Elias Dayton was the
Mayor of Elizabethtown, New JerseyMayor of Elizabeth, New Jersey:*J. Christian Bollwage 1992 to present*Thomas Gerard Dunn 1964 to 1992. He was the nation's longest-serving mayor of a city of more than 100,000 people.*Steven J. Bercik 1956 to 1964....
Biography
He was born in
ElizabethElizabeth is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 124,969, retaining its ranking as New Jersey's fourth largest city with an increase of 4,401 residents from its 2000 Census population of 120,568...
,
Union County, New JerseyUnion County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 536,499. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Elizabeth. Union County ranks 93rd among the highest-income counties in the United States. It also ranks 74th in...
.
During the
French and Indian WarThe French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
, he served first as a
lieutenantA lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
and then as a captain in the
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
militiaThe term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
. During Pontiac's War, in 1760, he served as a commander in the Detroit region. After the wars, he returned to Elizabethtown, New Jersey, where he became a mechanic, merchant and colonial official.
In 1774 the First
Continental CongressThe Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
called on the colonies to resist
ParliamentThe Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland...
's recent tax policy by joining in an association to boycott goods imported from Britain. Dayton served on Elizabethtown's enforcement committee and allied himself with the local revolutionary movement. When the state turned against Royal Governor
William FranklinWilliam Franklin was an American soldier and colonial administrator. He served as the last Colonial Governor of New Jersey. Franklin was a steadfast Loyalist throughout the American War of Independence, despite his father Benjamin Franklin's role as one of the most prominent Patriots during the...
in 1775, the
New Jersey's Provincial CongressThe Provincial Congress of New Jersey was a transitional governing body of the Province of New Jersey in the early part of the American Revolution. It first met in 1775 with representatives from all New Jersey's then-thirteen counties, to supersede the Royal Governor...
chose Dayton to lead the
3rd New Jersey RegimentThe 3rd New Jersey Regiment was raised, on January 1, 1776, at Elizabethtown, New Jersey for service with the Continental Army. One of the captains of this regiment was Jonathan Dayton, the youngest signer of the Constitution...
.
In the spring of 1776 he and his troops (including his young son Jonathan) were sent to support an invasion of Canada, but were diverted to
New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's
Mohawk ValleyThe Mohawk Valley region of the U.S. state of New York is the area surrounding the Mohawk River, sandwiched between the Adirondack Mountains and Catskill Mountains....
where Colonel Dayton was put in charge of constructing fortifications to protect the colonists from Loyalist and
IndianNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
insurrections. These fortifications included
Fort DaytonFort Dayton is located on the North side of the Mohawk River at West Canada Creek in what is now Herkimer, New York. A fort had previously been built on the same site during the French and Indian War.-American Revolutionary War:...
in what is now Herkimer, New York.
In December 1778, New Jersey named him as a delegate to the
Continental CongressThe Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
, but he remained with the army and did not attend the Congress. He was promoted to brigadier general in the Continental Army in 1783, and later to major general of militia.
He served in the
New Jersey General AssemblyThe New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.Since the election of 1967 , the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for a term of two years, each representing districts with average...
from 1791–1792 and 1794–1796, and was mayor of Elizabethtown from 1796-1805.
He died at age 70 and was interred at the First Presbyterian Churchyard in
Elizabeth, New JerseyElizabeth is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 124,969, retaining its ranking as New Jersey's fourth largest city with an increase of 4,401 residents from its 2000 Census population of 120,568...
.