Thomas Tredwell (February 6, 1743 – December 30, 1831) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

from

Plattsburgh, New York Plattsburgh is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. The population of the sur ...

. He served in 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 ...

and represented

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 * ...

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 1791 to 1795.

Biography

Tredwell was born in Smithtown 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 ...

on February 6, 1743. He graduated from Princeton College in 1764 where he studied law. He was admitted to the bar and began practice in Plattsburgh. He owned slaves. He was a delegate to the Provincial Congress of New York in 1774 and 1775 and a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1776 and 1777. He was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

from 1777 to 1783; judge of the court of probate from 1778 to 1787; served in the

from 1786 to 1789; surrogate of

Suffolk County, New York Suffolk County ( ) is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York, constituting the eastern two-thirds of Long Island. It is bordered to its west by Nassau County, to its east by Gardiners Bay and the open Atlantic Ocean, to its no ...

from 1787 to 1791; and delegate to the State ratification convention in 1788. Tredwell was elected to the

2nd United States Congress The 2nd United States Congress, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, met at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from March 4, 1791, to March 4, 1793, during the third and fourth years ...

as an Anti-Administration man to fill the vacancy caused by the death of James Townsend, after previously being a candidate for the same seat in 1790, and was re-elected to the

3rd United States Congress The 3rd 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 at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Pen ...

, serving from May 1791 to March 3, 1795. He was one of seven representatives to vote against the

Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 was an Act of the United States Congress to give effect to the Fugitive Slave Clause of the U.S. Constitution ( Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3), which was later superseded by the Thirteenth Amendment, and to al ...

. He was a delegate to the

New York State Constitutional Convention The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...

of 1801. He was again a member of the New York State Senate (Eastern D.) from 1804 to 1807 and surrogate of

Clinton County, New York Clinton County is the northeasternmost county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 79,843. Its county seat is the city of Plattsburgh. The county lies just south of the border with the Cana ...

from 1807 to 1831. He died in Plattsburgh, New York on December 30, 1831, and is interred in a private burial ground in Beekmantown, New York.

Family life

Tredwell's grandson Thomas Treadwell Davis also represented New York in the United States House of Representatives.

References

External links

Biographic sketch from Plattsburgh Sentinel
1743 births 1831 deaths People from Smithtown, New York People from colonial New York Anti-Administration Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Members of the New York State Assembly New York (state) state senators Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves Politicians from Plattsburgh, New York Princeton University alumni 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature 18th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 18th-century members of the New York State Legislature Candidates in the 1790–1791 United States elections {{NewYork-Representative-stub