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Overview
In sharp contrast to the graduates of other colleges at the time, Princeton's early students were either born or found their later careers in every one of the thirteen states as well as in Tennessee, Kentucky, the West Indies, and Ireland. After graduation most became clergymen, lawyers, doctors, businessmen, and soldiers. While some served as national leaders, others rose to prominence in state and local government, becoming governors, state legislators, and participants in the drafting of state constitutions. This record of their lives is a mine of information about America during the Colonial, Revolutionary, and Early National periods.
Originally published in 1977.
The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780691616636 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Princeton University Press |
| Publication date: | 03/08/2015 |
| Series: | Princeton Legacy Library , #1648 |
| Pages: | 736 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 9.25(h) x (d) |
Read an Excerpt
Princetonians 1784â?"1790
A Biographical Dictionary
By Ruth L. Woodward, Wesley Frank Craven
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
Copyright © 1991 Princeton University PressAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-691-04639-6
CHAPTER 1
John Baldwin
John Baldwin, A.B., A.M. 1787, probably a lawyer, was the son, it seems to be agreed, of Jonathan Baldwin (A.B. 1755) and his wife Sarah Sergeant, the daughter of Jonathan Sergeant (treasurer of the College 1750-1757), and so a nephew of Jonathan Dickinson Sergeant (A.B. 1762), and probably a brother of Mathew Baldwin of the class of 1784. Born in 1769, John was about fifteen when he graduated. His father is best remembered as steward of the College from 1756 to 1773 and again in 1781 and 1782, and so the place of his son's birth is readily fixed as Princeton. The date he entered the College has not been found. He is not listed as a member of either campus literary society and did not deliver an oration at the time of his graduation on September 29, 1784. Family tradition asserts that he became a New York lawyer, but evidence that he practiced in New York City is lacking, unless he was the Jonathan Baldwin, attorney-at-law of 15 Thames Street, who is found in a city directory for 1794. The further tradition that he died without marrying may well be true, for College catalogues first listed him as deceased in 1797.
Sources: The alumni file, PUA, is a skimpy one; Alexander, Princeton, 220. The catalogues of the College present something of a problem. Baldwin was listed as dead in all of the catalogues from 1797 through that for 1824, but he was not so listed again until 1845. The compilers of the earlier catalogues should have been well informed regarding a recent graduate who possessed other identifications as well with the College and the town, and who presumably lived not far away. The dropping in 1827 of the asterisk used to denote death was most likely an oversight also repeated in later issues of the catalogue.
WFC
Mathew (Mathius) Baldwin
Mathew (Mathius) Baldwin almost certainly was the son, and probably the oldest son born at some time in 1767, of Jonathan Baldwin (A.B. 1755) and his wife Sarah Sergeant. The Trenton New-Jersey Gazette for October 11, 1780 carried under a Princeton dateline of September 29 the report that students in the grammar school upon examination on the 27th had given "very satisfying evidence of their proficiency in Latin and Greek, in the reading grammar and orthography of the English language, and in pronouncing English orations." The account continued: "Premiums were distributed after the examination, and adjudged as follows: For the first class who are now admitted Freshmen in college, to Mathew Baldwin of Princeton." And to this it added that in "the competition free to all the classes in Extempore Exercises in Latin, Grammar and Syntax" Mathew Baldwin had been the winner. Once again, at the close of his sophomore year as a student in the College, according to the Gazette for October 9, 1782, he won a prize, this time sharing first honors with Samuel Bayard of the freshman class, in a competition testing the students' mastery of English grammar, syntax, and orthography.
No other evidence of Baldwin's residence as a student in the College has been found. That a prize-winning student should not have continued to the completion of his degree is surprising enough to raise the question of whether he may have fallen a victim to some ill fate. The fact that Jonathan Baldwin's second term as steward of the College was terminated in 1782 may or may not have been a simple coincidence. In any case, no certain information regarding Mathew after September 1782 has been found.
