Frederick Frelinghuysen (1753–1804)
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| Frederick Frelinghuysen | |
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| Born | April 13, 1753 Somerset County, New Jersey |
| Died | April 13, 1804 Somerset County, New Jersey |
| Occupation | General, Lawyer, United States Senator |
| Spouse | Gertrude Schenck Ann Yard (1764-1839) |
| Parents | Dinah Van Berr John Frelinghuysen (1727-1754) |
| Children | Catharine John (1776-1833) Maria (1778-?) Theodore (1787-1862) Frederick (1788–1820) |
Frederick Frelinghuysen (April 13, 1753 – April 13, 1804) was an American lawyer, soldier, and Senator from New Jersey. He was a colonel of the New Jersey militia, commanding a Somerset County regiment, A graduate of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), he was a delegate to the Continental Congress from New Jersey in 1779, a member of the New Jersey Legislature in 1784 and again from 1800 until 1804, and a United States Senator from New Jersey from 1793 until 1796. He served as a U.S. District Attorney for New Jersey in 1801.
[edit] Biography
He was born in Somerset County, New Jersey (then a British colony) to Dinah Van Berr and John Frelinghuysen (1727-1754) of Flatbush, Brooklyn; and Dinah Van Berr (1725-?) of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. His father, John, was the son of the immigrant minister Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen, the progenitor of the Frelinghuysen family in New Jersey.
He graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1770, then he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1774 and practiced law in Somerset County, New Jersey.
Frederick married Gertrude Schenck and they had the following children: Catharine Frelinghuysen (c1774-?), General John Frelinghuysen (1776-1833), Maria Frelinghuysen (1778-?), lawyer and New Jersey politician Theodore Frelinghuysen (1787-1862), and Frederick Frelinghuysen (1788-1820). After Gertrude died, he married Ann Yard (1764-1839).
Among his other descendants are Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen (1817–1885) US Senator and Secretary of State; Joseph Sherman Frelinghuysen (1869-1948) US Senator from New Jersey; Peter Frelinghuysen, Jr. (b. 1916) New Jersey Congressman; and Rodney Frelinghuysen (b. 1946) New Jersey Congressman.
He became a member of the provincial congress of New Jersey from 1775 to 1776 then served in the Revolutionary War as a colonel. In 1779 he became a member of the Continental Congress. He then served as a clerk to the common pleas court of Somerset County, New Jersey from 1781 to 1789. He also served in the state general assembly in 1784 and later again from 1800 to 1804.
He was a member of the New Jersey convention that ratified the United States Constitution in 1787. He was a member of the state council from 1790 to 1792.
President George Washington then appointed him as brigadier general in 1790 in the campaign against the western Indians. Frelinghuysen was elected to the United States Senate[ and served from[ March 4]], 1793 to November 12, 1796, when he resigned.
He was then commissioned major general in 1794 during the Whiskey Rebellion.
Frederick died April 13, 1804 on his 51st birthday, and was buried at the Weston Burying Ground on the border of Manville, New Jersey and Bound Brook, New Jersey. His tombstone reads as follows:
Entombed beneath this stone lies the remains of Frederick Frelinghuysen, Esq. Major General of the military forces and representative in the General Assembly of this, his native state. Endowed by nature with superior talents, he was beloved by his country. From his youth he was entrusted with the most important concerns until his death. He never disappointed her hopes. In the bar he was eloquent and in the Senate he was wise, in the field he was brave. Candid, generous and just, he was ardent in his friendships, constant to his friends. The patron and protector of his honorable merit. He gave his hand to the young, his counsel to the middleaged, his support to him that was feeble in years. To perpetuate his memory, his children have raised this monument, a frail memorial of their veneration to his virtues and of their grief and their loss of so excellent a father. He died on the 13th of April 1804, aged 51 years.
[edit] External links
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- The Political Graveyard: Frelinghuysen family of New Jersey
- Findagrave: Frederick Frelinghuysen
| Preceded by Philemon Dickinson |
United States Senator (Class 2) from New Jersey 1793–1796 Served alongside: John Rutherfurd |
Succeeded by Richard Stockton |
