Abraham Bruyn Hasbrouck
Encyclopedia
Abraham Bruyn Hasbrouck (29 November 1791 – 23 February 1879) was a United States Congressman from New York
and the sixth President
of Rutgers College
(now Rutgers University
) serving from 1840 to 1850.
to Jonathan Hasbrouck (1763-1846) and Catherine Wynkoop (1765-?).
He studied at the Kingston Academy in New York before entering Yale College
where he graduated in 1810. Studying the law under Tapping Reeve
, Elisha Williams
, and James Gould
, he returned to Kingston, New York
in 1814 to practice law
. In 1817 he started a law practice with Charles H. Ruggles
.
He married on 12 September 1819 to Julia Frances Ludlum (1795-1869), the sister of Judge Gabriel W. Ludlum. Together they had eight children, including a son: Jonathan Howard Bruyn Hasbrouck (1820-1899).
Hasbrouck was elected as an Adams man to the 19th United States Congress
, holding office from March 4, 1825, to March 3, 1827. In 1840, he was appointed by the Trustees of Rutgers College as the sixth president, and the first layman to hold the office. During his tenure as President, he taught Rhetoric
, Constitutional Law
, and Political Economy
. He strove to establish independence from the Dutch Reformed Church
and added modern languages, and expanded scientific instruction to the curriculum. He resigned in 1849, remaining in office until 1850 when Theodore Frelinghuysen
was appointed his successor.
Hasbrouck retired to Kingston, New York
, where he died of pneumonia
on 23 February 1879.
Abraham Bruyn Hasbrouck was a descendant of the Hasbroucks who founded New Paltz in 1678. The Hasbroucks were Huguenots, Protestant followers of John Calvin
who fled what is today Northern France and South Belgium who fled persecution by the ruling Catholics. The original settlement of their ancestors survives today as Historic Huguenot Street
, a National Historic Landmark District.
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and the sixth President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of Rutgers College
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
(now Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
) serving from 1840 to 1850.
Biography
He was born in 1791 in Kingston, New YorkKingston, New York
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
to Jonathan Hasbrouck (1763-1846) and Catherine Wynkoop (1765-?).
He studied at the Kingston Academy in New York before entering Yale College
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
where he graduated in 1810. Studying the law under Tapping Reeve
Tapping Reeve
Tapping Reeve was an American lawyer and law educator. In 1784, he opened the Litchfield Law School in Litchfield, Connecticut, the first school to offer a comprehensive legal curriculum in the United States....
, Elisha Williams
Elisha Williams
Elisha Williams was a Congregational minister, legislator, jurist, and rector of Yale College from 1726 to 1739.-Life:The son of Rev. William Williams and his wife Elizabeth, née Cotton Elisha Williams (August 24, 1694 – July 24, 1755) was a Congregational minister, legislator, jurist, and...
, and James Gould
James Gould (jurist)
James Gould was a jurist and an early professor at the Litchfield Law School.-Biography:...
, he returned to Kingston, New York
Kingston, New York
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
in 1814 to practice law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
. In 1817 he started a law practice with Charles H. Ruggles
Charles H. Ruggles
Charles Herman Ruggles was an American lawyer and politician who was a U.S...
.
He married on 12 September 1819 to Julia Frances Ludlum (1795-1869), the sister of Judge Gabriel W. Ludlum. Together they had eight children, including a son: Jonathan Howard Bruyn Hasbrouck (1820-1899).
Hasbrouck was elected as an Adams man to the 19th United States Congress
19th United States Congress
-House of Representatives:-Leadership:- Senate :* President: John C. Calhoun * President pro tempore: John Gaillard , until December 4, 1825** Nathaniel Macon , from May 20, 1826- House of Representatives :* Speaker: John W. Taylor -Members:...
, holding office from March 4, 1825, to March 3, 1827. In 1840, he was appointed by the Trustees of Rutgers College as the sixth president, and the first layman to hold the office. During his tenure as President, he taught Rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
, Constitutional Law
Constitutional law
Constitutional law is the body of law which defines the relationship of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary....
, and Political Economy
Political economy
Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...
. He strove to establish independence from the Dutch Reformed Church
Dutch Reformed Church
The Dutch Reformed Church was a Reformed Christian denomination in the Netherlands. It existed from the 1570s to 2004, the year it merged with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands to form the Protestant Church in the...
and added modern languages, and expanded scientific instruction to the curriculum. He resigned in 1849, remaining in office until 1850 when Theodore Frelinghuysen
Theodore Frelinghuysen
Theodore Frelinghuysen was an American politician, serving as New Jersey Attorney General, United States Senator, and Mayor of Newark, New Jersey before running as a candidate for Vice President with Henry Clay on the Whig ticket in the election of 1844...
was appointed his successor.
Hasbrouck retired to Kingston, New York
Kingston, New York
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
, where he died of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
on 23 February 1879.
Abraham Bruyn Hasbrouck was a descendant of the Hasbroucks who founded New Paltz in 1678. The Hasbroucks were Huguenots, Protestant followers of John Calvin
John Calvin
John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...
who fled what is today Northern France and South Belgium who fled persecution by the ruling Catholics. The original settlement of their ancestors survives today as Historic Huguenot Street
Huguenot Street Historic District
The Huguenot Street Historic District is located near downtown New Paltz, New York, approximately north of New York City. The seven stone houses and several accompanying structures in the district were built in the early 18th century by Huguenot settlers fleeing discrimination and religious...
, a National Historic Landmark District.