James Duane

James Duane

James Duane (born February 6, 1733 in New York City , †  February 1, 1797 in New York City or Duanesburg , New York ) was an American lawyer and politician . In 1778 he was a signatory to the Articles of Confederation in Philadelphia .

After completing his schooling and studying law, James Duane was admitted to the bar on August 3, 1754, after which he began to practice as a lawyer. In 1762 he became a clerk at the Chancery Court of New York City. After serving as Attorney General of the Province of New York in 1767, he returned to his private law firm.

In 1774, Duane acted as the provincial Indian commissioner before being elected the following year in the course of the American Revolution, first as a delegate to the Provincial Convention and later as a member of the Revolutionary Committee. Between 1776 and 1783 he took part in the sessions of the Continental Congress. He also sat in the Provincial Congress from 1776 to 1777, and in the New York Senate from 1782 to 1785 and 1788 to 1790 . In the meantime, he held the office of Mayor of New York from 1784 to 1789 , where he was the first patriot to serve as the successor to the loyalist David Mathews .

In 1788, Duane was one of the delegates to the state convention that ratified the United States Constitution for New York. He was then appointed on September 25, 1789 by US President George Washington as a judge at the Federal District Court for New York; he performed his duties from taking office the following day until his resignation on March 17, 1794. His seat fell to John Laurance . It is not clear where Duane died on February 1, 1797; He was buried under the Christ Church in Duanesburg.

Web links

• James Duane in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• James Duane in the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges

predecessor	Office	successor
David Mathews	Mayor of New York City 1784 - 1789	Richard Varick