Sources: At some time after 1782 Jonathan Baldwin returned to his native town of Newark (Princetonians, 1748-1768, 131-3), but there were many Baldwins in Newark and Essex County, including a Mathew and Matthias Baldwin, militiamen in 1793. See J. S. Norton, N.J. in 1793 (1973), 139, 142. For the children of Jonathan Baldwin see his alumni file, PUA.
WFC
James Ashton Bayard
James Ashton Bayard, A.B., A.M. 1787, lawyer and public official, was born July 28, 1767 at Philadelphia, the second son of James Ashton Bayard and his wife Agnes Hodge. The father, a physician, died early in 1770, the mother in 1774, and as a result the son grew up in the family of his father's twin brother John Bayard, prosperous Philadelphia merchant and influential whig political leader at the time of the Revolution, who married Margaret Hodge, sister of James's mother. The family had many connections with the College at Princeton. Colonel Bayard, as John was commonly known after the war for his service with Pennsylvania troops, was a trustee of the College from 1778 to his death in 1807, and four of his sons graduated from Nassau Hall: James Ashton Bayard (A.B. 1777), Andrew Bayard (A.B. 1779), Samuel Bayard (A.B. 1784), and Nicholas Bayard (A.B. 1792). Their mother, as also the mother of the younger James Ashton, was a sister of Andrew Hodge (A.B. 1772) and Hugh Hodge (A.B. 1773).
James's early education is said to have been provided in part by tutors, in part by the school of the Reverend Robert Smith at Pequea, Pennsylvania. Just when Bayard was first enrolled in the College cannot be said; but that it was no later than the summer of 1782, and possibly as early as the fall of 1781, is indicated by the history of the American Whig Society later written by Ashbel Green (A.B. 1783), which states that Bayard joined the society about a month after its revival in June 1782. Bayard placed second in his class, for he opened the afternoon exercises of his commencement on September 29 with an "English salutatory oration," an innovation at this time. This was not quite as high an honor as belonged to his classmate Joseph Clay who delivered the Latin salutatory address, but he would share with Clay the distinction of speaking a second time in the "competitive orations" in behalf of the Whig and Cliosophic societies, which brought the day's program to an end. Bayard spoke on "independence of spirit."
After graduation Bayard began the study of law at Philadelphia with Joseph Reed (A.B. 1757), and following Reed's death in March 1785, an agreement for continuance was reached with Jared Ingersoll, Jr. (LL.D. 1821, A.B. Yale 1766), a leading light of the Philadelphia bar and father of Charles Jared Ingersoll (Class of 1799) and Joseph Reed Ingersoll (A.B. 1804). Bayard qualified for practice in Delaware in August 1787, and in the Philadelphia courts on the following September 8, but he found his residence in Wilmington and both his practice and political career were to identify him chiefly with the state of Delaware. On February 11, 1795 he married Ann, daughter of Richard Bassett, who in succession served as United States senator from Delaware, chief justice of the court of common pleas, and governor of the state.
Bayard won his first public office in 1796, when he was elected as Delaware's sole delegate to the national House of Representatives. Twice reelected, he served until his defeat in the election of 1802 by his close personal friend and political opponent Caesar A. Rodney. He regained his seat in the House in the election of 1804, but before he could occupy it Bayard was also elected to the upper house of the national legislature. His service in the Senate extended from 1805 to 1813.
Politically, Bayard found a natural alliance with the Federalists and, among Federalists, with the party's faction which followed the leadership of President John Adams. Essentially moderate and more independent than partisan in spirit, Bayard found no difficulty in the consistent support he gave the administration during its Quasi-War with France. In his support of the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 he was partly responsible for certain procedural safeguards for individual rights that were written into the statutes, among them, in the case of the Sedition Act and in contrast with the English common law, a right to use the truth of an alleged libel in defence of the accused. In the House he was quickly credited with an ability to argue logically and eloquently. His colleagues were impressed by the ease and skill with which he might speak for one to three hours without resort to notes. Later, John Quincy Adams (LL.D. 1806) would credit Bayard with more "unpremeditated eloquence" than "any man I ever heard in Congress."
