John Cleves Symmes
| John Cleves Symmes | |
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Sketch by Henry Howe
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| Born | July 21, 1742 Riverhead, New York |
| Died | February 26, 1814 (aged 71) Cincinnati, Ohio |
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John Cleves Symmes (July 21, 1742 – February 26, 1814) was a delegate to the Continental Congress from New Jersey, and later a pioneer in the Northwest Territory. He was also the father-in-law of President William Henry Harrison (and therefore the great-grandfather of President Benjamin Harrison).
He was the son of the Rev. Timothy Symmes (1715–1756) and Mary Cleves (died c. 1746) of Suffolk County, New York on Long Island. John was born in Riverhead, New York on July 21, 1742.
Symmes was educated as a lawyer and married Anna Tuthill (1741–1776) at Mattituck, New York on October 30, 1760. They had three children; Maria (born April 23, 1765) and Mary (born August 30, 1767) at Mattituck before moving to Morristown, New Jersey sometime around 1770. Maria married Kentucky state senator Peyton Short. Another daughter Anna Tuthill Symmes was born at her father's estate Solitude, just outside Morristown, New Jersey (present day Wheatsheaf Farms subdivision off Sussex Avenue in Morris Township, New Jersey ) before his wife died in 1776.
Symmes supported the revolution, becoming chairman of the Sussex County, New Jersey Committee of Safety in 1774. When the Revolutionary war began in earnest, he served as Colonel of the 3rd Regiment of the Sussex County militia from 1777 to 1780. The unit was called into service with the Continental Army on several actions.
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