John Fell (jurist)

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John Fell (1721–1798) was an American merchant and jurist. Born in New York City, he was engaged in overseas trade and had acquired a small fleet of ships by the time he moved to Bergen County, New Jersey, in the 1760s. He served as judge of the court of common pleas in Bergen County from 1766 to 1774. With the coming of the American Revolution, he became chairman of Bergen County's committee of correspondence and the committee of safety. He was Bergen County's leading delegate to the Provincial Congress of New Jersey in 1775.

Fell was known as a persecutor of Loyalists, but the tables were turned when he was captured by Loyalist raiders in 1777. He was held under harsh conditions in New York City until he was released in a prison exchange in 1778. That year he was elected as a New Jersey delegate to the Second Continental Congress, and served until 1780.

[edit] References

• John Fell (jurist) at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Purcell, L. Edward. Who Was Who in the American Revolution. New York: Facts on File, 1993. ISBN 0-8160-2107-4.