With a noticeable tendency toward stoutness, fastidiousness of dress, and aristocratic bearing, Bayard was quick to win the confidence of colleagues. In July 1797 he was one of five members of the House designated a committee to investigate the conduct of Senator William Blount of Tennessee (brother of Willie Blount, Class of 1789) with a view to bringing articles of impeachment against him, and in January 1799 he served as chairman of the eleven managers chosen for the delayed and unsuccessful attempt to impeach the senator. Firmly loyal to his friends, Bayard fought a duel on May 7, 1800 with Congressman Christopher Champlin of Rhode Island in consequence of remarks on the floor of the House regarding Alan McLane, Wilmington collector of customs and friend of Bayard. As early as 1789 he had been a signer of a petition sponsored by the Delaware Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, and much later on the floor of the Senate he would warn his southern colleagues that "all the plagues of Egypt united were not equal to the plague that slavery will eventually prove to the southern states." His religious convictions were said to have been deistic. His local activities included service in 1803 as trustee of a projected college at Wilmington, an undertaking in which Gunning Bedford (A.B. 1771) was especially prominent.
Bayard is best remembered for the part he took in the final settlement of the election of 1800. As the sole representative of Delaware he was in a position to determine by his own vote how his state would behave in the long effort to settle in the House of Representatives the tie between Thomas Jefferson (LL.D. 1791) and Aaron Burr (A.B. 1772), and so could hardly escape the special importance that circumstances gave to his vote. Historians have found ground for debate as to the influences which shaped his action at the time. He disliked and distrusted Jefferson intensely, but the assurance given the latter ahead of time by Caesar Rodney that Bayard's vote could be counted upon indicates that he at first probably favored Jefferson. However, when the voting began on February 10, 1801, and through all of thirty-five ballots, Bayard stood solidly with his Federalist colleagues in denying the office to Jefferson by the margin of a single state. The vote was eight states for Jefferson (with nine required for election), six for Burr, and two divided. It was on the thirty-sixth ballot, and on February 17, that Delaware, Maryland, and South Carolina voted blanks, thereby giving the election to Jefferson. Bayard expressed satisfaction that Jefferson's election came without a single Federalist vote. Whether he undertook in advance to make a deal with Jefferson, or whether as Jefferson charged he had attempted to win Republican votes for Burr by the promise of offices, or how far he may have been influenced by the unflattering view Alexander Hamilton (LL.D. 1791) had of Burr, have been debated. But the final result can be traced directly to Bayard's announcement on February 16 to a Federalist caucus that he would change his vote on the next ballot. The basic explanation for this change, as he explained that same day to his father-in-law, was an unwillingness "to risk the constitution or a civil war." In short, a sense of responsibility for the public interest finally prevailed.
In a very real sense Jefferson's election was a defeat for Bayard. That he understood this is indicated by his rejection of appointment by President Adams as minister to France on the ground that he could hardly represent effectively the incoming Republican administration. After the election he returned to the House with new stature to become an unelected minority leader who in a matter of weeks suffered defeat in his attempt to prevent the Republican repeal on March 3, 1802 of the Judiciary Act of 1801. His father-in-law was one of sixteen circuit judges appointed under that act by Adams, but this probably counted for much less than did the constitutional objections Bayard persistently raised to the proposed repeal. Through the years of Republican dominance that followed, his sense of the futility of Federalist attempts to shape the course of national policy undoubtedly finds reflection in the very poor record of attendance he had as a member of the Senate. He consistently arrived in Washington a month or two late for its sessions and often returned home before its final adjournment.
