Jonathan Dayton

Jonathan Dayton (October 16, 1760 – October 9, 1824) was an American Founding Father and politician from New Jersey. At 26, he was the youngest person to sign the Constitution of the United States. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1791 and later served from 1795 to 1799 as its third Speaker. He left the House in 1799 after being elected to the U.S. Senate, where he served one term. Dayton was arrested in 1807 for alleged treason in connection with Aaron Burr's conspiracy to establish an independent country in the Southwestern United States and parts of Mexico. He was exonerated by a grand jury, but his national political career never recovered.

Early life, family and education Jonathan Dayton was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey (known then as Elizabethtown). He was the son of Elias Dayton and his wife, the former Hannah Rolfe. Elias Dayton was a merchant prominent in local politics who had served as a militia officer in the French and Indian War, Jonathan graduated from the local academy, run by Tapping Reeve and Francis Barber, where he was classmates with Alexander Hamilton. He then attended the College of New Jersey (now known as Princeton University). He left college in 1775 to fight in the American Revolutionary War and received an honorary degree in 1776.

Career Military Dayton was 15 at the outbreak of the war in 1775 and served under his father in the 3rd New Jersey Regiment as an ensign. On January 1, 1777, he was commissioned a lieutenant and served as paymaster. He saw service under General George Washington, fighting in the battles of Brandywine Creek and Germantown. He remained with Washington at Valley Forge and helped push the British from their position in New Jersey into the safety of New York City. On July 19, 1799, Dayton was offered a commission as major general in the Provisional United States Army, but he declined.

Law and politics After the war, Dayton studied law and opened a practice, dividing his time between land speculation, law, and politics. After serving as a New Jersey delegate to the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention (of which he was the youngest member, at age 26 ), he became a prominent Federalist legislator. He was a member of the New Jersey General Assembly in 1786–1787, and again in 1790, and served in the New Jersey Legislative Council (now the New Jersey Senate) in 1789.

Dayton died on October 9, 1824 in his hometown. He was interred in an unmarked grave that is now under the St. John's Episcopal Church in Elizabeth, New Jersey, which replaced an original church in 1860. Shortly before Dayton's death, Marquis de Lafayette visited him.

Commemoration and legacy The city of Dayton, Ohio, was named after him. While he never visited the area, he was a signatory to the Constitution and, at the time the city of Dayton was established in 1796, he owned (in partnership with Arthur St. Clair, James Wilkinson and Israel Ludlow) 250,000 acres (1,011 km2) in the Great Miami River basin. The Jonathan Dayton High School in Springfield Township, Union County, New Jersey, the Dayton neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey, Dayton Street in Madison, Wisconsin, and Dayton, New Jersey, are named in his honor.