Aaron OGDEN, Congress, NJ (1756-1839)

OGDEN, Aaron, a Senator from New Jersey; born in Elizabeth (formerly Elizabethtown), N.J., December 3, 1756; graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1773; tutor in Barber’s Grammar School 1773-1775; served in the Revolutionary Army as a lieutenant, captain, and brigade major; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1784 and commenced practice in Elizabeth, N.J.; presidential elector in 1796; clerk of Essex County 1785-1803; elected as a Federalist to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of James Schureman and served from February 28, 1801, to March 3, 1803; unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1802; elected trustee of the College of New Jersey in 1803 and served until his death; Governor of New Jersey in 1812; nominated by President James Madison as major general of the Army in 1813, but declined the appointment; became engaged in steamboat navigation in 1813; moved to Jersey City in 1829 and continued the practice of law; appointed in 1830 as collector of customs and served until his death in Jersey City, N.J., April 19, 1839; interment in the First Presbyterian Church Burial Ground, Elizabeth, N.J.

Bibliography

Dictionary of American Biography; Baxter, Maurice G. The Steamboat Monopoly: Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1972; Ogden, Aaron. Autobiography of Col. Aaron Ogden, of Elizabethtown. Paterson, NJ: Press Printing & Publishing Co., 1893.

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