Aaron Ogden (December 3, 1756April 19, 1839) was an American soldier, lawyer,
United States Senator
The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...
and the fifth
governor of New Jersey
The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...
. Ogden is perhaps best known today as the complainant in ''
Gibbons v. Ogden
''Gibbons v. Ogden'', 22 U.S. (9 Wheat.) 1 (1824), was a landmark decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the power to regulate interstate commerce, which was granted to Congress by the Commerce Clause of the United Sta ...
'' which destroyed the monopoly power of steamboats on the Hudson River in 1824.
Early life
Ogden was born in Elizabethtown (known today as "Elizabeth") in the
Province of New Jersey
The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1783. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherland but came under English rule after the ...
. He was the son of Robert Ogden, a lawyer and public official who served as Speaker of the New Jersey lower house immediately preceding the Revolution, and Phebe (
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Hatfield) Ogden. Ogden's brother
Matthias Ogden
Matthias Ogden (October 22, 1754 – March 31, 1791) was an American soldier and politician. He fought in the American Revolutionary War, and served in various political positions afterwards.
Family
Matthias Ogden was a son of Robert Ogden, ...
(1754–1791) was a Revolutionary War soldier and his nephew,
Daniel Haines
Daniel Haines (January 6, 1801 – January 26, 1877) was an American politician, jurist and lawyer. He was the 14th governor of New Jersey.
Early life
Haines was born in New York City, the nephew of Governor Aaron Ogden. He graduated from The ...
, also served as Governor of New Jersey on two separate occasions.
Ogden, a
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
, graduated from the College of New Jersey (now
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
) in 1773, and served as a grammar school tutor from 1773 to 1775.
Career
In the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
Matthias Ogden
Matthias Ogden (October 22, 1754 – March 31, 1791) was an American soldier and politician. He fought in the American Revolutionary War, and served in various political positions afterwards.
Family
Matthias Ogden was a son of Robert Ogden, ...
was the lieutenant colonel. Aaron Ogden served in various roles through the war, seeing action and rising to the rank of brigade major. In 1778, he visited the house occupied by the family of diarist
Sally Wister
Sally may refer to:
People
*Sally (name), a list of notable people with the name
Military
*Sally (military), an attack by the defenders of a town or fortress under siege against a besieging force; see sally port
*Sally, the Allied reporting nam ...
, who described him as "a genteel young fellow, with an aquiline nose." Ogden was wounded at the
siege of Yorktown
The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virgi ...
in 1781.
Ogden was admitted as an original member of The
Society of the Cincinnati
The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers wh ...
in the state of New Jersey when it was established in 1783. He went on to serve as the President of the New Jersey Society from 1824 until his death in 1839, and President General of The Society of the Cincinnati from 1829 until his death.
Political career
After the war, Ogden studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1784. He commenced practice in Elizabeth and served as a presidential elector in the 1796 electoral college that elected
John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...
. He was clerk of Essex County from 1785 to 1803, and was elected as a
Federalist
The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''.
History Europe federation
In Europe, proponents of de ...
to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of
James Schureman
James Schureman (February 12, 1756January 22, 1824) was an American merchant and statesman from New Brunswick, New Jersey. He represented New Jersey in the Continental Congress as well as the United States House of Representatives and United Sta ...
and served from February 28, 1801 to March 3, 1803. He lost his bid for re-election to the Senate in 1802.
In 1803, Ogden was elected to the
New Jersey General Assembly
The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.
Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...
, where he served until 1812. Ogden was elected trustee of the College of New Jersey (later to become
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
) in 1803, a post in which he served until his death.
In 1812, Ogden was elected as
Governor of New Jersey
The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...
in a wave of
Federalist
The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''.
History Europe federation
In Europe, proponents of de ...
victories across the state due to opposition to the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
. Ogden had been nominated by his Federalist colleagues as governor many times before, but the Republicans held the majority in the Assembly and elected their choice from 1803 to 1812. During his term as governor, "funds were secured for the military's use in the war against Britain." After running unsuccessfully for re-election, the Federalists lost their majority in the Assembly and Ogden retired from political life. Ogden was nominated by President
James Madison
James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...
as major general of the Army in 1813, but declined the appointment.
Steamboat operations
In 1811, he became engaged in steamboat navigation by building the
steamboat
A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...
''Sea Horse'' to run between Elizabeth and
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. In 1812, in ''Livingston v. Van Ingen'', the courts chose to upheld a steamboat monopoly over the
Hudson River
The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...
. In 1813, the
New York State Legislature
The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official ...
further upheld the monopoly created by Chancellor Robert Livingston and
Robert Fulton
Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the world's first commercially successful steamboat, the (also known as ''Clermont''). In 1807, that steamboat ...
