Henry Cruger Jr. (November 22, 1739April 24, 1827) was an American and British merchant at the time of the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

. He has a unique distinction of having been elected to both the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdo ...

(MP, 1774–1780, 1784–1790) and the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

(1792–1796).

Early life

Henry Cruger was born in

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 * '' ...

and was a member of a wealthy merchant family. His parents were Elizabeth (

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 ...

Harris) Cruger (1716–1752) and Henry Cruger Sr. (1707–1780), a member of the

New York General Assembly The General Assembly of New York, commonly known internationally as the New York General Assembly, and domestically simply as General Assembly, was the supreme legislative body of the Province of New York during its period of proprietal colonia ...

and then the governor's council. His eldest brother, John Harris Cruger, succeeded his father as a member of the governor's council of New York, served as a

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

during the War and later moved to England. Two other brothers settled in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. His younger sister, Mary Cruger, was married to Jacob Walton, also a representative in General Assembly for New York. His paternal grandparents were Maria (née Cuyler) Cruger, an heiress (and sister of Albany Mayor

Johannes Cuyler Johannes Cuyler (1661 – July 20, 1740) was a prominent American merchant of Dutch ancestry who served as the Mayor of Albany, New York, from 1725 to 1726. Early life and family Cuyler was born in 1661 in New Amsterdam in the Province of New ...

), and

John Cruger John Cruger (1678/1680 – August 13, 1744) was an immigrant to colonial New York with an uncertain place of birth, but his family was originally Danish. In New York from at least 1696, he became a prosperous merchant and established a successfu ...

, an alderman who served as the 38th

mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

and was born in Bristol, England. His uncle

John Cruger Jr. John Cruger Jr. (July 18, 1710 – December 27, 1791) was the speaker of the Province of New York assembly and the 41st Mayor of New York City. He was born July 18, 1710, the son of John Cruger and Maria Cuyler. He was a New York City merchan ...

served as the 41st mayor of New York City and was the last Speaker of the New York General Assembly. Cruger studied at King's College (now

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

) in New York City, but before being graduated he moved to

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1757.

Career

Upon his relocation to Bristol, he was placed in a family mercantile house and became wealthy until the Stamp Act greatly affected his livelihood and caused him much financial embarrassment. In 1765, Cruger was elected to the Bristol Common Council, a position he held until 1790. He was named

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

of the city for 1766–1767. Cruger was elected a warden of the

Society of Merchant Venturers The Society of Merchant Venturers is a charitable organisation in the English city of Bristol. The society can be traced back to a 13th-century guild which funded the voyage of John Cabot to Canada. In 1552, it gained a monopoly on sea trading ...

in 1768, and Master of the Society in 1781. His father, who came to England in 1775, died in Bristol in 1780.

Political career

Cruger, who was known for his "ready wit and fine conversational powers," was elected as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

as a radical Whig in the 1774 general election in which British policy towards the colonies was an important issue. The other Whig candidate, also elected, but by a smaller majority, was

Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS">New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS/nowiki>_1729_–_9_July_1797)_was_an_ NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style"> ...

, who was, among other things, the provincial agent for the Province of New York. In his maiden speech before Parliament, Cruger criticized it for worsening the breach between Britain and her colonies. In 1776, he faulted the ministry for abandoning British sympathizers in the colony of New York. In 1777, he supported the repeal of the Declaratory Act (1766), and by 1780, he favored American independence. Defeated for reelection in

1780 Events January–March * January 16 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Cape St. Vincent: British Admiral Sir George Rodney defeats a Spanish fleet. * February 19 – The legislature of New York votes to allow ...

, he became Bristol's mayor in 1781. In the 1784 general election, Cruger was again returned to Parliament as the member for Bristol as a supporter of

William Pitt the Younger William Pitt the Younger (28 May 175923 January 1806) was a British statesman, the youngest and last prime minister of Great Britain (before the Acts of Union 1800) and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ire ...

. Throughout his political career in England he urged conciliation with America. In 1789, he sought in vain for a consular appointment in the United States from Pitt.Henry Cruger Van Schaack, ''Henry Cruger: the Colleague of Edmund Burke in the British Parliament; a Paper Read before the New-York Historical Society, January 4, 1859'' (New York: C. B. Richardson, 1859) Cruger returned to New York in 1790 after an absence of 33 years 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 New York State Senate in 1792, urging conciliation with Great Britain while serving an otherwise undistinguished single four-year term in the

16th 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and . In English speech, ...

to the

19th New York State Legislature The 19th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 6 to April 11, 1796, during the first year of John Jay's Governor of New York, governorship, in New York City. Backgr ...

Personal life

Cruger was married three times, firstly in December 1765 to Ellin Hannah Peach, a daughter of Samuel Peach of

Tockington Tockington is a village in South Gloucestershire, England. Historically the village developed around farming based mainly on the rearing of cattle on the fertile flood plains. In more recent times Tockington has become an attractive location for ...

a wealthy linen draper and banker. She died in 1767, leaving a son: * Samuel Peach Cruger (1767–1845), who changed his name to Samuel Peach Peach by 1788 after inheriting his grandfather Samuel's fortune, and home Tackington House,

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

. Cruger then married Caroline Elizabeth Blair, with whom he had six children, including: * Henry H. Cruger, who married his first cousin, Mary Cruger, daughter of Nicolas Cruger. * William Cruger. * John Cruger (1774–1812), who married Martha Ramsay (1780–1848). * Matilda Cruger (1776–1812), who married Lawrence Reid Yates (d. 1796) in 1795. After his death, she married her cousin, Judge Henry Walton, with whom she had six children. Henry and Elizabeth returned to New York in 1790, where Elizabeth died shortly thereafter. He married for the third time in 1799, when he was age 60, to Caroline Smith. Together, they were the parents of four more children, including: * Matilda Caroline Cruger (1809–1891), the wife of

Thomas Jackson Oakley Thomas Jackson Oakley (November 10, 1783 – May 11, 1857) was a New York attorney, politician, and judge. He served as a United States representative from 1813 to 1815, and from 1827 to 1828, and as New York State Attorney General from 1819 to ...

, a New York State Attorney General and

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 ...

, in 1831. Cruger died at home in New York City on April 24, 1827 in his 88th year, and was buried in the Trinity Church Cemetery. Henry Cruger commemorative plaque

Legacy

Cruger's house in

Park Street, Bristol Park Street is a major shopping street in Bristol, England, linking the city centre to Clifton. It forms part of the A4018. The building of Park Street started in 1761 and it was Bristol's earliest example of uniformly stepped hillside terrac ...

, on the corner of Great George Street, is marked by a commemorative plaque.

References

External links

*
Portrait of Henry Cruger Jr.
by George Romney, , at the New-York Historical Society {{DEFAULTSORT:Cruger, Henry 1739 births 1827 deaths British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1784–1790 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Members of the New York General Assembly New York (state) state senators Columbia College (New York) alumni High Sheriffs of Bristol Mayors of Bristol People of the Province of New York Colonial American merchants Burials at Trinity Church Cemetery Members of the Society of Merchant Venturers