Samuel Ogden

Samuel Ogden (December 9, 1746 — December 1, 1810) was a colonial businessman in New Jersey who had an iron works. He fought on the side of the patriots during the American Revolutionary War. Afterward, he became a developer and land speculator for a large tract of land in upstate New York.

He worked with his brother Abraham Ogden, brother-in-law Gouverneur Morris, and others on developing this tract. The City of Ogdensburg, New York, at the confluence of the Oswegatchiewith the St. Lawrence River, was named for him.

Samuel Gouverneur Ogden was born in 1746 in Newark, New Jersey, one of five sons of David Ogden and Gertrude (Gouverneur) Ogden. His father was a noted jurist and a member of the supreme court for the royal Province of New Jersey before the Revolutionary War.

Samuel Ogden became prominent in the iron business in New Jersey, founding the Boonton Iron Works in 1770 on six acres of land located along the Rockaway River, near Boonton. Such enterprises became critical to the American war effort. Ogden and his brother Abraham supported the Patriots during the Revolution, but their father and three other brothers were Loyalists. Ogden served as a Colonel of the New Jersey Militia during the Revolutionary War.

Having gotten established in business, in 1775 Ogden married Euphemia Morris (1754-1818), a sister of Gouverneur Morris.

Samuel's brother Abraham Ogden served as Commissioner to the Indians in Northern New York after the Revolutionary War, and became aware that the state was selling large portions of land that had been ceded by the Iroquois nations. The brothers purchased a large tract of land in New York with Gouverneur Morris and others, south of the Saint Lawrence River. They intended to plat, develop and sell off the land to settlers. Many land-hungry migrants were entering the state from New England. There was considerable land speculation going on in upstate New York, as some five million acres of land had been sold by the state after the Six Nations had been forced to cede most of their lands. The Mohawk and three other nations had been allies (highly decentralized in band actions) during the war with the British, who were defeated. The City of Ogdensburg, New York, one of the principal settlements in this tract, was named after Samuel Ogden.

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