John Cruger
Encyclopedia
John Cruger was an immigrant to colonial New York
with an uncertain place of birth, but his family was originally Danish. In New York from at least 1696, he became a prosperous merchant and established a successful family as well. He served as an alderman for twenty-two years and as Mayor of New York
from 1739 until his death in 1744.
John was probably born in early 1678 in Denmark. He came to America in the late 17th century, when New York
was officially an English
colony, but still very much marked by the remains of the Dutch influence of New Netherland
. He entered the mercantile firm of Onziel Van Swieden and Valentine Cruger as a shipmaster and factor and by 1702 he had become a junior partner, owning ships of his own. The following year he gained citizenship, being recognized as a Freeholder of the Province on March 2, 1703. He also married Maria Cuyler of New York. {Maria Cuyler was an aunt of wife of Albany, New York
mayor Dirck Ten Broeck}.
The family would eventually include three sons and three daughters who survived infancy. Their children were Anna (1704–1744), Tileman (1705–1730), Henry (1707–1780), John
(1710–1791), Sarah (1714–1766), Maria (1715–1787), and Rachel (1721–1775).
In 1712, he was elected Alderman for the Dock Ward, a post he would hold until 1735, when he became assistant to the Mayor Paul Richard
. He had sent his older sons overseas to run parts of the business; Tileman to the West Indies
, and Henry to Bristol
in England, while he kept John at home to take charge in New York.
By 1739, he and his family had even abandoned his Dutch Reformed Church
, becoming members of the Anglican Communion
at the politically important Trinity Church
. That year he was appointed as Mayor of New York. When he died, his will left his thriving commercial empire to his surviving sons, John and Henry. He also returned in his will to his religious roots. He was buried in the churchyard of the Low Dutch Reformed Church in Haarlem. The graveyard is long gone, but the church is now the Elmendorf Reformed Church in East Harlem.
Province of New York
The Province of New York was an English and later British crown territory that originally included all of the present U.S. states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Vermont, along with inland portions of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine, as well as eastern Pennsylvania...
with an uncertain place of birth, but his family was originally Danish. In New York from at least 1696, he became a prosperous merchant and established a successful family as well. He served as an alderman for twenty-two years and as Mayor of New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
from 1739 until his death in 1744.
John was probably born in early 1678 in Denmark. He came to America in the late 17th century, when New York
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...
was officially an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
colony, but still very much marked by the remains of the Dutch influence of New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
. He entered the mercantile firm of Onziel Van Swieden and Valentine Cruger as a shipmaster and factor and by 1702 he had become a junior partner, owning ships of his own. The following year he gained citizenship, being recognized as a Freeholder of the Province on March 2, 1703. He also married Maria Cuyler of New York. {Maria Cuyler was an aunt of wife of Albany, New York
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
mayor Dirck Ten Broeck}.
The family would eventually include three sons and three daughters who survived infancy. Their children were Anna (1704–1744), Tileman (1705–1730), Henry (1707–1780), John
John Cruger, Jr.
John Cruger, Jr. was the speaker of the Province of New York assembly and the Mayor of New York City.He was born July 18, 1710 the son of John Cruger and Maria Cuyler....
(1710–1791), Sarah (1714–1766), Maria (1715–1787), and Rachel (1721–1775).
In 1712, he was elected Alderman for the Dock Ward, a post he would hold until 1735, when he became assistant to the Mayor Paul Richard
Paul Richard
Paul Richard was the Mayor of New York from 1735 to 1739....
. He had sent his older sons overseas to run parts of the business; Tileman to the West Indies
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, and Henry to Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
in England, while he kept John at home to take charge in New York.
By 1739, he and his family had even abandoned his Dutch Reformed Church
Reformed Church in America
The Reformed Church in America is a mainline Reformed Protestant denomination in Canada and the United States. It has about 170,000 members, with the total declining in recent decades. From its beginning in 1628 until 1819, it was the North American branch of the Dutch Reformed Church. In 1819, it...
, becoming members of the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
at the politically important Trinity Church
Trinity Church, New York
Trinity Church at 79 Broadway, Lower Manhattan, is a historic, active parish church in the Episcopal Diocese of New York...
. That year he was appointed as Mayor of New York. When he died, his will left his thriving commercial empire to his surviving sons, John and Henry. He also returned in his will to his religious roots. He was buried in the churchyard of the Low Dutch Reformed Church in Haarlem. The graveyard is long gone, but the church is now the Elmendorf Reformed Church in East Harlem.
See also
- John Cruger, Jr.John Cruger, Jr.John Cruger, Jr. was the speaker of the Province of New York assembly and the Mayor of New York City.He was born July 18, 1710 the son of John Cruger and Maria Cuyler....
, his son who was later mayor and Provincial Assembly Speaker. - Henry CrugerHenry CrugerHenry Cruger, Jr. was an American and British merchant at the time of the American Revolution. He has a unique distinction of having been elected to both the Parliament of Great Britain and the New York State Senate .Henry Cruger was born in New York a member of a wealthy merchant family...
, his grandson who was later a state senator. - John Harris Cruger, his grandson, a loyalist Colonel during the Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. - Abraham SamuelAbraham SamuelAbraham Samuel, also known as "Tolinar Rex," born in Martinique , was a mulatto pirate of the Indian Ocean in the days of the Pirate Round in the late-1690s...
, a pirate turned Malagasy king whom he encountered while on a trip to Madagascar.