Nicholas Van Dyke Sr.

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Nicholas Van Dyke (born September 25, 1738 in the family seat of Berwick , near Delaware City , New Castle County , Delaware Colony , † February 19, 1789 ibid) was an American lawyer and politician. 1777–1781 he was a member of the Continental Congress .

Life

Nicholas Van Dyke was the son of Nicholas and Rachel Allee Van Dyke. He studied law in Philadelphia and was admitted to the bar in 1765. After his first wife Elizabeth Nixon died giving birth to their child Rachael in 1767, he married Charlotte Stanley, who bore him four children, including future Senator Nicholas Van Dyke Jr.

Political career

In 1774 Van Dyke entered the political arena as a member of a committee that should deliberate on the Boston Port Act . After the Boston harbor was closed to trade after the Boston Tea Party , Van Dyke took on an important role as a member of parliament in the growing together of the Thirteen Colonies . It was on that committee that he first came into contact with Thomas McKean and George Read , two of the later leaders of the American Revolutionary War . In 1776, Van Dyke was a member of his county's first constituent assembly in Delaware. He was also a member of his state's Senate for two years . On February 22, 1777, he was elected to the Continental Congress, of which he was a member until 1781. In the same year Van Dyke was one of the signatories of the ratification of the articles of confederation , which had been in force from 1777 until 1789. From February 1, 1783 to October 27, 1786 Nicholas Van Dyke was Governor of Delaware (then called "President of Delaware").

After serving as governor, during which the American War of Independence officially ended with the Peace of Paris (1783) , Van Dyke returned to the Delaware State Senate for two terms in 1776. Here he held the office of President of Parliament until his death . He died at the age of 50 at the Berwick family home .

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personal data
SURNAME Van Dyke, Nicholas senior
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Van Dyke, Nicholas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American lawyer and politician
DATE OF BIRTH September 25, 1738
PLACE OF BIRTH at Delaware City
DATE OF DEATH February 19, 1789
Place of death at Delaware City