James Duane
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James Duane (February 6, 1733–February 1, 1797) was a lawyer, jurist, and revolutionary leader from New York. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress, a U.S. District Judge, New York state senator, and as mayor of New York City. A photo of James Duane is available from the Columbia Library. Photo of James Duane (http://beatl.barnard.columbia.edu/earlycc/images/duane.htm)
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Family and early career
James was the son of an immigrant. His father, Anthony Duane (c. 1679-1747), was from County Galway in Ireland and first came to New York as an officer of the British Navy in 1698. He met and courted Eva Benson, whose father, Dirck, was a local merchant. In 1702 Anthony left the navy, settled in New York City, and married Eva. They had two sons before her death. When Eva died, Anthony remarried, this time to Althea Ketaltas the daughter of another merchant family. Anthony entered commerce and prospered, and the couple had a son, James.
James mother, Althea died in 1736, and his father died in 1747. The young James became the ward of Robert Livingston, who was known as the 3rd Lord of the Manor. He completed his early education at Livingston Manor, then read law in the offices of James Alexander. He was admitted to the bar in 1754. Then in 1759, James married Maria Livingston, the eldest daughter of his former guardian Robert. He was Clerk of the Chancery Court of New York City in 1762, State Attorney General in 1767 and Indian commissioner for the Colony of New York in 1774.
American revolution
Duane was a member of the Committee of 100 that began the revolution in New York City. He was made a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1774, and was continuously re-appointed through 1784, although he missed some sessions due to other duties. In the early congress, he was one of those most disposed to reconciliation with Britain. He supported the Galloway Plan, as an alternative to pressures that led to independence.
In 1775 he represented to Congress as an Indian commissioner at Albany. In 1776-1777 he attended the convention which adopted a constitution for the state of New York, and served on the committee that drafted that constitution. Also in 1777 he signed the Articles of Confederation in Philadelphia.
When the British occupied New York City in 1776, he was forced from his home. He withdrew his wife and family to the relative safety of her father's home at Livingston Manor. He remained active as a political leader throughout the war, and returned home to Gramercy Park in 1783.
Later years
Duane served in the New York state Senate from 1783 to 1790. He first became the Mayor of New York by appointment in 1784, serving until 1789. He was a delegate to the New York convention that ratified the Federal Constitution. In 1789, President Washington named him the first judge of the United States District Court for New York. Richard Varick followed him as mayor.
Duane served on the Federal bench until 1794 when his health forced him to resign. Throughout his life, he had worked to establish his own estate, inherited from his father, and centered at Duanesburg, New York. He had started erecting a home there for himself, but didn't live to see it completed. He died at Schenectady, New York, and is buried at Christ Episcopal Church in Duanesburg.
External link
- Duane's Congressional Biography (http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=D000508)
Further reading
Edward Alexander; "Revolutionary Conservative: James Duane of New York"; 1978, AMS Press, New York, ISBN 0404003214.