, who had designed the steamboat. In response, Ogden agreed to pay them for a ten-year monopoly to run his line.
As a result of a feud with his neighbor and competing steamboat operator who violated the statutory monopoly, Thomas Gibbons, Ogden filed the complaint in ''
Gibbons v. Ogden
''Gibbons v. Ogden'', 22 U.S. (9 Wheat.) 1 (1824), was a landmark decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the power to regulate interstate commerce, which was granted to Congress by the Commerce Clause of the United Sta ...
'', seeking to enjoin Gibbons from operating a steamboat on New York waters. As a result, the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
declared unconstitutional
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
's attempted monopoly on steamboat operation between New York and New Jersey based on the Commerce Clause. In the case, decided by the
U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
Thomas Addis Emmet
Thomas Addis Emmet (24 April 176414 November 1827) was an Irish and American lawyer and politician. He was a senior member of the revolutionary Irish republican group United Irishmen in the 1790s. He served as Attorney General of New York from ...
, and Gibbons by
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison, ...
and
U.S. Attorney General
The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
Jersey City
Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark. He was released several months later under an act of the Legislature that provided "that no Revolutionary officer or soldier should be imprisoned for debt. The law was so framed as to cover the case of Col. Ogden, and he was released." In 1830, he was appointed as Collector of Customs of Jersey City, an office created specifically for him by an act of Congress, and served until his death in Jersey City.
Personal life
Ogden was married to Elizabeth Chetwood (1766–1826), the daughter of John Chetwood, an attorney, and Mary (née Emott) Chetwood (d. 1786). She was the older sister of
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
William Chetwood
William Chetwood (June 17, 1771 – December 17, 1857) was a U.S. Representative from New Jersey. He was the Mayor of Elizabethtown, New Jersey from 1839 to 1841.
Biography
He was born on June 17, 1771 in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Chetwood grad ...
(1771–1857). Together, they were the parents of:
* Mary Chetwood Ogden (1789–1863), who was married to George Clinton Barber.
* Phebe Ann Ogden (1790–1865), who served as Vice Regent of the
Mount Vernon Ladies' Association
The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association (MVLA) is a non-profit organization that preserves and maintains the Mount Vernon estate originally owned by the family of President George Washington. The association was founded in 1853 by Ann Pamela Cunni ...
.
* Matthias Ogden (1792–1860), who married Lucille Robert.
* John Robert Ogden (1794–1845).
* Elias Bailey Dayton Ogden (1797–1799), who died young.
* Elias Bailey Dayton Ogden (1800–1865), who was named after his deceased brother. Elias, who married three times, served as an
associate justice
Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some state ...
of the
New Jersey Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases challenging the ...
from 1842 until his death in 1865.
* Aaron Ogden Jr. (1803–1803), who died young.
Ogden died in
Jersey City
Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
on April 19, 1839. Ogden's body is interred at the burial ground of the
First Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth
Siloam Hope First Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth (Old First of Elizabeth and formerly known as the First Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth) is a historic church at 14–44 Broad Street in Elizabeth, Union County, New Jersey, United States.
I ...
.
He was a slaveholder.
Descendants
Through his son Elias, he was the grandfather of Frederick Beasley Ogden (1827–1893), who served as
Mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey
The Mayor of the City of Hoboken is the head of the executive branch of government of Hoboken, New Jersey, Hoboken, New Jersey, United States. The mayor has the duty to enforce the Municipal corporation#Municipal charters, municipal charter and L ...
from 1865 to 1867; Aaron Ogden (1828–1896), who married Harriet Emily Travers; and Susan Dayton Ogden (1831–1878), who married William Shepard Biddle, and were the parents of
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
Gibbons v. Ogden
''Gibbons v. Ogden'', 22 U.S. (9 Wheat.) 1 (1824), was a landmark decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the power to regulate interstate commerce, which was granted to Congress by the Commerce Clause of the United Sta ...
References
;Notes
;Sources
* Baxter, Maurice G. ''Dictionary of American Biography''
*''The Steamboat Monopoly: Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824''. New York:
Alfred A. Knopf
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...
, 1972.
* Ogden, Aaron. ''Autobiography of Col. Aaron Ogden, of Elizabethtown''. Paterson, NJ: Press Printing & Publishing Co., 1893.
* Purcell, L. Edward. ''Who Was Who in the American Revolution''. New York: Facts on File, 1993. .
New Jersey State Library
The New Jersey State Library, based in Trenton, New Jersey, was established in 1796 to serve the information needs of New Jersey's Governor, Legislature and Judiciary. The State Library is also responsible to assist in the provision of library and ...
National Governors Association
The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 states, territories and commonwealths. Members come to the association from across the politica ...