Joseph Bloomfield
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| Joseph Bloomfield | |
 painting by Charles Peale |
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| In office 1793 – 1801 |
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| Preceded by | Acting Governor John Lambert |
| Succeeded by | Acting Governor John Lambert |
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| Born | October 18, 1753 Woodbridge Township, New Jersey |
| Died | October 3, 1823 (aged 69) Burlington, New Jersey |
| Spouse | Mary McIlvaine (1752-1818) Isabella Ramsey (1779-1871) |
Joseph Bloomfield (October 18, 1753 – October 3, 1823) was a Governor of New Jersey. The township of Bloomfield, New Jersey is named for him.
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[edit] Birth
Joseph Bloomfield was born in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey to Moses Bloomfield, a physician, and Sarah Ogden. Moses Bloomfield was a surgeon and an abolitionist.
[edit] Education and military service
Joseph was educated at Reverend Enoch Green’s school in Deerfield Township, New Jersey, where Enoch was the pastor of the local Presbyterian Church. Bloomfield studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1775 and began his law practice in Bridgeton, New Jersey. He entered the Continental Army as captain of the 3rd New Jersey Regiment on February 9, 1776. He attained the rank of major on November 28, 1776, and was appointed judge advocate of the northern army. He was wounded at the Battle of Brandywine in September of 1777. He resigned from the Continental Army on October 28, 1778, after he was elected clerk of the New Jersey General Assembly.
In 1794, he led Federal and New Jersey state troops to put down the Whiskey Rebellion, a popular uprising conducted by Appalachian settlers who resisted the excise tax on liquor and distilled drinks, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
At the start of the War of 1812 he was commissioned as a brigadier general in the United States Army on March 13, 1812. He served until June 15, 1815 along the Canadian border.
[edit] First marriage
Joseph married Mary McIlvaine (1752-1818), the daughter of William McIlvaine, a physician from Burlington, New Jersey. They had no children.
[edit] Public life
He practiced law in Burlington, New Jersey and was the registrar of the admiralty court from 1779 to 1783. He served as the New Jersey Attorney General from 1783 to 1792 and as a trustee of Princeton College from 1793 until his death. He was elected Governor of New Jersey as a Democratic-Republican and served in office from 1801-1802 and from 1803-1812.
Bloomfield was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Fifteenth United States Congress and reelected to the Sixteenth Congress from March 4, 1817 through March 3, 1821, where he represented New Jersey's 3rd congressional district. Bloomfield ran for, but was not elected to, the Seventeenth Congress.
In 1796, what had been known as the Old First Church was formed and was named the Presbyterian Society of Bloomfield in honor of Joseph Bloomfield. When the Township of Bloomfield was formed, the name was taken from the name of the church.[1]
[edit] Second marriage
After the death of his first wife, he married Isabella Ramsey (1779-1871). She was the daughter of John Ramsey.
[edit] Death
Bloomfield died in Burlington, New Jersey on October 3, 1823, and was buried in Saint Mary's Episcopal Churchyard in Burlington.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Bloomfield, New Jersey - A Brief History, Bloomfield Presbyterian Church]]. Accessed August 21, 2007.
- ^ St. Mary's Churchyard at The Political Graveyard. Accessed August 21, 2007.
[edit] External links
- Joseph Bloomfield at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Biography of Joseph Bloomfield, New Jersey State Library
- New Jersey Governor Joseph Bloomfield, National Governors Association
| Preceded by William Paterson (jurist) |
New Jersey Attorney General 1783–1792 |
Succeeded by Aaron Woodruff |
| Preceded by Richard Howell |
Governor of New Jersey October 31, 1801-October 28, 1802 |
Succeeded by Acting Governor John Lambert |
| Preceded by Acting Governor John Lambert |
Governor of New Jersey October 29, 1803-October 29, 1812 |
Succeeded by Aaron Ogden |
| Preceded by Ezra Baker Ephraim Bateman |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey's 3rd congressional district March 4, 1817 — March 3, 1821 alongside Ephraim Bateman |
Succeeded by At-large Ephraim Bateman George Cassedy Lewis Condict George Holcombe James Matlack Samuel Swan |
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