Cherokee writer and leader, born near Rome, Georgia, USA. The first editor of the Cherokee Phoenix (1828–34), he was murdered by other Cherokee for his support of Cherokee land cessions. He also wrote a novel and translated part of the Bible into Cherokee.
Elias Boudinot (1740–1821) was an early American lawyer and statesman from Elizabeth, New Jersey who was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a U.S. Congressman for New Jersey.
Personal history
Boudinot was born in Philadelphia on May 2, 1740. His father, Elias Boudinot, was a silversmith and a neighbor and friend of Benjamin Franklin. His mother, Mary Catherine Williams, was from the British West Indies and Boudinot's maternal grandfather was from Wales. His paternal grandfather, Elie (sometimes called Elias) Boudinot, was the son of Jean Boudinot and Marie Suire of Marans, Aunis, France, a Huguenot (French Protestant) family who fled to New York about 1687 to avoid the religious persecutions of King Louis XIV. The third generaton and subject, Elias, was After tutoring and study at home, he went to Princeton, New Jersey to read the law with another attorney. His mentor was Richard Stockton (1730-1781), who later signed the Declaration of Independence and was coincidentally married to Elias' sister Annis Boudinot Stockton. In 1760, he was admitted to the bar, and began his practice in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Then,on April 21, 1762, he married Richard's sister, Hannah Stockton (1736-1808). Elias and Hannah would have only one child, Susan Boudinot Bradford. Elias' only brother, Elisha, became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
In 1805, Elias moved his family to a new home in Burlington, New Jersey and lived there the rest of his life.
Boudinot died at home in Burlington on October 24, 1821.
Political career
Boudinot became a prominent lawyer and his practice prospered, As the revolution drew near, he aligned with the Whigs, and was elected to the New Jersey provincial assembly in 1775.
On May 5, 1777, General George Washington asked for him to be made commissary general for prisoners. Boudinot was made a Colonel in the Continental Army for this task. See: American Revolution prisoners of war.
In November of 1777, the New Jersey legislature named Boudinot as one of their delegates to the Continental Congress.
In 1781, Elias returned to the Congress, and this term lasted through 1783. He was elected the President of the Continental Congress for the November 1782 to November 1783 term. The basis for the claim in his name is that the Treaty of Paris, in which Britain recognized American independence, was concluded during his term as president of the Congress. But news of the event did not get to Congress until after his term, and the United States did not ratify the treaty until January 14, 1784.
When the United States government was formed in 1789, New Jersey sent Elias Boudinot to the House of Representatives. In 1794, he declined to serve another term, and left Congress in early 1795.
Later public service
In addition to political office Elias supported many civic, religious, and educational causes during his life. In Revolutionary times, Princeton was the College of New Jersey, and Boudinot served as one of its trustees for nearly half a century, from 1772 until 1821. When the Continental Congress was forced to leave Philadelphia in 1783 while he was its president, he moved the meetings to Princeton where they met in the University's Nassau Hall.
A devout Episcopalian, Boudinot supported missions and missionary work. The two so impressed each other that Gallegina asked for and was given permission to use his name, and was afterward known as Elias Boudinot.
Legacy
Elias Boudinot Elementary School in Burlington, New Jersey is named after him.
Boudinot Avenue, on the west side of Cincinnati, Ohio is named in his honour.
Princeton University Library has a collection of his papers and many family possessions and portraits.
Quotes
“Be religiously careful in our choice of all public officers... Boudinot; Elias Boudinot: Patriot and Statesman, 1740-1821; Westwood, Connecticut, 1969, Greenwood Publishing, ISBN 0-8371-1345-8. Their Distress is Almost Intolerable: The Elias Boudinot Letterbook, 1777-1778;|
Preceded by: John Hanson |
President of the United States in Congress Assembled November 4, 1782 – November 2, 1783 |
Succeeded by: Thomas Mifflin |
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