Joshua Clayton - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Dr. Joshua Clayton was an American physician and politician from Mt. Pleasant in Pencader Hundred, New Castle County, Delaware. He was an officer of the Continental Army in the American Revolution, and a member of the Federalist Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly, as Governor of Delaware and as U.S. Senator from Delaware.

Early life and family

Clayton was born near Wyoming, Delaware, son of John Clayton & Eleanor Edinfield. John Clayton was a miller and the grandson of another Joshua Clayton, a Quaker, who came from Lincolnshire, England in the late 17th century. The younger Joshua Clayton went to medical school at, what is now, the University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

from 1757 until 1762, and then began a medical practice in Middletown, Delaware. He became close friends with Richard Bassett

Richard Bassett

Richard Bassett was an American lawyer and politician from Dover, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a veteran of the American Revolution, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and a member of the Federalist Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly, as Governor of Delaware,...

, and in 1765, married his adopted daughter, Rachael McCleary.

Clayton acquired a portion of Richard Bassett's Bohemia Manor estate, and in 1773 built their home, Locust Grove. It is now known as the Dickey Farm, and is on the Choptank Road, two miles west of Mt. Pleasant in Pencader Hundred

Pencader Hundred

Pencader Hundred is the name of an unincorporated subdivision of New Castle County, Delaware. Hundreds were once used as a basis for representation in the Delaware General Assembly, and while their names still appear on all real estate transactions, they presently have no meaningful use or purpose...

, to the northwest of Middletown. There they had three children who lived to adulthood, Richard, James Lawson and Thomas

Thomas Clayton

Thomas Clayton was an American lawyer and politician from Dover in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Federalist Party and later the Whig Party. He served in the Delaware General Assembly, as Attorney General of Delaware, as Secretary of State of Delaware, as Chief Justice of the...

. Their religious affiliation is unclear, but they were almost certainly members of the Bethel Methodist Church by the time of their deaths.

Military and political career

During the American Revolution, Clayton served in the Bohemia Manor militia, where he had been commissioned a major. He was also an aide and surgeon to General George Washington at the Battle of Brandywine

Battle of Brandywine

The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of the Brandywine or the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American army of Major General George Washington and the British-Hessian army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777. The British defeated the Americans and...

and at Valley Forge

Valley Forge

Valley Forge in Pennsylvania was the site of the military camp of the American Continental Army over the winter of 1777–1778 in the American Revolutionary War.-History:...

.

Following this Clayton served in the House of Assembly in the 1778/79 session, and again from the 1780/81 session through the 1783/84 session. He was back again in the 1785/86 session, and the 1787/88 session. He was chosen President of Delaware by the Delaware General Assembly on May 30, 1789 and served as President until January 15, 1793. Under the provisions of the new Delaware Constitution of 1792

Delaware Constitution of 1792

The Delaware Constitution of 1792 was the second governing document for Delaware state government and was in effect from its adoption on June 12, 1792 until replaced on December 2, 1831 by a new Constitution....

he became the first popularly elected Governor of Delaware and continued to serve in that capacity until his term ended, January 19, 1796.

This new state Constitution was the major political development of these years. With the new U.S. Constitution in place, it was necessary to revise the somewhat experimental Delaware Constitution of 1776

Delaware Constitution of 1776

The Delaware Constitution of 1776 was the first governing document for Delaware state government and was in effect from its adoption in September 1776 until replaced in 1792 by a new Constitution.-Background:...

. Under the initial leadership of John Dickinson

John Dickinson (delegate)

John Dickinson was an American lawyer and politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Wilmington, Delaware. He was a militia officer during the American Revolution, a Continental Congressman from Pennsylvania and Delaware, a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, President of...

, delegates provided for a real Governor, elected by popular vote and no longer sharing executive authority with the Privy Council. The other major change was to expand the voting franchise by eliminating the property ownership requirement.

