Thomas Tredwell
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Thomas Tredwell (1743 - 1831)

Thomas Tredwell
Born in Smithtown, Suffolk, New York Colonymap
Ancestors ancestors
Brother of
Husband of — married 23 Oct 1765 in New Yorkmap
Descendants descendants
Died at age 88 in Plattsburgh, Clinton, New York, United Statesmap
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Profile last modified | Created 18 May 2015
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This profile is part of the Clinton County, New York One Place Study.

Contents

Biography

(from Wikipedia)
"Tredwell was born in Smithtown, New York on February 6, 1743. He graduated from Princeton College in 1764 where he studied law. He was admitted to the bar and began practice in Plattsburg, New York. He was a delegate to the Provincial Congress of New York in 1774 and 1775 and a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1776 and 1777. He was member of the New York State Assembly from 1777 to 1783; judge of the court of probate from 1778 to 1787; served in the New York State Senate from 1786 to 1789; surrogate of Suffolk County, New York from 1787 to 1791; and delegate to the State ratification convention in 1788."

"Tredwell was elected to the 2nd United States Congress as an Anti-Administration man to fill the vacancy caused by the death of James Townsend, and was re-elected to the 3rd United States Congress, serving from May 1791, to March 3, 1795. He was a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1801. He was again a member of the New York State Senate (Eastern D.) from 1804 to 1807 and surrogate of Clinton County, New York from 1807 to 1831. He died in Plattsburg, New York on December 30, 1831 and is interred in a private burial ground in Beekmantown, New York."

“ ...Judge Thomas Treadwell with his family and about forty slaves had come in 1793 from Smithtown, L. I., to the site on Bay St. Armand, as known to the French, which had been selected by Nathaniel, then a young surveyor, the year before. But Nathaniel and his wife pushed on to Canada and settled in the Seigniory L’Orignal, a township of some fifty-four square miles which he opened to settlers in 1794.” [1]

Spouses & Children

  • Ann Hazard (1743-1798)
    • Mary Piatt Tredwell (1767-1826)
    • Nathaniel Hazard Tredwell (1768-1855) m. Margaret Platt (1774-1859)
    • Elizabeth Tredwell (1769-1822)
    • Hannah Phoenix Tredwell (1771-1856) m. Rev. Henry Davis
    • Samuel Tredwell, d. in infancy.
    • Sarah Tredwell, d. in infancy.
    • Phebe Tredwell (1775-) died young.
    • Thomas Tredwell (1777-1869) m. Mary "Polly" Stratton (-1859)
    • Ann Hazard Tredwell (1779-1821) m. Isaac C. Platt (1781-1872)
    • Timothy Tredwell (1784-) d. in infancy.

Estate of Thomas Tredwell

Letters of Administration for the Estate of Thomas Tredwell [2] Surrogates Court, Plattsburgh, Clinton Co., NY 31 Oct. 1832

"On reading and filing the Petition of Zephaniah C. Platt a Grandson of Thomas Treadwell deceased praying that he may be appointed adminsitrator of the estate of the said deceased and on reading & filing the renunciation of Mary Treadwell the widow, Nathaniel H. Tredwell & Thomas Tredwell Junior the sons and Hannah P Davis the daughter of the said deceased of their right to letters of Administration on the said estate & it having been satisfactorily proved before the said Surrogate that the said Thomas Tredwell died at Beekmantown on or about the 30th day of December 1831 and that at the time of his death he was an inhabitant of the county of Clinton and left no will in force but died intestate and that the whole of the personal property left by the said deceased will not amount in value to more than one hundred dollars, it is ordered that letters of Administration be granted to the said Zephaniah C. Platton the estate of the said deceased..."

Notes

Robbins, William A., Descendants of Edward Tre(a)dwell through his son John[3]

