Notes for The Clinton Family

Notes for CHARLES CLINTON:
Source: Encycopedia Britannica, 11th Edition, 1911

the "Journal of the Voyage of Charles Clinton from Ireland to America, 1729." In it he describes leaving from Dublin, Ireland, on the George and Anne May 20, 1729 and how they "Discovered land on ye Continent of America ye 4th day of October." Leased his estate to Lord Granard for 99 years and left Dublion for Philadelphia on May 20, 1729. They stayed at Cape Cod until the spring of 1730 when they removed to New York, and from there to Ulster County and located in the vicinity of the Andrew Johnston patend in the district known as Little Britain

commanded a regiment of New York provincial troops in the French and Indian War.

Notes for ELIZABETH DENNISTON:
Letters from Elizabeth indicate that she was well acquainted with the military operations of the time and shared largely in the patriotic ardor of her husband's and sons. The letters to her husband during the periods of his official absence places her in an interesting and commendable light. Source: NY Genealogical and Biographical Record Vol. XCVIII #1 thru 4, Jan 1967 referenced from Lamb's The Denniston Story.

Notes for JAMES GRAHAM CLINTON:
State court judge;
U.S. Representative from New York, 1841-45. Interment at Clinton Cemetery, Little Britain, N.Y.

Notes for GEORGE CLINTON: Source: Encycopedia Britannica, 11th Edition, 1911 George Clinton went with his father's regiment as a lieutenant in the expedition against Fort Frontenac in 1758

George Clinton was in the New York Provincial Assembly from 1768-1775. In 1774 he was a member of the New York Committee of Correspondence and in 1775 he was a member of the Second Continental Congress. The New York Provincial Congress appointed George Clinton a Brigadier General in December 1775. In 1776 he voted for the Declaration of Independence but was on duty with Washington in the defense of New York and was not able to sign it.

In October 1776 he was in charge of the defense of the Hudson Highlands at The Battle of White Plains (October 28, 1776). In March 1777 the Continental Congress appointed him a Brigadier General in the Continental Army and he therefore held two commissions, since the state commission refused to accept his resignation as Brigadier General of the militia.

"So great was George Clinton's popularity (in 1777) that at the first election under the new constitution he was elected both Governor and Lt. Governor. He declined the latter and on July 30, 1777 he entered on duty as Governor...

"In 1780 he took to the field and checked the advance of Sir Charles Johnson and the Indians in the Mohawk Valley.

"In his administration he was both energetic and patriotic...and he was more popular than any of his New York contemporaries. He served as Governor for 18 successive years (1777-95)and for another triennial term from 1801 to to 1804."

In 1804 George Clinton was elected Vice President of the U.S. by Congressional Caucus and served as such under both Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. He died in Washington on April 20, 1812 before the expiration of his second term. He ran against James Madison unsuccessfully for the Presidency in 1808. Only one other man has served as Vice President under two Presidents as did George Clinton. Died in Washington, D.C., April 20, 1812. Original interment at Congressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C.; reinterment in 1908 at First Dutch Reformed Church Cemetery, Kingston, N.Y.

THE U.S. BILL OF RIGHTS AND PATRICK HENRY AND GEORGE CLINTON

Virginia Governor Patrick Henry is recorded and given credit in the 50th Anniversary World Book Encyclopedia for being responsible for our nation's Bill of Rights being made a part of our U.S.Constitution in 1789-90.

Patrick Henry also earlier gave his famous speech, "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" in 1775 which motivated the Virginia delegation to the Continental Congress to arm itself and later to strike for independence from Britain.

Virginia's first Governor Patrick Henry and New York's first Governor George Clinton teamed up in 1787-89 to oppose the ratification of the U.S. Constitution until a Bill of Rights was included. Governor Clinton wrote as 'Cato' in The Federalist Papers in opposing a Constitution without a Bill of Rights.

Patrick Henry, George Clinton, and some from other states forced James Madison to introduce Bill of Rights Amendments in June 1789 to the Continental Congress, which resulted in our most precious freedom of speech and freedom of religion amendments and other guarantees of liberty. Madison had opposed a Bill of Rights, believing it was unnecessary and that a federal government could be trusted without it.

Andrew McCord, later Speaker of the New York Assembly, is given credit for having worked with New York's 6-term Governor George Clinton in this successful fight for our nation's Bill of Rights. back

Notes for Catherine:
One miniature in the collection depicts the slightly disturbing scene of a woman kneeling before a broken column topped by a flame while a man watches her from a clump of bushes. Attributed to the noteworthy John Ramage (c. 1748-1802), the miniature was supposedly commissioned to mark Catherine Clinton's secret marriage to British officer Captain John Taylor during the Revolution. It is hard to imagine that the Clinton family would have approved of the match, since George Clinton, father of Catherine, served as the leader of the rebel colony of New York. Taylor returned to England and died before the couple could be reunited.

Notes for DEWITT CLINTON:
Died in Albany, N.Y., February 11, 1828. Original interment at Clinton Cemetery, Little Britain, N.Y.; reinterment at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, N.Y.

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