John Berrien (November 19, 1711April 22, 1772) was a farmer and merchant from

Rocky Hill, New Jersey Rocky Hill is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States, named for the Rocky Hill Ridge. As of the 2010 United States Census, the rural borough's population was 682,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 th ...

in 1764 and was a trustee of the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University, for eleven years.

Biography

Berrien was born in 1711 at Newtown on Long Island, now known as

Elmhurst, Queens Elmhurst (formerly Newtown) is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. It is bounded by Roosevelt Avenue on the north; the Long Island Expressway on the south; Junction Boulevard on the east; and the New York Connecting R ...

. He was the grandson of Cornelius Jansen Berrien. Peter Berrien and Elizabeth Woodhull Edsall. He married Lady Margaret Eaton and had as their child Major John Berrien (1759–1815). On April 21, 1772, he drowned after jumping into the

Millstone River The Millstone River is a tributary of the Raritan River in central New Jersey in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Garden State Canoeing'', Seneca Press, 2002. The Millstone River begins in western Monmouth County and flows westward throu ...

. His will divided his property equally among his wife and six children. He is buried in

Princeton Cemetery Princeton Cemetery is located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the Nassau Presbyterian Church. John F. Hageman in his 1878 history of Princeton, New Jersey refers to the cemetery as "The Westminster Abbey of the United Stat ...

. It was from the Berrien Mansion, Rockingham, near

Rocky Hill, New Jersey Rocky Hill is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States, named for the Rocky Hill Ridge. As of the 2010 United States Census, the rural borough's population was 682,George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

wrote his final address to the army in 1783.

References

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* * 1711 births 1772 deaths People from Rocky Hill, New Jersey People from Elmhurst, Queens People of colonial New Jersey Colonial American merchants Justices of the Supreme Court of New Jersey Princeton University people Burials at Princeton Cemetery {{US-state-judge-stub