Nicholas Van Dyke (politician, born 1769)

American politician

Nicholas Van Dyke

United States Senator
from Delaware
In office
March 4, 1817 – May 21, 1826
Preceded by| William H. Wells
Succeeded by| Daniel Rodney
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Delaware's at-large district
In office
October 6, 1807 – March 3, 1811
Preceded by| James M. Broom
Succeeded by| Henry M. Ridgely
3rd Attorney General of Delaware
In office
1801–1806
Governor| James Sykes
David Hall
Nathaniel Mitchell
Preceded by| Nicholas Ridgely
Succeeded by| Outerbridge Horsey
Member of the Delaware House of Representatives
In office
January 1, 1799 – January 7, 1800
Personal details
Born| (1769-12-20)December 20, 1769
New Castle, Delaware Colony
Died| May 21, 1826(1826-05-21) (aged 56)
New Castle, Delaware
Political party| Federalist Party
Spouse| Mary Ann Leuvaneigh
Residence| New Castle, Delaware
Alma mater| College of New Jersey
Profession| Lawyer

Nicholas Van Dyke (December 20, 1769 – May 21, 1826) was an American lawyer and politician from New Castle, Delaware. He was a member of the Federalist Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly, as Attorney General of Delaware, as U.S. Representative from Delaware, and as U.S. senator from Delaware.

## Early life and education

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Van Dyke was born in New Castle, Delaware, son of Nicholas and Elizabeth (Nixon) Van Dyke. His mother died two weeks after giving birth to Nicholas. His father, who had been a member of the Continental Congress and a President of Delaware, later married again, to Charlotte Stanley.

The younger Nicholas graduated from the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University, in 1788, studied law with his brother-in-law, Kensey Johns, and was admitted to the Delaware Bar in New Castle, in 1792.

## Career

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Van Dyke was a Federalist who was a member of the Delaware House of Representatives in 1799. From 1801 until 1806 he served as Attorney General of Delaware.

In 1807 he was elected to the 10th United States Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of U.S. Representative James M. Broom. He was reelected to the 11th Congress, and served in the U.S. House from October 6, 1807, until March 3, 1811. With the Federalists a powerless minority in Congress, he returned home to serve as the Attorney General of Delaware.

He was elected to the Delaware State Senate for the 1816 and 1817 sessions. While serving there, he was elected to the United States Senate, where he served from March 4, 1817, until his death on May 21, 1826. He missed the first month and a half of the 18th U.S. Congress, as his first term in the Senate expired on March 3, 1823, and he was not re-elected by the Delaware Legislature until January 7, 1824. He did not take his seat in the Senate for the 18th Congress until January 14, 1824, while the Senate had convened on December 1, 1823. He was Chairman of the Committee on Pensions in the 16th U.S. Congress.

## Personal life

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He married Mary Ann Leuvaneigh in 1792. They had six children, including Nicholas III, Kensey Johns, and Dorcas Montgomery and lived at many houses in and around New Castle, Delaware. One of these was at the corner of Delaware and Fourth Streets and was the location of the 1824 wedding of Dorcas Van Dyke and Charles I. du Pont, which was attended by the Marquis de Lafayette.

His farm and summer retreat, The Hermitage, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.[1] The family were members of Immanuel Episcopal Church.

## Death and legacy

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Van Dyke died in New Castle, Delaware, and is buried there in the cemetery at Immanuel Episcopal Church on the Green. A fellow lawyer who knew Van Dyke compared him to other lawyers by saying that he was a "sound lawyer and superior to them all as a fluent, graceful and successful advocate and in the skillful management of his cases."[2]

## Almanac

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Elections were held the first Tuesday of October and members of the General Assembly took office on the first Tuesday of January. The State Senate had a term of three years and the State House had a term of one year. U.S. Representatives took office March 4 and had a two-year term. The General Assembly chose the U.S. senators who also took office March 4, but for a six-year term.

