Oliver De Lancey | |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | Outlaw of the Bronx |
Born | September 17, 1718 New York City, Province of New York |
Died | October 27, 1785 (aged 67) Beverley, Yorkshire, England |
Allegiance | Great Britain |
Service/branch |
New York Provincial Militia (1755-1763) British Army (1776-1783) |
Years of service | 1746-1748 1755-1766 1776-1777 |
Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
Unit |
Rogers' Rangers DeLancey's Brigade Queen's Rangers King's Rangers |
Battles/wars |
Major-General Oliver De Lancey also, known as Oliver De Lancey, Sr., and the Outlaw of the Bronx (September 17, 1718–October 27, 1785) was a merchant and Loyalist politician and soldier, during the American Revolutionary War. His surname is sometimes written, as de Lancey or Delancey.
The son of Etienne Delancey and Anne Van Cortland (Cortlandt), Oliver De Lancey was born on September 17, 1718, in New York City, Province of New York. Oliver was the brother of James De Lancey, of the British Loyalist unit, De Lancey's Brigade, during the American Revolutiionary War]]. The De Lancey family was of Huguenot descent. From 1754-1757, De Lancey served as a New York alderman for the Out Ward and was a member of the New York assembly from New York County from 1756-1761.
During the French and Indian War, Oliver De Lancey was selected by the New York Assembly, with the support of his brother James De Lancey, the acting Governor, to provide provisions for New York provincial units. During the war, De Lancey commanded the New York Provincial Militia, 1755-1763, and commanded a provincial detachment in the Ticonderoga campaign of 1758. In 1766, De Lancey was one of the judges in the Pendergast case, where the alleged leader of the Dutchess County land rebels was convicted and sentenced to death.
Oliver De Lancey was a member of the provincial executive council, from 1760, until the American Revolutionary War. In 1768, he allied himself with Isaac Sears and the Sons of Liberty. De Lancey spoke out against the Boston Port Act, of 1774, but did not support non-importation. He was one of the persons responsible, for the creation of the Committee of Fifty. In 1773, he was appointed colonel in chief, of the Southern Military District.