Ezra L'Hommedieu

Ezra L'Hommedieu (August 30, 1734 – September 27, 1811) was an American lawyer and statesman from Southold, New York in Suffolk County, Long Island. He was a delegate for New York to the Continental Congress (1779 to 1783) and again in 1788. His national offices overlapped with those he served in the state: in the State Assembly (1777-1783) and in the state senate (1784-1792) and (1794-1809); he was a member of the state constitutional convention in 1801. He also served in local offices, as clerk of Suffolk County from January 1784 to March 1810 and from March 1811 until his death that year. He was a regent of the University of the State of New York.

Representing the New York City Chamber of Commerce to gain federal support, L'Hommedieu chose the site for the Montauk Point Lighthouse and designed it in 1796; it was the first to be built in the state. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2012.

Ezra L'Hommedieu was born in Southold, Long Island to Benjamin and Martha (Bourn) L'Hommedieu; they were of Dutch, English and French Huguenot ancestry. He was a great-grandson of, among others, English immigrants Nathaniel and Grizzell (Brinley) Sylvester, who had owned all of Shelter Island (8,000 acres) in the 17th century. He was privately educated before going to Yale College, where he graduated in 1754. He read law and established a law practice in Southold and New York City.

As a lawyer, he came to consider British tax legislation oppressive and even "illegal." He became caught up in revolutionary fervor, moving from Long Island to Connecticut after occupation in 1776 by the British, and aiding other refugees get to the northern shore. Although George Washington had promised Continental aid to the refugees, L'Hommedieu spent his own money to help support them.

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