Jesse Hoyt (June 28, 1792 – March 17, 1867) was an American lawyer and politician from

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 * '' ...

Early life

Hoyt was born in

New Canaan New Canaan () is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,622 according to the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. About an hour from Manhattan by train, the town is considered part of G ...

Fairfield County, Connecticut Fairfield County is a County (United States), county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is the List of counties in Connecticut, most populous county in the state and was also its fastest-growing from 2010 to 2020. A ...

on June 28, 1792. He was the second son and third born of nine total children of Goold Hoyt, a merchant and broker, and Sarah (

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 ...

Reid) Hoyt. His paternal grandparents were Justus Hoyt, a shoemaker and farmer who served one campaign in the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

, and Elizabeth Hoyt and his maternal grandfather was Timothy Reed.

Career

He moved to

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

, and became a merchant but failed. Then, he studied law with

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (Uni ...

, was admitted to the bar in 1819, and commenced practice in partnership with Van Buren and

Benjamin F. Butler Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) was an American major general of the Union Army, politician, lawyer, and businessman from Massachusetts. Born in New Hampshire and raised in Lowell, Massachusetts, Butler is best ...

Hudson, New York Hudson is a city and the county seat of Columbia County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 5,894. Located on the east side of the Hudson River and 120 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, it was named for the rive ...

. Soon after, Hoyt removed to

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 ...

, and continued the practice of law there, specializing in Chancery cases. He was a member from New York County of 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 ...

in 1823. Hoyt was part of the

Bucktails The Bucktails (1818–1826) were the faction of the Democratic-Republican Party in New York State opposed to Governor DeWitt Clinton. It was influenced by the Tammany Society. The name derives from a Tammany insignia, a deer's tail worn in the hat ...

faction of the

Democratic-Republican Party The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

. In 1838, Hoyt was appointed by President Van Buren as

Collector of the Port of New York The Collector of Customs at the Port of New York, most often referred to as Collector of the Port of New York, was a federal officer who was in charge of the collection of import duties on foreign goods that entered the United States by ship at t ...

to replace

Samuel Swartwout Samuel Swartwout (November 17, 1783 – November 21, 1856) was an American soldier, merchant, speculator, and politician. He is best known for his role in the Swartwout-Hoyt scandal, in which he was alleged to have embezzled $1,222,705.09 du ...

who had been Collector since 1829. Soon after Hoyt's taking office, Swartwout was accused of embezzlement, but in February 1841, Van Buren was forced to remove Hoyt by appointing John J. Morgan as Collector, after Hoyt had also been accused of embezzlement. The episode became known as the Swartwout-Hoyt scandal. Afterwards, Hoyt resumed the practice of law.

Personal life

On April 3, 1828, he married Cornelia Emeline Thurston (1803–1852). She was the daughter of Robert Jenkins Thurston and Abigail (née Bogert) Thurston. Together, they were the parents of six children: * Cornelia Thurston Hoyt (1829–1888). * Louis Thurston Hoyt (1834–1901), who married Marie Antoinette Bogert (1839–1879). After her death, he married Frances Mary Jones (1839–1930). * William Henry Hoyt. * Emily Adele Hoyt (1838–1889), who married Francis Adams De Wint (1834–1866). * Robert Sands Hoyt (1840–1879). * Ella Carroll Hoyt, who married J. de Wint Whittemore. Hoyt died in New York City on March 17, 1867.

References

;Notes ;Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoyt, Jesse 1792 births 1867 deaths New York (state) Jacksonians 19th-century American politicians New York (state) Democratic-Republicans Collectors of the Port of New York Members of the New York State Assembly Politicians from New York City People from Hudson, New York People from New Canaan, Connecticut Lawyers from New York City