762 and again from 1763 to 1765. Early life Colden was born on 7 F ...

(1688–1776), served as Colonial Governors of New York.

Career

He studied law and later moved to Albany. From 1765 to 1766, he served as clerk for the city and county of Albany. In 1770, he was named a masters in the provincial

chancery court The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of eq ...

. He was elected to the Albany

committee of correspondence The committees of correspondence were a collection of American political organizations that sought to coordinate opposition to British Parliament and, later, support for American independence during the American Revolution. The brainchild of S ...

in 1775.

Nova Scotia

In 1776, because of his loyalist sympathies, he was stripped of his posts and deported to

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

. In 1783, he moved to Nova Scotia with his family. He was first elected to the provincial assembly in a by-election held in 1783, taking the seat on November 16, 1784, and was elected again in 1785. There is a website claiming that in 1786, he was named to the province's Council, however he does not appear in a list of their members. A more reliable source reports that he was appointed to office in the Bahamas, and his seat was declared vacant April 6, 1789. His brother

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

won a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

to replace him in the provincial assembly, and he took the seat on February 26, 1790. James was indeed named a member of the Council on June 6, 1794, and this may be the source of confusion.

Personal life

De Lancey was married to Esther Rynderts of Albany. Together, they were the parents of three children: * Elizabeth De Lancey * Mary De Lancey * Cadwallader De Lancey De Lancey died in Annapolis at the age of 70.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Lancey, Stephen 1738 births 1809 deaths Canadian people of Dutch descent Schuyler family 18th-century members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly People from colonial New York Politicians from the Bronx Loyalists in the American Revolution from New York (state) Loyalists who settled Nova Scotia De Lancey family