Two years after his term ended, Clayton was chosen by the Delaware General Assembly to fill the vacant seat in the United States Senate caused by the resignation of U.S. Senator John M. Vining

John M. Vining

John Middleton "Jack" Vining was an American lawyer and politician from Dover, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a Continental Congressman from Delaware, and a member of the Federalist Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as U.S. Representative and U.S...

. He began his term January 19, 1798 and served until his death on August 11, 1798, while still in office. During this term, he served in the Federalist majority in the 5th Congress, during the administration of U.S. President John Adams.

A New State House

During Clayton's tenure it was determined that a new courthouse was needed in Kent County. Since the General Assembly had moved from New Castle in 1777 it had shared the county courthouse with the county officials. They wished to continue to do so in the new building. The county commissioners responsible for erecting the building agreed, but asked for "an appropriation for the completion of the building." In response, on June 2, 1788, a committee of the General Assembly reported that "in their opinion such is the situation of the treasury, together with loud complaints of public creditors and their duty to constituents, that the prayer of the memorial cannot be complied with at this time."

A few days later, though, "all moneys arising from marriage and tavern licenses were appropriated to completing the court-house," and "on July 29, 1791, a bill introduced by Kensey Johns

Kensey Johns (jurist)

Kensey Johns was a jurist from Delaware and father of Kensey Johns, Jr. and John Johns.-Early life:Johns was born in Maryland. His ancestral home, Sudley, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. In his early years, he participated as a minuteman in the American Revolution...

was passed providing for a lottery to raise one thousand pounds for furnishing the court-house."

However, when the building was nearly complete and being occupied by the General Assembly...

"on May 3, 1792, it is said that Sheriff John Clayton, by order of the Levy Court, entered the Assembly rooms with drawn sword, and demanded their use for the workmen. The General Assembly there-upon adjourned to the tavern of Thomas Hale, at Duck Creek Cross-Roads

Smyrna, Delaware

Smyrna is a town in Kent and New Castle counties in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is part of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area...

and continued their session.”

The next day, the State House adopted the following resolution:

"Whereas, John Clayton, who declared he spoke the sentiments of the people of Kent County hath, as one of the Commissioners for completing the Court-House in Dover, insulted the Legislature of this State by denying them the use of the chambers heretofore occupied by the General Assembly for holding their sessions, requiring them to be delivered up for the use of workmen employed about the building, in consequences of which both houses have adjourned the sessions to Duck Creek Cross-Roads; therefore, "Resolved unanimously, That in the opinion of this General Assembly the Legislature of the State ought not to be subject to the caprice of any individual in the State, and that it will not be proper for them to hold their sessions in the town of Dover until the Levy Court of Kent County, or some other proper authority shall, by an explicit act, appropriate to their use the Chambers in the said Court-House agreeable to the intention heretofore expressed."

"The State Senate failed to concur in the resolution, and pending further action the difficulty was reconciled, and beginning with the next session, November 1792, the General Assembly occupied the State-House, and have continued to the present time (1888)."

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Delaware General Assembly
Delaware General Assembly
The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 Senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 Representatives...

(sessions while President/Governor)
|-
!Year
!Assembly
!
!Senate Majority
!Speaker
!
!House Majority
!Speaker
|-
|1788/89
|13th

Delaware General Assembly

The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 Senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 Representatives...

Jehu Davis

John Davis was an American planter and politician from Mispillion Hundred, in Kent County, Delaware, west of Milford. He served in the Delaware General Assembly and as President of Delaware.-Early life and family:...

|-
|1789/90
|14th

Delaware General Assembly

Jehu Davis

|-
|1790/91
|15th

Delaware General Assembly

Henry Latimer (senator)

Dr. Henry Latimer was an American physician and politician from Newport, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was elected to the Continental Congress from Delaware, and was a member of the Federalist Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly, as U.S. Representative from Delaware, and U.S...

|-
|1791/92
|16th

Delaware General Assembly

|
| |non-partisan
| |George Mitchell
|
| |non-partisan
| |Allan McLane
|-
|1793
|17th