29. Thomas' Tredwell (Timothy,4 Thomas," John,* Edward1), born Smithtown, Suffolk county, New York, 6th February, 1743, died at his homestead in Beekmantown, Clinton county, New York, 30th December, 1831, buried on his homestead; married (1) (?26th October, 1765), bond dated 23rd October, 1765,(New York Marriage Licenses Previous to 1784, printed i860, p. 398.) Ann Hazard, born 14th February, 1743, died 5th January, 1798, buried near husband, daughter of Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Drummie) Hazard of City of New York.
He married (2) in 1800, Mary (Conklin) Hedges, widow of Dr. (?Jeremiah) Hedges of East Hampton, Suffolk county, New York, and sister of Judge Alfred Conklin's father. She died Clinton, Oneida county, New York, 31st October, 1838, aged 94 years, buried in cemetery on Hamilton College campus, Clinton. Gravestone. Residence, Smithtown, Suffolk county, until Revolution, again, 1788-1790; City of New York, 1784-1786; Huntington, Suffolk county, 1792. In 1793, or 1794, he settled on a farm at Long Point, foot of Bay of St. Armand, known later as Tredwell's Bay, Lake Champlain, about four miles north of Plattsburg, Clinton county, New York. Graduate Princeton College, 1764; studied law under Chancellor Livingston. Original proprietor of Plattsburg, New York.
He was a signer of Articles of Association at Smithtown, 1775; delegate to the four Provincial Congresses (New York), 1775-1777; member New York Assembly, 1777-1783; Council of Safety, while New York State Constitution was being organized, 1777, being last surviving member thereof; member State Senate, 1786-1789, 1804-1807; delegate to State convention to ratify United States Constitution, voting against ratification; representative in Congress for Kings, Queens and Suffolk counties, 1791-1795; delegate from Clinton and Essex counties to State Constitutional Convention, 1801; judge (first) of Court of Probate, 1778-1787, when made surrogate of Suffolk county, serving until 1791; surrogate of Clinton county, 1807-1831; also of Essex county, 1807.
The marriage bond was signed by Thomas Tredwell of Suffolk county, yeoman, and Joseph Hallett of City of New York, iron monger, and states that the marriage license was obtained by said Tredwell and Ann Hazard of City of New York, spinster.
According to the census of Suffolk county taken in 1776, the household of Thomas Tredwell consisted of 1 male over 16 and under 50 years of age; 2 males under 16 years; 2 females over and 4 females under 16 years; 6 male and 6 female negroes.(New York Calendar of Historical Manuscripts, Revolutionary Papers, vol. i, p. 398.)
While living at Smithtown, his wife Ann was stricken with paralysis. Upon the occupation of Long Island by the British during the Revolution, Thomas Tredwell was obliged to abandon his home there and seek safety in Connecticut.
His mansion at Beekmantown was only a few rods from the bay which it faced. In 1812, the English forces passed through his farm. After his decease, the homestead was sold to Abram Miller; and in 1870, or 1871, the dwelling was taken down and its timbers used in another building. Several of the inside panels were saved and upon them a coat-of-arms with the Treadwell name have been carved. No authentic record, however, has been found of any grant of a coat-of-arms to this family.
Some forty slaves accompanied the family to their new home in Clinton county. These subsequently were emancipated and colonized by Judge Tredwell on the high ground a few miles northwest called " Richland," ..."
12th July, 1788, letters of administration were issued in Ulster connty. New York, to Thomas' Tredwell on the estate of his brother-in-law, Samuel Hazard.
According to the United States census for 1790 (printed), Judge Tredwell's family consisted of 1 male over 16 and 1 under 16 years of age; 5 females; and 12 slaves.
He was very fond of horseback riding, even in late life. Once, when riding through woods, his left eye was pierced by a twig, which destroyed the sight thereof. An oil portrait of Judge Tredwell was, a few years ago, in the possession of his granddaughter, Mrs. Anna Maria Redfield; and several letters from him and his daughters have been preserved and are now owned by Mrs. Charles Hilton Brown of the City of New York.
The Hempstead Inquirer for 2nd February, 1832, contains an obituary notice of "Hon. Thomas Tredwell," and quotes a long account of his life taken from the Plattsburgh Republican.
About 1/4 mile back from the lake and a few rods East of the state road, on the old homestead at Beekmantown, lies the small family burial ground containing five inscribed stones. Near the grave of her former master was buried "Old Phillis."
The following are said to be the inscriptions on the headstones marking the graves of Judge Tredwell and his first wife:
"Sacred to the memory of the Hon. Thomas Tredwell who departed this life Dec. 30, 1831, aged 87."
"Sacred to the memory of Mrs. Ann Tredwell, wife of Hon. Thomas Tredwell, who departed this life, Jan. 5, 1798, aged 56 years."
Tredwell Children: It is said there were 13 children.
i. Mary Piatt,' b. 25th Sept., (?i767), d. of apoplexy, bur. same plot as father. Inscription:* "Sacred to the memory of Miss Mary P. Tredwell, daughter of Hon. Thomas Tredwell, who departed this life June 5, 1826, aged (?)54 years."
59 ii. Nathaniel Hazard."
iii. Elizabeth,* b. 2nd Aug., 1769, bur. same plot as father. Inscription:* "Sacred to the memory of Miss Elizabeth Tredwell, who departed this life June 8, 1822, aged 52 years."
60 iv. Hannah Phoenix.'
v. Samuel,' d. in infancy.
vi. Sarah,' d. in infancy.
vii. Timothy,' (?b. 19th Nov., 1784,) d. in infancy.
viii. Phebe,' b. 19th Nov., 1775, d. beginning of Revolution, bur. in crypt of Centre Church, New Haven, Conn. Inscription: "Phebe the daughter of Thomas & Ann Tredwell of . . ."
61 ix. Thomas.'
62 x. Ann Hazard.'