This is not to suggest that Bayard failed to make known his views on questions of public policy, views fundamentally consistent with his commitment to the commercial interests of the country. He was a director of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Company, and among his relatives none was closer than his cousin Andrew Bayard (A.B. 1779) of Philadelphia—merchant, banker, and insurance broker—who enjoyed the advantage of repeated advisories from James on developments at the seat of government. The senator distrusted policies depending upon an assumption that economic weapons were adequate for defense of the national interest, and with the approach of the War of 1812 he sought first to postpone the critical vote in Congress, and having failed in that effort, he voted against war. He entered the war years, however, with a reputation for moderation and responsible opposition that won for him membership in the bipartisan peace commission President James Madison (A.B. 1771) decided upon in 1813. Although by no means in full agreement with the instructions given the commission, Bayard accepted the appointment and explained to his cousin and classmate Samuel Bayard: "The situation of public affairs is at present so critical and alarming, not from the pressure of the foreign enemy, but from the danger of intestine division, that I have felt it as a Solemn duty not to refuse to the government any means in my power which would aid in extricating the Country from its embarrassments." Bayard sailed from the Delaware early in May 1813, and having played no more than a secondary role in the negotiations resulting in the Treaty of Ghent in December 1814, he returned home after more than two years' absence in time to die at Wilmington on August 6, 1815.
Bayard died shortly after his forty-eighth birthday. Some of his associates thought that his life may have been shortened by dissipation. This seems doubtful, but he was a congenial and sociable person who probably found encouragement to drink in the time he spent in the bachelor society of the lawyers' court circuit and the rooming-house accommodations of early Washington. His taste favored the wines Andrew Bayard helped to supply in exchange of courtesies between the two cousins. Another item in the exchange was advice from Andrew on investments, which may help to explain why James died a wealthy man. To each of his four sons he left $10,000 in addition to a share in the substantial landholdings he had in Delaware and Maryland. His two daughters received $8,000 each and land, and his widow an annuity of $3,000 annually. Two of Bayard's sons later would serve as United States senators from Delaware, one of them being Richard H. Bayard (A.B. 1814), and still later a grandson and a great grandson would enjoy the same distinction.
Sources: Alumni file, PUA; DAB; Green's history in Beam, Whig. Soc., 62; Amer. Whig Soc., Cat. (1840), 5; Williams, Academic Honors, 9-10; N.J. Gazette, 4 Oct. 1784; Martin's Bench & Bar, 247; M. Borden, Federalism of James A. Bayard, passim, esp. 160 (Adams quote), 201 (will); E. Donnan, ed., Papers of James A. Bayard, AHA Rept. for 1913 (1915), ii, passim, esp. 110n (duel), 126-27 (quote 16 Feb. 1801), 211 (quote from letter of 23 Apr. 1813 to S. Bayard); A/C, 5th Cong., 465, 953, 2247; J. A. Munroe, Federalist Del. (1954), passim; H. C. Conrad, Hist. of State of Del. (1908), iii, 871-76; H. C. Reed, Del.: A Hist. (1947), 1, 135-37 ("plagues of Egypt"); Hamilton Papers, xxv, 275-77, 299-303, 344-46; for corres. with C. A. Rodney, "James Ashton Bayard Letters, 1802-14," N.Y. Pub. Lib. Bull., 4 (July 1900), 228-48, repr. in Del. Hist. Soc., Papers, 21 (1901).
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Princetonians 1784â?"1790 by Ruth L. Woodward, Wesley Frank Craven. Copyright © 1991 Princeton University Press. Excerpted by permission of PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS.
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Table of Contents
- Frontmatter, pg. i
- Contents, pg. vii
- List of Illustrations, pg. ix
- Preface, pg. xi
- Introduction, pg. xvii
- Abbreviations and Short Titles Frequently Used, pg. xxv
- Class of 1748, pg. 1
- Class of 1749, pg. 13
- Class of 1750, pg. 25
- Class of 1751, pg. 33
- Class of 1752, pg. 49
- Class of 1753, pg. 67
- Class Of 1754, pg. 91
- Class Of 1755, pg. 129
- Class of 1756, pg. 153
- Class of 1757, pg. 169
- Class of 1758, pg. 221
- Class of 1759, pg. 257
- Class of 1760, pg. 297
- Class of 1761, pg. 339
- Class of 1762, pg. 367
- Class of 1763, pg. 417
- Class of 1764, pg. 451
- Class of 1765, pg. 477
- Class of 1766, pg. 541
- Class of 1767, pg. 605
- Class of 1768, pg. 629
- Appendix, pg. 663
- Index, pg. 679