John Duer (October 7, 1782 – August 8, 1858) was a

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 * '' ...

attorney,

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

, and co-founder of

Children's Village The Children's Village, formerly the New York Juvenile Asylum, is a private, non-profit residential treatment facility and school for troubled children. It was founded in 1851 by 24 citizens of New York who were concerned about growing numbers o ...

Biography

Born in

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 ...

on October 7, 1782, he was the son of

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

and Catherine Duer.

William Alexander Duer William Alexander Duer (September 8, 1780 – May 30, 1858) was an American lawyer, jurist, and educator from New York City who served as the President of Columbia University from 1829 to 1842. He was also a slaveholder, owning numerous enslave ...

was his brother, and his maternal grandfather was

William Alexander, Lord Stirling William Alexander, also known as Lord Stirling (1726 – 15 January 1783), was a Scottish-American major general during the American Revolutionary War. He was considered male heir to the Scottish title of Earl of Stirling through Scottish line ...

. He was the father of William Duer (1805–1879), who also served in Congress. John Duer entered the army at age 16, but after two years left to

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

in the office of

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...

. He was admitted to the bar, began a practice in

Orange County, New York Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 401,310. The county seat is Goshen. This county was first created in 1683 and reorganized with its present boundaries in 1798. Orange ...

, and moved 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 ...

in 1820, where he became a highly successful insurance lawyer. He was a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1821. In 1825 he was appointed with Benjamin F. Butler and

John Canfield Spencer John Canfield Spencer (January 8, 1788May 17, 1855) was an American lawyer, politician, judge and United States Cabinet secretary in the administration of President John Tyler. Early life John Canfield Spencer was born on January 8, 1788, in H ...

to the commission that revised the state statutes, and he was especially active in preparing the first half of the work. From 1828 to 1829 he was

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York is the chief federal law enforcement officer in eight New York counties: New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess and Sullivan. Establishe ...

. He was elected an associate judge of the New York Superior Court in 1849, and on the death of Judge Thomas J. Oakley in 1857, Duer became chief justice. Duer died on

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

on August 8, 1858, and was buried at Trinity Churchyard Cemetery in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

Works

At the time of his death, he was editing ''Duer's Reports of the Decisions of the Superior Court'', the sixth volume of which he left incomplete. His other published works include: * ''A Lecture on the Law of Representations in Marine Insurance, with Notes and Illustrations'' (New York, 1844) * ''A Treatise on the Law and Practice of Marine Insurance'', which became a standard authority in the United States (2 vols., 1845–46) *
A Discourse on the Life, Character, and Public Services of James Kent, Chancellor of the State of New York'', delivered by request before the judiciary and bar of the city and county of New York (12 April 1848).
* ''Three of the Revised Statutes of the State'', in connection with Benjamin F. Butler and

John C. Spencer John Canfield Spencer (January 8, 1788May 17, 1855) was an American lawyer, politician, judge and United States Cabinet secretary in the administration of President John Tyler. Early life John Canfield Spencer was born on January 8, 1788, in H ...

.
Report of the Commissioners Appointed to Revise the Statute Laws of this State (New York, 1826).

Notes

References

* *
Sketches of Some of the Prominent Members of the Orange County Bar
', by Walter Case Anthony (1917) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Duer, John 1782 births 1858 deaths American jurists New York (state) lawyers New York (state) state court judges American people of Dutch descent American people of English descent American people of Scottish descent De Peyster family Livingston family Schuyler family Lawyers from New York City American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law