Jesse Hoyt Explained

Jesse Hoyt
Office:	Collector of the Port of New York
Appointer:	Martin Van Buren
Term Start:	1838
Term End:	1841
Predecessor:	Samuel Swartwout
Successor:	John J. Morgan
Office1:	Member of the New York State Assembly from New York County
Term Start1:	January 1, 1823
Term End1:	December 31, 1823
Birth Date:	28 June 1792
Birth Place:	New Canaan, Connecticut, U.S.
Death Place:	New York City, New York, U.S.
Party:	Democratic-Republican
Known For:	Swartwout-Hoyt scandal
Parents:	Goold Hoyt Sarah Reid
Children:	6

Jesse Hoyt (June 28, 1792  - March 17, 1867) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

Early life

Hoyt was born in New Canaan, Fairfield County, Connecticut on June 28, 1792. He was the second son and third born of nine total children of Goold Hoyt, a merchant and broker, and Sarah (née Reid) Hoyt.^[1]

His paternal grandparents were Justus Hoyt, a shoemaker and farmer who served one campaign in the French and Indian War, and Elizabeth Hoyt and his maternal grandfather was Timothy Reed.^[1]

Career

He moved to Albany, New York, and became a merchant but failed. Then, he studied law with Martin Van Buren, was admitted to the bar in 1819, and commenced practice in partnership with Van Buren and Benjamin F. Butler in Hudson, New York. Soon after, Hoyt removed to New York City, and continued the practice of law there, specializing in Chancery cases.

He was a member from New York County of the New York State Assembly in 1823.^[2] Hoyt was part of the Bucktails faction of the Democratic-Republican Party.

In 1838, Hoyt was appointed by President Van Buren as Collector of the Port of New York to replace Samuel Swartwout who had been Collector since 1829. Soon after Hoyt's taking office, Swartwout was accused of embezzlement, but in February 1841, Van Buren was forced to remove Hoyt by appointing John J. Morgan as Collector, after Hoyt had also been accused of embezzlement. The episode became known as the Swartwout-Hoyt scandal. Afterwards, Hoyt resumed the practice of law.

Personal life

On April 3, 1828, he married Cornelia Emeline Thurston (1803–1852). She was the daughter of Robert Jenkins Thurston and Abigail (née Bogert) Thurston.^[3] Together, they were the parents of six children:^[3]

• Cornelia Thurston Hoyt (1829–1888).^[3]
• Louis Thurston Hoyt (1834–1901), who married Marie Antoinette Bogert (1839–1879). After her death, he married Frances Mary Jones (1839–1930).^{[4] [5]}
• William Henry Hoyt.^[3]
• Emily Adele Hoyt (1838–1889), who married Francis Adams De Wint (1834–1866).^[3]
• Robert Sands Hoyt (1840–1879).^[3]
• Ella Carroll Hoyt, who married J. de Wint Whittemore.^[3]

Hoyt died in New York City on March 17, 1867.^[6]

References

Notes

Sources

Notes and References

1. Book: Hoyt. David Webster. A Genealogical History of the Hoyt, Haight and Hight Families: With Some Account of the Earlier Hyatt Families, a List of the First Settlers of Salisbury and Amesbury, Massachusetts, Etc. 2009. Heritage Books. 9781556136283. 503. 23 February 2018. en.
2. Book: Hough. Franklin. The New York Civil List: Containing the names and origin of the civil divisions, and the names and dates of election or appointment of the principal state and county officers from the Revolution to the present time. 1858. Weed, Parsons and Co.. 199, 282. 23 February 2018. en.
3. Book: Thurston. Brown. 1635-1880 Thurston Genealogies. 1880. B. Thurston, and Hoyt, Fogg & Donham. Portland, Maine. 301. 23 February 2018. en.
4. News: WILL OF LOUIS THURSTON HOYT; He Leaves Legacies to Charitable Institutions, Business Friends, Friends of a Dead Daughter, and Widow.. 23 February 2018. The New York Times. September 4, 1901. en.
5. News: ESTATE OF LOUIS T. HOYT. Stock Exchange Member Left $3,640,546, Most of Which Goes to His Widow. 23 February 2018. The New York Times. March 3, 1903. en.
6. News: THE NEW-YORK CUSTOM-HOUSE.; Death of Ex-Collector Hoyt--Notes Upon the Office and its Occupants -- The Van Buren Era.. 23 February 2018. The New York Times. March 24, 1867. en.