Major-General Oliver De Lancey (September 17, 1718 – October 27, 1785) was a merchant and

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

politician and soldier during the American Revolutionary War. His surname is also sometimes written as de Lancey or Delancey.

Career

The son of Etienne Delancey and

Anne Van Cortland The Van Cortlandt family was an influential political dynasty from the seventeenth-century Dutch origins of New York through its period as an English colony, then after it became a state, and into the nineteenth century. It rose to great promin ...

, De Lancey was born on September 17, 1718, in New York City, Province of New York. The De Lancey family was of Huguenot descent.History of Huguenot emigration to America, 1885, Charles Washington Baird From 1754 to 1757, De Lancey served as a New York alderman for the Out Ward and was a member of the New York assembly from New York County from 1756 to 1761. During the French and Indian War, he was selected by the New York Assembly, with the support of his brother

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

, then acting Governor, to provide provisions for New York provincial units. During the war, De Lancey commanded the New York Provincial Militia, 1755–1763, and commanded a provincial detachment in the Ticonderoga campaign of 1758. In 1766, De Lancey was one of the judges in the Pendergast case, in which the alleged leader of the

Dutchess County 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 organ ...

land rebels was convicted and sentenced to death. De Lancey was a member of the provincial executive council from 1760 until the American Revolutionary War. In 1768, he allied himself with Isaac Sears and the Sons of Liberty. De Lancey spoke out against the

Boston Port Act The Boston Port Act, also called the Trade Act 1774, was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which became law on March 31, 1774, and took effect on June 1, 1774. It was one of five measures (variously called the ''Intolerable Acts'', the ...

of 1774 but did not support nonimportation. He was one of the persons responsible for the creation of the Committee of Fifty. In 1773, he was appointed colonel in chief of the Southern Military District. During the war, De Lancey was a senior officer in the

irregular military hierarchy. He joined Sir William Howe 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 ...

in 1776, and he and his brother raised and equipped the three battalions of

DeLancey's Brigade De Lancey's Brigade, also known as De Lancey's Volunteers, De Lancey's Corps, De Lancey's Provincial Corps, De Lancey's Refugees, and the "Cowboys" or "Cow-boys", was a Loyalist British provincial military unit, raised for service during the A ...

, consisting of fifteen hundred Loyalist volunteers from the Province of New York. He served as the brigade's commanding officer on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

. His property was plundered by Patriots in November 1777 and confiscated in October 1779. De Lancey left New York for England in 1783 and died on October 27, 1785, in Beverley, Yorkshire. He was buried in Beverley Minster, where his grave and memorial can be visited.

Family

In the fall of 1742, Oliver De Lancey secretly married Phila Franks, the colonial-born daughter of prominent and successful London-born, New York

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

Jewish immigrants. For six months, they kept the match secret, but in the spring of 1743, Phila announced the union and went to live with her husband. The letters of

Abigail Franks Bilhah Abigail Levy Franks (c. 1696–1756) was an English–born Ashkenazi Jews, Jewish woman who lived most of her life in the Province of New York, British America. Born in London and raised in New York City, she married a London-born merchant ...

, Phila's mother, to her son Naphtali in England speak of her sense of betrayal and her pain, and she never spoke to Phila again. Phila's father, on the other hand, accepted the marriage. Phila and Oliver de Lancey had at least two sons and two daughters: * Stephen (1748–1798) became clerk of the city and county of Albany in 1765,

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

of the 1st New Jersey Loyal Volunteers in 1782, afterwards Chief Justice of the Bahamas, and in 1796

Governor of Tobago This article lists governors of Tobago. Governors of Tobago have been referred to by the formal titles of "Governor" and "Lieutenant-Governor". For governors of the united Trinidad and Tobago after 1889 see List of Governors of Trinidad and Tobago ...

. He married Cornelia, daughter of the Rev. H. Barclay of Trinity Church, New York. They had several children, including

William Howe De Lancey Colonel Sir William Howe De Lancey (1778 – 26 June 1815) was an officer in the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars. He died of wounds he received at the Battle of Waterloo. Early life De Lancey's paternal ancestors were Huguenots wh ...

, a British staff officer mortally wounded at the Battle of Waterloo. * Oliver (''ca.'' 1749–1822) became a general in the British Army, and who also had a son called Oliver (1803–1837), who served as a British Army officer and was killed in action while fighting for the

British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants, as well as all others in ne ...

during the First Carlist War. *Philadelphia (Phila) de Lancy (1758-1785) married Stephen Payne-Gallwey, son of the Governor and Chief Justice of St Kitts, Leeward Islands, in 1774, and they settled in West Tofts, Norfolk, England. *Susanna De Lancey married William Draper De Lancey's nephew

served in De Lancey's Brigade.

Footnotes

References

* * *

External links

The On-Line Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies

{{DEFAULTSORT:DeLancey, Oliver Sr 1718 births 1785 deaths British Army major generals British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War Huguenot participants in the American Revolution Members of the New York Provincial Assembly Members of the New York General Assembly Loyalists in the American Revolution from New York (state) American slave owners Military personnel from New York City People of the Province of New York Burials in Yorkshire Schuyler family 18th-century American politicians De Lancey family

Career

Family

Footnotes

References

Further reading

External links