John Hathorn (January 9, 1749 – February 19, 1825) was an American politician and

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 ...

officer from New York.

Life

He completed preparatory studies and became a surveyor and a school teacher. He moved to

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

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 ...

, then a part of the precinct of Goshen and married Elizabeth Welling. He owned slaves. He was a captain in the local colonial

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 ...

, and became a colonel of the Fourth

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

Regiment February 7, 1776, and served throughout the Revolutionary War. He served on the committee appointed to determine an effective location for the

Hudson River Chain The Hudson River Chains were a series of chain booms constructed across the Hudson River at West Point by Continental Army forces from 1776 to 1778 during the American Revolutionary War. These served as defenses preventing British naval vessels ...

which prevented the British from advancing upriver, and himself wrote the report. He was one of the commanders of the

Battle of Minisink The Battle of Minisink was a battle of the American Revolutionary War fought at Minisink Ford, New York, on July 22, 1779. It was the only major skirmish of the Revolutionary War fought in the northern Delaware Valley. The battle was a decisive ...

. After the war, on September 26, 1786, Hathorn became a brigadier general of the Orange County militia, and on October 8, 1793, a major general of the state militia. Hathorn was a member from Orange 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 1778, 1780, from 1782 to 1785, in 1795 and 1805, and served as

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

in 1784. He was a member of 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 ...

from 1786 to 1790 and from 1799 to 1803, and was a member of the

Council of Appointment The Council of Appointment (sometimes also Council of Appointments) was a body of the Government of New York that existed from 1777 to 1822. History Under the New York Constitution of 1777, the Council of Appointment consisted of the Governor of N ...

in 1787 and 1789. He was elected to the

Confederation Congress The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States of America during the Confederation period, March 1, 1781 – Mar ...

in December 1788 but did not attend because it soon become defunct. In March 1789, he was elected to the

First United States Congress The 1st United States Congress, comprising the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, met from March 4, 1789, to March 4, 1791, during the first two years of George Washington's presidency, first at Federal Hall in ...

, and served from April 23, 1789, to March 3, 1791. He was elected as a

Democratic-Republican 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 ...

to the

Fourth United States Congress The 4th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsy ...

, and served from March 4, 1795 to March 3, 1797. Hathorn engaged in mercantile pursuits until the time of his death. He was buried in Warwick Cemetery. His stone house still stands on Hathorn Road, with his and his wife's initials worked in red brick on the south gable of the house.

References

John Hathorn's Revolutionary Legacy Information Page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hathorn, John 1749 births 1825 deaths People from Wilmington, Delaware People of colonial Delaware American Quakers Anti-Administration Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Speakers of the New York State Assembly New York (state) state senators American slave owners People from Warwick, New York American militia generals New York (state) militiamen in the American Revolution