Henry Glen (July 13, 1739 – January 6, 1814) was a

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who served 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 ...

in the

United States House of Representatives 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

during the years immediately following the adoption of the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

Early life

Henry Glen was born in Albany in the

Province of New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the Uni ...

on July 13, 1739, to Jacob Glen and Elizabeth Cuyler. His sister, Janet (Jannetje), was the wife of

Abraham Cuyler Abraham Cornelius Cuyler (April 11, 1742 – February 5, 1810) was a businessman and the last mayor of colonial Albany, New York, the third generation in a row to serve in that office. Early life Abraham was born in 1742 to Mayor Cornelis Cuyler ...

, who was the

Mayor of Albany From its formal chartering on 22 July 1686 until 1779, the mayors of Albany, New York, were appointed by the royal governor of New York, per the provisions of the original city charter, issued by Governor Thomas Dongan. From 1779 until 1839, may ...

from 1770 until 1776 when he was banished for

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

leanings and settled in Canada. His brothers included Johannes (John) Glen and Jacobus (Jacob) Teller Glen.

Glens Falls Glens Falls is a city in Warren County, New York, United States and is the central city of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,700 at the 2010 census. The name was given by Colonel Johannes Glen, the falls refe ...

was named for Johannes, and Glenville was named for their ancestor, Sander Leendertse Glen, also known as

Alexander Lindsay Glen Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants li ...

. Henry's middle name was Jacob, and his names in Dutch were "Hendrick" (the Dutch version of Henry) and "Jacobse" or "Jacobus." He grew up in the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

culture of Albany and

Schenectady Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

, and his name often appears in records in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, in Dutch, or in a combination of both languages. In addition, his name is sometimes recorded with his middle name, without his middle name, and with spelling variants, including "Hendrik" and "Hendrick." His last name also sometimes appears in written records as "Glenn."

Career

Early career

Glen became a merchant and was successful in the

Indian Trade The Indian Trade refers to historic trade between Europeans and their North American descendants and the Indigenous people of North America, and the First Nations in Canada, beginning before the colonial period, continuing through the 19th century ...

and land

speculation In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, good (economics), goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable shortly. (It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hopes for a decline i ...

, operating a company in partnership with his brother Johannes and Jacobus Teller.Jonathan Pearson
Contributions for the Genealogies of the Descendants of the First Settlers of Schenectady
1873, page 78 He was an early white settler of Schenectady, and was appointed Town Clerk in 1767. He held this post until 1809. He owned slaves. In the 1760s, Glen was appointed a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in his brother's militia

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

American Revolution

At the start 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 ...

, Glen was appointed commander of the 2nd Company of Schenectady

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, with the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. Glen also served as a member of Schenectady's Committee of Safety. In addition, he was elected to the

New York Provincial Congress The New York Provincial Congress (1775–1777) was a revolutionary provisional government formed by colonists in 1775, during the American Revolution, as a pro-American alternative to the more conservative New York General Assembly, and as a repla ...

. Glen was later appointed a

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

Assistant Deputy Quartermaster General with the rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. He then advanced to deputy quartermaster general, and attained the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

. Quartermasters were responsible for procuring food, horses, wagons, weapons, ammunition, uniforms, tents and other

materiel Materiel (; ) refers to supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context. In a military context, the term ''materiel'' refers either to the specifi ...

and arranging for them to be distributed to the

Infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

Cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

and

Artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

units. During the Revolution, Glen also served as one of

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 three Commissioners of

Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and Al ...

, and was one of the commission's executive agents. The Commissioners of Indian Affairs were responsible for negotiating with the nations of upstate New York in an effort to end their support for the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

, and possibly begin to support the

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

cause.

Post-American Revolution

After the Revolution, Glen resumed his Schenectady business interests. An early supporter of what became the

Federalist Party The Federalist Party was a Conservatism in the United States, conservative political party which was the first political party in the United States. As such, under Alexander Hamilton, it dominated the national government from 1789 to 1801. De ...

, he served in the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

from 1786 to 1787. In 1792, he was a successful candidate for election to the

. He served four terms, beginning with the

Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

and through the Sixth Congresses, serving from March 4, 1793, to March 3, 1801. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1800, and was succeeded by Killian K. Van Rensselaer. In 1810, Glen returned to the New York Assembly and served one term.

Personal life

In 1762, Henry Glen married Elizabeth (Elisabet) Vischer. Their children included: *Elisabeth Glen, who married Willem Van Ingen *Catarina Glen, who married Rev. Jacob Sickles *Jannetje Glen *Jacob Glen *Johannes Glen *Cornelius Glen Glen died in Schenectady on January 6, 1814. He is presumed to have originally been interred in Schenectady's First Dutch Churchyard. The remains at this site were later moved to

Vale Cemetery Vale Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery and the largest cemetery in Schenectady, New York. It opened on 21 October 1857 when the Rev. Julius Seely dedicated what was then termed "the Vale". It has tripled its size since opening and today it ...

, presumably including Glen's. Not all the gravestones from Schenectady's first cemeteries were transported to Vale Cemetery, so the exact location of his grave is not known.Austin A. Yates
Schenectady County, New York: Its History to the Close of the Nineteenth Century
Chapter XXIV: Genealogy of the Glen Family, 1902, pages 217-220

References

External links

Biographic sketch at U.S. Congress website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glen, Henry 1739 births 1814 deaths Politicians from Albany, New York Military personnel from Albany, New York People of the Province of New York Cuyler family American people of Scottish descent American people of Dutch descent American members of the Dutch Reformed Church Pro-Administration Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Members of the New York Provincial Congress Members of the New York State Assembly American slave owners Politicians from Schenectady, New York Continental Army officers from New York (state) Military personnel from Schenectady, New York New York (state) militiamen in the American Revolution