John Ten Eyck Lansing Jr. (January 30, 1754 – vanished December 12, 1829), a

Founding Father of the United States The Founding Fathers of the United States, known simply as the Founding Fathers or Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the war for independence from Great Britai ...

, was an attorney, jurist, and

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 ...

. Born and raised in

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 ...

, Lansing was trained as a lawyer, and was long involved in politics and government. During the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

he was military secretary to General

Philip Schuyler Philip John Schuyler (; November 18, 1804) was an American general in the Revolutionary War and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler. Born in Alb ...

. Lansing served in the New York State Assembly from 1781-1784, in 1786, and in 1789; served as

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the Assembly in 1786 and 1789; served as a member of the Congress of the Confederation in 1785; and served as mayor of Albany from 1786 to 1790. He was a delegate to the federal Constitutional Convention in 1787, but withdrew from the body in July because he opposed the proposed United States Constitution as infringing on state and individual rights. He was a delegate to the New York ratification convention in June 1788, but was unable to prevent the Constitution from being approved. In 1790, Lansing was a member of the commission that settled the New York-

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

boundary as part of Vermont's admission to the Union as the fourteenth state in 1791. He was a justice of the New York Supreme Court from 1790 to 1798, and chief justice from 1798 to 1801. He was also Chancellor of New York from 1801 to 1814, and in 1817 was a special commissioner to resolve

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 ...

and

New York County Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

claims to land in Vermont. From 1817 until his death, he was regent of the

University of the State of New York The University of the State of New York (USNY, ) is the state of New York's governmental umbrella organization for both public and private institutions in New York State. The "university" is not an educational institution: it is, in fact, a lic ...

. Lansing disappeared in December 1829, after leaving his New York City hotel room to mail a letter. No trace was ever found, and what happened to Lansing remains unknown.

Early life

John Ten Eyck Lansing Jr. was born on January 30, 1754, in

. He was the son of Gerrit Jacob Lansing (b. 1711) and Jannetje "Jane" ( née Waters) Lansing (1728–1810). His younger brother was Abraham Gerritse Lansing (1756–1834), New York State Treasurer who married Susanna Yates, the daughter of Abraham Yates. Another brother, Sanders G. Lansing (1766–1850), married Catherine Ten Eyck (1769–1850), daughter of Abraham Ten Eyck (1744–1824) and Annatje (née Lansing) Ten Eyck (1746–1823). Through his brother Abraham, Lansing was the uncle of Gerrit Yates Lansing (1783–1862), a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and Susan Yates Lansing (1804–1874), who was the second wife of Peter Gansevoort (1788–1876), son of Gen. Peter Gansevoort. Through his brother Sanders, he was the uncle of

Robert Lansing Robert Lansing (; October 17, 1864 – October 30, 1928) was an American lawyer and diplomat who served as Counselor to the State Department at the outbreak of World War I, and then as United States Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wi ...

(1799–1878), a New York State Senator and the grandfather of

U.S. Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

Career

Lansing studied law with Robert Yates in Albany, and was admitted to practice in 1775. From 1776 until 1777 during the Revolutionary War, Lansing served as a military secretary to General

. Afterwards he was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1780 to 1784, in 1785-86, and 1788–89, being its

during the latter two terms. He served New York as a member of the

Confederation Congress The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States of America during the Confederation period, March 1, 1781 – Mar ...

in 1785. In 1786, Lansing was appointed Mayor of Albany. He represented New York as one of three representatives at the Constitutional Convention in 1787, where he intended to follow the wishes of the

New York Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official te ...

and only amend the existing Articles of Confederation. However, as the convention progressed he became dismayed that the convention was, in his view, exceeding of its mandate by writing an entirely new constitution. Lansing's desire was to see the Articles strengthened by giving it a source of revenue, the power to regulate commerce, and to enforce treaties. He joined other prominent

Anti-Federalists Anti-Federalism was a late-18th century political movement that opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. federal government and which later opposed the ratification of the 1787 Constitution. The previous constitution, called the Articles of Con ...

that strongly opposed Alexander Hamilton,

James Wilson James Wilson may refer to: Politicians and government officials Canada *James Wilson (Upper Canada politician) (1770–1847), English-born farmer and political figure in Upper Canada * James Crocket Wilson (1841–1899), Canadian MP from Quebe ...

, and

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for h ...

