Jacob Radcliff or Radclift (April 20, 1764 – May 6, 1844) was a jurist, lawyer and politician. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1810 to 1811, and from 1815 to 1818.

Early life and education

He was born on April 20, 1764, in Rhinebeck,

Dutchess County, New York Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later org ...

. Radcliff graduated from Princeton University in 1783

Career and marriage

Radcliff practiced law under

Egbert Benson Egbert Benson (June 21, 1746 – August 24, 1833) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician, who represented New York State in the Continental Congress, Annapolis Convention, and United States House of Representatives. He served as a membe ...

, the first

New York Attorney General The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government o ...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1786. About the same time, he married Juliana Smith, the daughter of Cotton Mather Smith and granddaughter of

Cotton Mather Cotton Mather (; February 12, 1663 – February 13, 1728) was a New England Puritan clergyman and a prolific writer. Educated at Harvard College, in 1685 he joined his father Increase as minister of the Congregationalist Old North Meeting H ...

. While practicing law in Poughkeepsie, New York, he was a member 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 Assemb ...

(Dutchess County) in the 1795 18th New York State Legislature and was one of the twelve members of the Joint Committee on Elections of the Senate and Assembly of New York. He was appointed Assistant Attorney General on February 23, 1796. On December 27, 1798, he became a justice of the New York Supreme Court. In this position, he helped revise the state's laws. He resigned from the bench in 1804, and practiced chancery law in Brooklyn. When the Federalist Party gained the majority in 1810, Radcliff was appointed mayor of New York City. When the War of 1812 divided the Federalist party, Radcliff aligned with the

Tammany Society Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

, which was poised to gain a majority in state politics. Grand Sachem of Tammany Hall John Ferguson became mayor in 1815 but resigned to take the appointment of Surveyor of the Port of New York. Radcliff was chosen as his replacement.

Death

He died in Troy, New York, on May 6, 1844.'' New York Evening Post''. Death Notice. Jacob Radcliff. May 7, 1844.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Radcliff, Jacob Mayors of New York City 1764 births 1844 deaths 18th-century American judges 18th-century American lawyers 18th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American politicians Lawyers from Brooklyn Members of the New York State Assembly New York (state) Democratic-Republicans New York (state) Federalists New York (state) state court judges Politicians from Brooklyn Politicians from Poughkeepsie, New York People from Rhinebeck, New York Princeton University alumni