Stephen de Lancey (born 1748 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

– died 6 December 1798 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire) was

Chief Justice of the Bahamas The Chief Justice of the Bahamas heads the Supreme Court of the Bahamas. Legal basis The position of Chief Justice is authorised by Article 93(2) of the Constitution of the Bahamas. Under Article 94(1), the Governor-General appoints the Chief J ...

and Governor of Tobago.

Early life

De Lancey was the son of Major-General Oliver De Lancey, Sr. (1718–1785) and Phila Franks, whose Ashkenazi Jewish parents had emigrated from London in the early eighteenth century. His paternal grandfather was Etienne de Lancey, also known as Stephen Delancey (1663–1741), and his brother was Oliver deLancey (c. 1749–1822), a British Army officer.

Career

De Lancey was a lawyer who served as the Clerk of the city and county of

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 C ...

in 1765. He was also a Lieutenant-colonel of the 1st

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

loyal volunteers in 1782. In 1786, he was a member of the

Nova Scotia Council Formally known as "His Majesty's Council of Nova Scotia", the Nova Scotia Council (1720–1838) was the original British administrative, legislative and judicial body in Nova Scotia. The Nova Scotia Council was also known as the Annapolis Counci ...

and served as Chief Justice of

the Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

from 1790 to 1797. From 1797 until his death in 1798, he was the Governor of

Tobago Tobago () is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trini ...

Personal life

Stephen de Lancey was married to Cornelia Barclay. She was the daughter of the Rev. Henry Barclay, Rector of

Trinity Church, New York Trinity Church is a historic parish church in the Episcopal Diocese of New York, at the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Known for its history, location, architecture and en ...

. Together, they were the parents of two children: *

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 ...

(1778–1815), an officer in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

who married Magdalene Hall (1793–1822), one of the three daughters of Sir James Hall of Dunglass, 4th baronet (1761–1832), and his wife Lady Helen Douglas (1762–1837), a daughter of

Dunbar Douglas, 4th Earl of Selkirk Dunbar Hamilton Douglas, 4th Earl of Selkirk FRSE (1 December 1722 – 24 June 1799) was a Scottish peer. Early life Born Dunbar Hamilton, he adopted the name Dunbar Douglas upon his succession to the Earldom of Selkirk in 1744. He was the eld ...

* Susan De Lancey (d. 1832), who first married Col. William Johnson. After his death, she married

Hudson Lowe Sir Hudson Lowe (28 July 176910 January 1844) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and colonial administrator who is best known for his time as Governor of St Helena, where he was the "gaoler" of the Emperor Napoléon. Early life The son of John Lowe, ...

(1769–1844), an Anglo-Irish

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

who served as Governor of St Helena, where he was the "gaoler" of the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Napoléon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. Delancey died on 6 December 1798 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire while serving as Governor of Tobago.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delancey, Stephen 1748 births 1798 deaths Loyalists in the American Revolution from New York (state) Chief justices of the Bahamas Governors of British Tobago British people of Jewish descent Loyalist military personnel of the American Revolutionary War De Lancey family