Delaware General Assembly

|
| |Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

The Federalist Party was the first American political party, from the early 1790s to 1816, the era of the First Party System, with remnants lasting into the 1820s. The Federalists controlled the federal government until 1801...

| |Daniel Rogers

Daniel Rogers

Daniel Rogers was an American miller and politician from Milford, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the Federalist Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as Governor of Delaware....

|
| |Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

| |Stephen Lewis
|-
|1794
|18th

Delaware General Assembly

|
| |Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

| |Daniel Rogers

Daniel Rogers

|
| |Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

| |Stephen Lewis
|-
|1795
|19th

Delaware General Assembly

|
| |Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

| |Daniel Rogers

Daniel Rogers

|
| |Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

| |Peter Lowber

Death and legacy

Clayton died at Mt. Pleasant in New Castle County after being stricken with yellow fever while at the United States Congress in Philadelphia. He was first buried at the Locust Grove Cemetery in Pencader Hundred, New Castle County. Later his remains were moved into the Bethel Church Cemetery at Chesapeake City

Chesapeake City, Maryland

Chesapeake City is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 787 at the 2000 census.The town was originally named by Bohemian colonist Augustine Herman the Village of Bohemia , but the name was changed in 1839 when the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal was built...

, Maryland. They were moved again to an unknown location in 1965 upon a widening of the nearby Chesapeake and Delaware Canal

Chesapeake and Delaware Canal

The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal is a 14-mile long, 450-foot wide and 40-foot deep ship canal that cuts across the states of Maryland and Delaware, in the United States. It connects the waters of the Delaware River with those of the Chesapeake Bay and the Port of Baltimore...

.

Clayton's son, Thomas Clayton

Thomas Clayton

was a U.S. Senator, and his nephew, John M. Clayton

John M. Clayton

John Middleton Clayton was an American lawyer and politician from Delaware. He was a member of the Whig Party who served in the Delaware General Assembly, and as U.S. Senator from Delaware and U.S. Secretary of State....

was also a U.S. Senator as well as U.S. Secretary of State.

Almanac

Elections were held October 1st and members of the General Assembly took office on October 20th or the following weekday. State Assemblymen had a one year term. The whole General Assembly chose the State President for a three year term. The General Assembly also chose the U.S. Senators who took office March 4th for a six year term. In this case he was completing the existing term, the vacancy caused by the resignation of John M. Vining.

Beginning in 1792 elections were held on the first Tuesday of October and members of the General Assembly took office on the first Tuesday of January. Also in 1792 the State Legislative Council was renamed the State Senate and the State House of Assembly became the State House of Representatives. The State President became the Governor and was popularly elected. He takes office the third Tuesday in January and had a three year term.

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=8 style="background: #ccccff;" | Public Offices
|-
! Office
! Type
! Location
! Began office
! Ended office
! notes
|-
|Assemblyman

Delaware House of Representatives

The Delaware House of Representatives is the lower house of the Delaware General Assembly; the state legislature of the U.S. State of Delaware. It is composed of 41 Representatives from an equal amount of constituencies, each of whom is elected to a two year term. The Delaware General Assembly...

|Legislature

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

The city of Dover is the capital and second largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, and the principal city of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County. It is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware...

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

Executive (government)

Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

Executive (government)

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

|Legislature

Legislature

|Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

|January 19, 1798
|August 11, 1798
|

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |Delaware General Assembly service
|-
! Dates
! Assembly
! Chamber
! Majority
! Governor
! Committees
! District
|-
|1778/79
|3rd

Delaware General Assembly

|State House

Delaware House of Representatives

|non-partisan
|Caesar Rodney

Caesar Rodney

Caesar Rodney was an American lawyer and politician from St. Jones Neck in Dover Hundred, Kent County, Delaware, east of Dover...

|
|New Castle at-large

New Castle County, Delaware

New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware. As of 2010 its population was 538,479, an increase of 7.6% over the previous decade. The county seat is Wilmington. The center of population of Delaware is located in New Castle County, in the town of...

