John Cleves SYMMES, Congress, NJ (1742-1814)

SYMMES, John Cleves, a Delegate from New Jersey; born in Riverhead, Long Island, N.Y., July 21, 1742; completed preparatory studies; moved to New Jersey; chairman of the committee of safety of Sussex County in 1774; member of the state council in 1778; served in the Revolutionary Army; chief justice of the state supreme court 1777-1787; Member of the Continental Congress in 1785 and 1786; moved to the Northwest Territory and settled in North Bend, below Cincinnati; appointed one of the three judges of the Northwest Territory in 1788 and held the position until Ohio was admitted into the Union; died in Cincinnati, Ohio, February 26, 1814; interment in Congress Green Cemetery, North Bend, Ohio.

Bibliography

Winfield, Charles Hardenburg. Life and Public Services of John Cleves Symmes. [Newark: N.p., 1877].

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present