Public offices

Office | Type | Location | Began office | Ended office | Notes
State Representative | Legislature | Dover | January 1, 1799  | January 7, 1800  |
Attorney General | Executive | Dover | 1801  | 1806  | Delaware
U.S. Representative | Legislature | Washington | October 6, 1807  | March 3, 1809  | [a]
U.S. Representative | Legislature | Washington | March 4, 1809  | March 3, 1811  |
State senator | Legislature | Dover | January 6, 1816  | March 3, 1817  |
U.S. senator | Legislature | Washington | March 4, 1817  | March 3, 1823  |
U.S. senator | Legislature | Washington | March 4, 1823  | May 21, 1826  |
Delaware General Assembly service

Dates | Assembly | Chamber | Majority | Governor | Committees | District
1799  | 23rd | State House | Federalist | Richard Bassett |  | New Castle at-large
United States congressional service

Dates | Congress | Chamber | Majority | President | Committees | Class/District
1807–1809  | 10th | U.S. House | Republican | Thomas Jefferson |  | at-large
1809–1811  | 11th | U.S. House | Republican | James Madison |  | at-large
1817–1819  | 15th | U.S. Senate | Republican | James Monroe |  | class 2
1819–1821  | 16th | U.S. Senate | Republican | James Monroe |  | class 2
1821–1823  | 17th | U.S. Senate | Republican | James Monroe |  | class 2
1823–1825  | 18th | U.S. Senate | Republican | James Monroe |  | class 2
1825–1827  | 19th | U.S. Senate | Democratic | John Quincy Adams |  | class 2
Election results

Year | Office |  | Subject | Party | Votes | % |  | Opponent | Party | Votes | % | Notes
1807  | U.S. Representative |  | Nicholas Van Dyke  | Federalist | 3,294  | 52%  |  | John Dickinson | Republican | 3,078  | 48%  | [b]
1808 | U.S. Representative |  | Nicholas Van Dyke  | Federalist | 3,242  | 53%  |  | Joseph Haslet | Republican | 2,837  | 47%  |

## See also

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* List of United States Congress members who died in office (1790–1899)

## Notes

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1. ^ Elected to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of James M. Broom, seated December 2, 1807.
2. ^ Special election August 6, 1807, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of James M. Broom.

## References

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1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. ^ Rodney, Richard S. (1975). The Collected Essays of Richard S. Rodney on Early Delaware. Wilmington, DE: The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Delaware.

## References

[edit]

* Conrad, Henry C. (1908). History of the State of Delaware, 3 vols. Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Wickersham Company.
* Martin, Roger A. (1995). Memoirs of the Senate. Newark, DE: Roger A. Martin.
* Martin, Roger A. (2003). Delawareans in Congress. Middletown, DE: Roger A. Martin. ISBN 0-924117-26-5.
* Rodney, Richard S. (1975). The Collected Essays of Richard S. Rodney on Early Delaware. Wilmington, DE: The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Delaware.
* Scharf, John Thomas (1888). History of Delaware 1609–1888. 2 vols. Philadelphia: L. J. Richards & Co.
* Aitken, William B. (1912). Distinguished Families in America Descended from Wilhelmus Beekman and Jan Thomasse Van Dyke (PDF). New York: The Knickerbocker Press G. P. Putnam's Sons. pp. 179–180. Retrieved October 12, 2020. "...Hon. Nicholas Van Dyke, was born December 20, 1769; died March 21, 1826;..."
* https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVV3-Q7J6?from=lynx1UIV8&treeref=LCMN-W9B (registration required)

## External links

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* Biographical Dictionary of the United States
* Delaware’s Members of Congress
* Nicholas Van Dyke at Find a Grave
* The Political Graveyard

Legal offices

Preceded by

Nicholas Ridgely

|  Attorney General of Delaware
1801–1806  | Succeeded by

Outerbridge Horsey

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by

James M. Broom

|  Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Delaware's at-large congressional district
October 6, 1807 – March 3, 1811  | Succeeded by

Henry M. Ridgely

U.S. Senate
Preceded by

William H. Wells

|  U.S. senator from Delaware
March 4, 1817 – May 21, 1826  | Succeeded by

Daniel Rodney

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