Jonathan Nicoll Havens (June 18, 1757 – October 25, 1799) was a

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

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

Havens was born on

Shelter Island, New York Shelter Island is an island town in Suffolk County, New York, United States, near the eastern end of Long Island. The population was 3,253 at the 2020 census. Geography Shelter Island is nestled between the North and South Forks of Long Island. ...

. He was the only son born to Nicoll Floyd Havens (1733–1783) 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 ...

Fosdick) Havens (1730–1767). After the death of his mother in 1767, his father remarried to Desire Brown. Among his siblings was Esther Sarah Havens (wife of New York Assemblymen

Sylvester Dering Sylvester or Silvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective ''silvestris'' meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun ''silva'' meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with ''i''. In Classical Latin, ''y'' represented a ...

) and Mary Catherine Havens (wife of

Ezra L'Hommedieu Ezra L'Hommedieu (August 30, 1734 – September 27, 1811) was an American lawyer and statesman from Southold, New York in Suffolk County, Long Island. He was a delegate for New York to the Continental Congress (1779 to 1783) and again in 1788. ...

). Among his younger half siblings were Catherine Mary Havens (who married

New York State Senator 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 compo ...

Henry Huntington) and New York banker Rensselaer Havens. His paternal grandparents were Jonathan Havens and Catherine (née Nicoll) Havens (a sister of

Speaker of the New York General Assembly The Speaker of the New York General Assembly was the highest official in the New York General Assembly, the first representative governing body in New York from 1683 to 1775 when the assembly disbanded after the outbreak of the American Revolution ...

William Nicoll Jr. Through his grandmother, he was a direct descendant of English-born politician William Nicoll, who is best remembered for his vehement opposition to the

Leisler Rebellion Leisler's Rebellion was an uprising in late-17th century colonial New York in which German American merchant and militia captain Jacob Leisler seized control of the southern portion of the colony and ruled it from 1689 to 1691. The uprising too ...

, and his wife, Anna (née Van Rensselaer) Nicoll (widow of the patroon Kiliaen van Rensselaer, and daughter of

Jeremias van Rensselaer Jeremias van Rensselaer (Amsterdam, 16 May 1632 – October 12, 1674) was the third son of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, one of the founders and directors of the Dutch West India Company who was instrumental in the establishment of New Netherland a ...

). He graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1777.

Career

He was Shelter Island town clerk from 1783 to 1787, and was on the New York delegation that in 1788 approved the new Federal Constitution following United States' independence in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. He served in the state assembly from 1786 until 1795. He was elected to the New York State Convention which ratified the Federal Constitution, in 1788 and

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

of Suffolk County, in 1795. Havens 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 4th, 5th and

6th United States Congress The 6th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It met at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and in Washington, D ...

es, serving from March 4, 1795, until his death.

Personal life

Havens died on Shelter Island on October 25, 1799. He was buried at the Presbyterian Church on Shelter Island, where a memorial stone was placed in his memory.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Havens, Jonathan Nicoll 1757 births 1799 deaths People from Shelter Island, New York Yale University alumni Members of the New York State Assembly Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 18th-century American politicians

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links