( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
https://www.amazon.com/Genealogical-Records-Vechtens-1638-1896/dp/1298551137?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1298551137
Abraham was born on December 5, 1762, in Catskill, New York, where his great-grandfather had purchased land and settled about 1681. His parents, Teunis Van Vechten and Judikje, daughter of Jacob Ten Broeck, were of Dutch colonial stock. On his paternal side, he was a direct descendant of Teunis Dircksen van Vechten, who emigrated with his family from Holland in 1638, settling first at Beaverwyck and later at Greenbush, New York.
Abraham Van Vechten received his early education at Esopus, attended King's College for a time, and pursued the study of law at Albany in the office of John Lansing, an intimate friend.
Van Vechten entered Federalist politics, but at the start, his political career was jeopardized by a remark, attributed to him, to the effect "that the Yankees had already obtained too much influence in our Government and that it was high time the Dutch people should rally against them. " In 1796, he was appointed by Gov. John Jay district attorney for the fifth district of the state. Two years later, he declined an appointment as associate justice of the state supreme court. He was elected to the state Senate in 1798 and served until 1805, performing valuable services as chairman of the judiciary committee and as a member of the court for the correction of errors.
Van Vechten went on record as opposed to the methods of the Republican promoters of the state bank, fearing competition with the Federalist bank in Albany. During the years 1798-1805, he served, also, as recorder of Albany. In 1805, he was elected to the Assembly from Albany County and remained a member until 1813, ably advocating the Federalist position in opposition to the Embargo.
In the Federalist victory of 1809, he became attorney-general, only to be turned out by the Clintonians two years later. Again, in 1813, he was made attorney-general, succeeding his friend Thomas Addis Emmet, and was succeeded in office in 1815 by Martin Van Buren. Van Vechten occupied a position of commanding influence at the constitutional convention of 1821, which he attended as a delegate from Albany.
After the convention, he retired from political life and devoted himself intensively to his legal career, where his solid learning, his powers of clear and logical analysis and argument, his unusual gift of eloquence, and his distinguished bearing established him among the leaders of the bar.
One biographer claims, that Van Vechten served as defense counsel in the celebrated trial of David D. How for the murder of Othello Church, held at Angelica, New York, in 1825, although the record does not substantiate this claim.
Owing to illness, Van Vechten took no part in the proceedings before the Supreme Court.
The most notable case with which Van Vechten was associated, was that of Gibbons vs. Ogden, where he prepared an opinion denying the power of the state legislature to grant a license giving Livingston and Fulton the sole right to navigate the waters of the state. In this position, he was fully sustained by Chief Justice Marshall.
( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)
Van Vechten vigorously defended the judiciary from attack, asserting that the convention had been assembled to amend the constitution and that "no man had ever dreamed of its being for the purpose of dismissing officers from our government". He likewise opposed the proposition to vest the impeachment power in a majority of the Assembly as against the two-thirds required under the first constitution. Such topics as the freehold qualification for voters, the extension of the elective franchise, and the power and jurisdiction of the court of chancery were also the subjects of addresses which he made.
In May 1784, Van Vechten married Catharine, daughter of Philip Pieterse and Anna (Wendell) Schuyler of Albany; they had fifteen children, of whom ten survived infancy.
1 April 1707 - 3 April 1785
12 October 1721 - 8 March 1783
29 September 1742 - 12 February 1813
24 April 1749 - 7 December 1817
23 March 1766 - 10 September 1820
3 July 1789 - 18 April 1857
3 May 1791 - 15 February 1878
1 July 1798 - 20 December 1842
22 May 1803 - 27 June 1825
17 December 1787 - 3 April 1811
10 May 1801 - 20 January 1841
14 July 1786 - 14 February 1814
28 November 1794 - 14 December 1824
November 27, 1746 – February 26, 1813 Was an American lawyer, politician, diplomat from New York, and a Founding Father of the United States.
January 11, 1755 or 1757 – July 12, 1804 Was an American statesman and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.
February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836 Was an American politician.