Originally published at "http://www.wiggle-town.net/new_page_1.htm" (circa 2007) Retrieved via The Wayback Machine,

Something in Thomas Treadwell’s life made him decide that he would rather live under a nation governed by men like him, i.e. “wealthy and privileged”, rather than remain loyal to the Crown of England. He had held the position of Judge of Probate of Suffolk County in 1768, but by 1775 he was a member of the New York Provincial Convention and then also a member of the Convention that framed the New York State Constitution. “He was a representative in the Continental Congress in Philadelphia in 1772-1776” as well. By 1788, he was part of the national constitutional convention. He was among such men as: Clinton, Melancton, Smith, Yates and Lansing. They were all anti-federalist delegates.
His speeches from the national constitutional convention are perhaps the most well known:
"The liberties of the country are a deposit, a trust, in the hands of individuals; they are an entailed estate, which the possessors have no right to dispose of; they belong to our children, and to them we are bound to transmit them as a representative body."
He was an avid anti-federalist and may have been the true author who used the pseudonyms, such as "Brutus" in the anti-federalist papers. If the identity of “Brutus” is Thomas Treadwell rather than Robert Yates, it would mean that the co-founder of what would later become Wiggletown is also the man who fought for the Bill of Rights to be added to our Construction. As a reward for his service he was given land in what was to become Clinton County. The Bay of St. Armand became known today as Treadwell’s Bay. In 1791, he had been elected to represent Kings, Queens, and Suffolk Counties in the National Congress. He held this position until he moved his family to Plattsburgh, New York.
In Plattsburgh, Thomas Treadwell continued to make a name for him. Since both he and Charles Platt, of Long Island, had been judges and involved in government, they continued the tradition in the northern-most-region of New York. By 1804, Judge Treadwell was elected as the very first senator in New York to represent Clinton County. This was marked as another first for Wiggletown, a prestige that has somehow has been forgotten over the years. From 1807 until 1831 he was the Surrogate of Clinton County as well.

NY State Constitutional Convention

As a delegate to the NY State Constitutional Convention of 1788, Thomas Tredwell voted against the adoption of the US Constitution on the grounds that it did not reserve enough power for the people directly. [4]

"They have uniformly acted upon a direct and contrary principle, not only in forming the state constitutions and the old Confederation, but also in forming this very Constitution, for we do not find in every state constitution express resolutions made in favor of the people; and it is clear that the late Convention at Philadelphia, whatever might have been the sentiments of some of its members, did not adopt the principle, for they have made certain reservations and restrictions, which, upon that principle, would have been totally useless and unnecessary; and can it be supposed that that wise body, whose only apology for the great ambiguity of many parts of that performance, and the total omission of some things which many esteem essential to the security of liberty, was a great desire of brevity, should so far sacrifice that great and important object, as to insert a number of provisions which they esteemed totally useless?" - Thomas Tredwell

Sources

  1. Tuttle, Mrs. George Fuller. Three Centuries in the Champlain Valley: A Collection of Historical Facts and Incidents. Saranac Chapter D.A.R. Plattsburgh, NY. 1909
  2. Clinton Count Letters Testamentary and of Administration, 1790-1842 - Thomas Tredwell, Probate 31 Oct 1832: Surrogate's Court (Clinton County); Probate Place: Clinton, New York. Published at Ancestry.com[1]
  3. Robbins, William A., Descendants of Edward Tre(a)dwell through his son John, (Pts. 4, 5, 6, 7), New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol 43, 1912, pp. 73-88; pp127-140; pp 211-224; pp 373-388. Available on Google Books [2]
  4. The Founders' Constitution, Volume 1, Chapter 14, Document 44 [3] The University of Chicago Press: Original Source: Elliot, Jonathan, ed. The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution as Recommended by the General Convention at Philadelphia in 1787. . . . 5 vols. 2d ed. 1888. Reprint. New York: Burt Franklin, n.d.

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