's notions of a strong centralized national government to replace the Articles. Lansing, along with fellow New York delegate Yates, as well as Luther Martin of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and

George Mason George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of the three delegates present who refused to sign the Constitution. His writings, including ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, strongly opposed the newly proposed United States Constitution because they thought it was fundamentally flawed and it infringed on the sovereignty of the independent States while not doing enough to guarantee individual liberty. Both Lansing and Yates walked out of the convention after six weeks and explained their departure in a joint letter to

New York Governor The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ha ...

George Clinton. Neither man signed the constitution. At the New York Ratifying Convention that followed, Lansing, along with

Melancton Smith Melancton Smith (May 7, 1744 – July 29, 1798) was a merchant, lawyer and a New York delegate to the Continental Congress. Praised for his intelligence, liberality, and reasonableness, Smith had attained considerable respect in the State of ...

, took the lead in the debates as the leaders of the Anti-Federalist majority. Their attempts to prevent ratification ultimately failed by a narrow vote of 30 to 27. Lansing was appointed a justice of the

New York State Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

in 1790, and on February 15, 1798, he was elevated to the post of chief justice. In 1801, he also became the second Chancellor of New York, succeeding

Robert R. Livingston Robert Robert Livingston (November 27, 1746 (Old Style November 16) – February 26, 1813) was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat from New York, as well as a Founding Father of the United States. He was known as "The Chancellor", afte ...

. In 1814 Lansing became a Regent of the

Disappearance

On the evening of December 12, 1829, Lansing left his

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

hotel to mail a letter at a dock in New York City, never to be seen again. He was 75 years old and was presumed drowned or perhaps murdered. Lansing's fate was a major mystery in New York State at the time, rivaled only by the 1826 disappearance of William Morgan, the anti-Masonic writer. Only one major clue to Lansing's disappearance appeared after his death. In 1882, the memoirs of

Thurlow Weed Edward Thurlow Weed (November 15, 1797 – November 22, 1882) was a printer, New York newspaper publisher, and Whig and Republican politician. He was the principal political advisor to prominent New York politician William H. Seward and was i ...

, former Whig and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

political leader in New York State, were published by Weed's grandson T. W. Barnes. Weed wrote that Lansing was murdered by several prominent political and social figures who found he was in the way of their projects. According to Weed, his unnamed source showed him papers to prove it, but begged Weed not to publish them until all the individuals had died. Weed said they were all dead by 1870, but he did not wish to harm their respected family reputations, so upon advice of two friends he decided not to reveal what he had been told.

Personal life

On April 8, 1781, Lansing was married to Cornelia Ray (1757–1834), daughter of Robert Ray and Sarah (née Bogart) Ray of

. Together, they were the parents of ten children, five of whom died young. Their children included: * Jane Lansing (1785–1871), who married Rensselaer Westerlo (1776–1851) in 1805. He was the son of Eilardus Westerlo and Catherine Livingston, herself the daughter of

Philip Livingston Philip Livingston (January 15, 1716 – June 12, 1778) was an American merchant and statesman from New York City. He represented New York at the October 1774 First Continental Congress, where he favored imposing economic sanctions upon Great B ...

and the widow of Stephen Van Rensselaer II. * Frances Lansing (1791–1855), who married Jacob Livingston Sutherland (1788–1845) in 1811. * Cornelia Lansing (1795–1877) * Sarah Ray Lansing (1797–1848), who married Edward Livingston (1796–1840) in 1819. Lansing's widow died in January 1834 and is buried at

Albany Rural Cemetery The Albany Rural Cemetery was established October 7, 1844, in Colonie, New York, United States, just outside the city of Albany, New York. It is renowned as one of the most beautiful, pastoral cemeteries in the U.S., at over . Many historical A ...

Legacy

The town of

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

in New York was named after John Lansing. Lansing, Michigan, was named by settlers who came from Lansing, New York.

References

Sources

*
Several Bios
* Edmund Pearson ''Instigation of the Devil'' (New York, London: Charles Scribners' Sons, 1930), Chapter XXIII: ''A Rather Mysterious Chancellor'', p. 277–287, 355. * Pauline Maier, ''Ratification, The People Debate the Constitution 1787-1788'', (New York, London, Toronto, Sydney:

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest pu ...

, 2010) p. 35, 47, 90-93, 325–326, 367, 375, 396, 398. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lansing, John Jr. 1754 births 1820s missing person cases 18th-century American lawyers 18th-century American politicians American people of Dutch descent Chancellors of New York (state) Continental Congressmen from New York (state) Lansing family Lawyers from Albany, New York Members of the New York State Assembly Missing person cases in New York City New York Supreme Court Justices People of the Province of New York Politicians from Albany, New York Speakers of the New York State Assembly Year of death unknown