Abraham Ogden (December 30, 1743 – January 31, 1798) was an American lawyer and politician who served as

U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey The U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey is the chief federal law enforcement officer in New Jersey. On December 16, 2021, Philip R. Sellinger was sworn in as U.S. Attorney. The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey has juri ...

from 1791 to 1798 and negotiated the Treaty of New York (1796).

Early life

Ogden was born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

in 1743. He was the third son of David Ogden and Gertrude (

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 ...

Gouverneur) Ogden. His father was a noted jurist and a member of the supreme court for the royal province of New Jersey before the Revolutionary War. His sister, Sarah Ogden (1742–1821), married Nicholas Hoffman (1736–1800), and were the parents of

Josiah Ogden Hoffman Josiah Ogden Hoffman (April 14, 1766 – January 24, 1837) was an American lawyer and politician. Early life Josiah Ogden Hoffman was born on April 14, 1766, in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Nicholas Hoffman (1736–1800) and Sarah Ogden Hoffma ...

(1766–1837). His brother, Samuel Ogden (1746–1810), served as a Colonel of the New Jersey Militia during the Revolutionary War, and was later prominent in the iron business. Samuel married Euphemia Morris (1754–1818), a sister of

Gouverneur Morris Gouverneur Morris ( ; January 31, 1752 – November 6, 1816) was an American statesman, a Founding Father of the United States, and a signatory to the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. He wrote the Preamble to th ...

, in 1775.

Career

Ogden trained as a lawyer, establishing his practice in

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Morris County in 1768. Among those who studied law at his Morristown office were Richard Stockton (later

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

from New Jersey) and his nephew,

, later the

New York State 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 ...

. During the Revolutionary War, Ogden and his brother

Samuel Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bib ...

sided with the Patriots, while their father David and brothers Isaac, Nicholas and Peter sided with the

Loyalists 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 ...

. Ogden befriended

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

, who often visited his family residence while the

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 ...

was quartered in Morristown. During that time, his young son, Thomas Ludlow Ogden, wounded Washington's hand in a fencing bout. This is believed to be the only injury that Washington suffered in the course of the war.

Post-Revolutionary War

After the war, Ogden settled in Newark. He represented Essex County in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

in 1790. In 1791 President Washington appointed him

,Cite as: ''The Papers of George Washington Digital Edition,'' ed. Theodore J. Crackel. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, Rotunda, 2008. Canonic URL: http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/GEWN-05-07-02-0096 ccessed 15 Nov 2015Original source: ''Presidential Series (24 September 1788 – 31 March 1795),'' Volume 7 (1 December 1790 – 21 March 1791) a position he served until his death. Washington also appointed Ogden as Commissioner to the Indians in Northern New York. He led the delegation that negotiated the Treaty of New York (1796) with the Seven Nations of Canada. They had been allies of the British during the Revolutionary War. Aware that the Iroquois and other tribes were being forced to cede most of their lands in New York State, which wanted to sell the property for development, Ogden, his brother Samuel, Gouverneur Morris and others purchased a large tract of land in

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 * '' ...

, south of the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

. They intended to plat and sell it to new settlers; many migrants were entering the state from New England, and some men made fortunes in land speculation. The town of

Ogdensburg, New York Ogdensburg ( moh, Kaniatarahòn:tsi) is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,436 at the 2019 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and d ...

was named after his brother, Samuel Ogden.

Personal life

On December 22, 1767, Ogden married Sarah F. Ludlow (1744–1823), the daughter of Catherine (

Le Roux) Ludlow and Thomas Ludlow, merchant of New York. Together, they had 13 children: *

David A. Ogden David Aaron Ogden (January 10, 1770 – June 9, 1829) was a U.S. Representative from New York and a member of the prominent Ogden family. Early life Born in Morristown in the Province of New Jersey, he was the son of Sarah Frances (Ludlow) ...

(1770–1829), U.S. Representative from

, married Rebecca C. Edwards * Catharine L. Ogden (1771–1814), Abijah Hammond, original landholder of Hammond, New York * Charles L. Ogden (1772–1826), who married Elizabeth Meredith * Thomas Ludlow Ogden (1773–1844), leading

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

lawyer, who married Martha Hammond * Abraham Ogden (1775–1846), who married Mary L. Barnwell * Gertrude Gouverneur Ogden (1777–1850), who married Joshua Waddington (1755–1844) * Gouverneur Ogden (1778–1851), who married Charlotte Curzon Seton * William Ogden (1780–1801) * Sarah F.L. Ogden (1782–1849) * Margaretta E. Ogden (1783–1834), who married David B. Ogden * Isaac Ogden (1784–1867), who married Sarah Ogden Meredith * Samuel N. Ogden (1787–1787) * Frances S. Ogden (1788–1824), who married Nathaniel Lawrence the younger, merchant of

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, England Ogden died in 1798 in Newark.

Descendants

His grandson, William D. Waddington (1811–1886), who married Mary Elizabeth Ogden (1810–1867), were the parents of George Waddington (1840–1915), who married Elizabeth Van Rensselaer (1845–1911), the daughter of Henry Bell Van Rensselaer, a U.S. Representative and the son of New York's Lt. Gov.

Stephen Van Rensselaer Stephen Van Rensselaer III (; November 1, 1764January 26, 1839) was an American landowner, businessman, militia officer, and politician. A graduate of Harvard College, at age 21, Van Rensselaer took control of Rensselaerswyck, his family's mano ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogden, Abraham 1744 births 1798 deaths Politicians from Morris County, New Jersey Politicians from Newark, New Jersey People from Morristown, New Jersey Members of the New Jersey General Assembly United States Attorneys for the District of New Jersey 18th-century American politicians People of colonial New Jersey Patriots in the American Revolution