|-
|1780/81
|5th

Delaware General Assembly

|State House

Delaware House of Representatives

|non-partisan
|Caesar Rodney

Caesar Rodney

Caesar Rodney was an American lawyer and politician from St. Jones Neck in Dover Hundred, Kent County, Delaware, east of Dover...

|
|New Castle at-large

New Castle County, Delaware

|-
|1781/82
|6th

Delaware General Assembly

|State House

Delaware House of Representatives

|non-partisan
|John Dickinson

John Dickinson (delegate)

|
|New Castle at-large

New Castle County, Delaware

|-
|1782/83
|7th

Delaware General Assembly

|State House

Delaware House of Representatives

|non-partisan
|John Cook

John Cook (governor)

John Cook was an American planter and politician from Smyrna, in Kent County, Delaware. He served in the Delaware General Assembly and as Governor of Delaware.-Early life and family:...

|
|New Castle at-large

New Castle County, Delaware

|-
|1783/84
|8th

Delaware General Assembly

|State House

Delaware House of Representatives

|non-partisan
|Nicholas Van Dyke

Nicholas Van Dyke (governor)

Nicholas Van Dyke was an American lawyer and politician from New Castle, in New Castle County, Delaware. He served in the Delaware General Assembly, as a Continental Congressman from Delaware, and as President of Delaware.-Early life and family:Van Dyke was born at Berwick, his family's home in St...

|
|New Castle at-large

New Castle County, Delaware

|-
|1785/86
|10th

Delaware General Assembly

|State House

Delaware House of Representatives

|non-partisan
|Nicholas Van Dyke

Nicholas Van Dyke (governor)

|
|New Castle at-large

New Castle County, Delaware

|-
|1786/87
|11th

Delaware General Assembly

|State House

Delaware House of Representatives

|non-partisan
|Thomas Collins

Thomas Collins (governor)

Thomas Collins was an American planter and politician from Smyrna, in Kent County, Delaware. He was an officer of the Delaware militia during the American Revolution, and served in the Delaware General Assembly and as President of Delaware.-Early life and family:Collins was born in Duck Creek, now...

|
|New Castle at-large

New Castle County, Delaware

|-
|1787/88
|12th

Delaware General Assembly

|State House

Delaware House of Representatives

|non-partisan
|Thomas Collins

Thomas Collins (governor)

|
|New Castle at-large

New Castle County, Delaware

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |United States Congressional service
|-
! Dates
! Congress
! Chamber
! Majority
! President
! Committees
! Class/District
|-
|1797–1799
|5th

5th United States Congress

The Fifth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives...

|U.S. Senate

United States Senate

|Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

|John Adams

John Adams

John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...

|
|class 2

Classes of United States Senators

The three classes of United States Senators are currently made up of 33 or 34 Senate seats. The purpose of the classes is to determine which Senate seats will be up for election in a given year. The three groups are staggered so that one of them is up for election every two years.A senator's...

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Election results
|-
!Year
!Office
!
!Subject
!Party
!Votes
!%
!
!Opponent
!Party
!Votes
!%
|-
|1792
|Governor
|
| |Joshua Clayton
| |Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

| |2,209
| |48%
|
| |Thomas Montgomery
George Mitchell
| |Republican

Democratic-Republican Party (United States)

The Democratic-Republican Party or Republican Party was an American political party founded in the early 1790s by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Political scientists use the former name, while historians prefer the latter one; contemporaries generally called the party the "Republicans", along...

Independent Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

| |1,902
458
| |42%
10%

Images

Hall of Governors Portrait Gallery Portrait courtesy of Historical and Cultural Affairs, Dover

External links

Places with more information

Delaware Historical Society
Delaware Historical Society
The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a state-wide historical institution with several venues and a major museum in Wilmington and the historic Read House & Gardens in New Castle.The society...

; website; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161
University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...

; Library website; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.