Benson, Egbert

Born June 21, 1746, in New York, NY
Died August 24, 1833, in Jamaica, Long Island, NY

Federal Judicial Service:
Chief Judge, U.S. Circuit Court for the Second Circuit
Nominated by John Adams on February 18, 1801, to a new seat authorized by 2 Stat. 89. Confirmed by the Senate on February 20, 1801, and received commission on February 20, 1801. Service terminated on July 1, 1802, due to abolition of the court.

Education:
King's College (now Columbia University), 1765
Read law, 1769

Professional Career:

Private practice, Red Hook, New York, 1772-1776
Representative, New York Provincial Congress, 1776
State assemblyman, New York, 1777-1781
Attorney general, State of New York, 1777-1789
Delegate, Federal Constitutional Convention, 1787
U.S. representative from New York, 1789-1793, 1813-1815
Associate justice, Supreme Court of Judicature of New York, 1794-1801
Private practice, New York City, 1802-1813, 1815-1833

Bibliography

Ernst, Robert. "Egbert Benson, Forgotten Statesman of Revolutionary New York." New York History 78 (1997): 4-32.

Holt, Wythe, and David A. Nourse. Egbert Benson, First Chief Judge of the Second Circuit (1801-1802): Essays. New York: Second Circuit Committee on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution, 1987.

Manuscript Collections

New-York Historical Society
New York, N.Y.
Benson family papers, 1772-1939.
6 boxes; collection contains Egbert Benson's financial and legal papers.

Syracuse University
Department of Special Collections
Syracuse, N.Y.
Egbert Benson collection, 1786-1819.
10 items; finding aid; correspondence discussing legal decisions, and financial and personal affairs.

Portraits

Egbert Benson (1746-1833); by Gilbert Stuart; Oil on wood panel; ca. 1820; Gift of Robert Benson, Jr., Collection of The New-York Historical Society, N.Y., ref. #: 1869.2. Reference image courtesy of the New-York Historical Society. Further reproduction prohibited without permission of the repository.

Additional images:

Egbert Benson (1746-1833); by John Trumbull; Miniature oil on wood; 1792; Trumbull Collection, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., ref. #: 1832.63.

Egbert Benson (1746-1833); by John Trumbull; Miniature oil on wood; 1792; John Jay Homestead State Historic Site, Katonah, N.Y., ref. #: 1958.171.

Egbert Benson; by John Vanderlyn, copy after Gilbert Stuart; Oil on canvas; ca. 1794; Bequest of Alphonso T. Clearwater, 1933, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y., ref. #: 33.120.619.

Egbert Benson; by Gilbert Stuart; Oil on canvas; ca. 1800-1810; John Jay Homestead State Historic Site, Katonah, N.Y., ref. #: 1958.523.

Egbert Benson; by John Trumbull; Oil on canvas; n.d.; Legal Portrait Collection, Harvard Law School Library, Cambridge, Mass., HOLLIS #: 006842829.

Federal Judicial Center

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Benson, Egbert