William BURNET, Congress, NJ (1730-1791)

BURNET, William, (father of Jacob Burnet), a Delegate from New Jersey; born in Newark, N.J., December 2, 1730; was graduated from Princeton College in 1749; studied medicine in New York and commenced practice in Newark; chairman of the committee of public safety in Newark in 1775; superintendent of a military hospital in Newark in 1775; surgeon general of the eastern district of the United States 1776-1783; returned to Newark and engaged in agricultural pursuits; appointed presiding judge of the court of common pleas by the State legislature in 1776; Member of the Continental Congress from December 11, 1780, to April 1, 1781, when he resigned; first judge of Essex County in 1781; president of the State medical society in 1787; died in Newark, N.J., October 7, 1791; interment in the First Presbyterian Churchyard.

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