John Morin Scott

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John Morin Scott (1730 – September 14, 1784) was a lawyer, military officer, and statesman before, during and after the American Revolution.

The son of merchant John Scott and Mary Morin, he was born in New York City. He attended public school and graduated from Yale Law School in 1746. He was admitted to the New York bar association in 1752, and practiced law in the City of New York. He took part in the Battle of Long Island, serving George Washington as a brigadier general of the New York militia.

He was the last of Washington's generals to argue against surrendering Manhattan to the British during the Revolutionary War, possibly due to his large landholdings there (including what is now Times Square and New York City's Theater District).

After the American Revolution, during which he led elements of the New York militia at the Battle of Long Island, Scott regained his Manhattan estate and ran for governor of New York, losing to George Clinton. He became, instead, New York's first Secretary of State, and served as an active delegate to the Continental Congress.

John Morin Scott was born, lived, and died in New York City. His body is interred at the north entrance of Trinity Church, New York. His inscribed slab is visible from the corner of Wall Street and Broadway.

[edit] Offices, titles, and affiliations

Sons of Liberty founding member
New York alderman (1756–1761)
New York General Committee member (1775)
Provincial Congress member (1775–1777)
Brigadier General in the New York Militia during the Revolutionary War
Member of the State of New York committee to author a state constitution (1776)
New York State Senator (1777–1782)
New York delegate in the Continental Congress (1780 and 1782)
Secretary of State of New York (1778–1784)

Additionally, Scott was elected Associate Justice of the State Supreme Court of New York in 1777, but declined.

[edit] References

Dillon, Dorothy R. The New York Triumvirate: A Study of the Legal and Political Careers of William Livingston, John Morin Scott, William Smith, Jr.. New York: Columbia University Press, 1949.
- Reprint: 1968. ISBN 0-40-451548-7