James Schureman (February 12, 1756January 22, 1824) was an American merchant and statesman from

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city in and the seat of government of Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.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 Delawa ...

in the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

as well as the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

and

United States Senate 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 ...

Biography

James was born in

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

in the

Province of New Jersey The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1783. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherland but came under English rule after t ...

and attended Queen's College (now

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

), graduating in 1775. When he graduated he raised a volunteer company in New Brunswick and led it as Captain in the Middlesex County militia. He led them in the

Battle of Brooklyn The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was an action of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1776, at the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn, New Yo ...

on August 27, 1776 where he was captured. He was held as a prisoner of war until early in the spring of 1777 when he escaped to rejoin 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 ...

at Morristown. Schureman returned to New Brunswick and took up a mercantile career while still serving in the militia. He was elected to 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 ...

from 1783 to 1785. In 1786, New Jersey sent him as a delegate to the

. That same year he was one of those at the Annapolis Convention that called for a new constitution for the United States. He continued in the Congressional session of 1787, then was returned to the state assembly in 1788. When the United States was formed, Schureman was elected to the First House of Representatives, serving from 1789 until 1791. He served two other terms in the House, in the 9th Congress (1797–1799) and 14th Congress (1813–1815). He was elected to the U.S. Senate to complete the term of John Rutherfurd and served there from 1799 to 1801. Between these duties he served a number of years as the Mayor of New Brunswick, New Jersey including 1792–1794, 1801–1813, and 1821–1824. He also represented

Middlesex County, New Jersey Middlesex County is located in central New Jersey, United States, extending inland from the Raritan Valley region to the northern portion of the Jersey Shore. As of the 2020 United States Census, the county's population was enumerated at 863, ...

on the New Jersey Legislative Council for the 1808, 1810, and 1812–1813 sessions of the legislature, serving as Vice-President of Council in the latter session. When Schureman died in 1824 at New Brunswick, he was buried in the churchyard of the First Dutch Reformed Church there. The church and cemetery still stand and are located at Neilson and Bayard Streets.

References

External links

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Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schureman, James 1756 births 1824 deaths Continental Congressmen from New Jersey 18th-century American politicians United States senators from New Jersey Rutgers University alumni American people of Dutch descent Mayors of New Brunswick, New Jersey Members of the New Jersey Legislative Council Members of the New Jersey General Assembly Federalist Party United States senators People of colonial New Jersey Burials in New Jersey Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey Colonial American merchants People from New Brunswick, New Jersey