Representative George Ogilvie Belden

George Ogilvie Belden (March 28, 1797 – October 9, 1833) was an American lawyer, military officer, and politician who served one term as a U.S. Representative from New York from 1827 to 1829. A member of the Jacksonian party, he represented New York during a formative period in the nation’s political realignment toward Jacksonian democracy.

Belden was born on March 28, 1797, in Norwalk, Connecticut. He attended the public schools there, receiving a basic formal education typical of the early national period. After completing his schooling, he pursued legal studies, preparing for admission to the bar at a time when legal training was generally obtained through apprenticeship and independent study rather than through formal law schools.

Upon being admitted to the bar, Belden established his law practice in Monticello, in Sullivan County, New York. As a practicing attorney, he became part of the civic and professional life of this growing community in the early nineteenth century. His legal career in Monticello provided the foundation for his entry into public life and helped build the local reputation that would support his subsequent election to Congress.

Belden was elected as a Jacksonian, or member of the Jackson Party, to the Twentieth Congress. He represented New York’s seventh congressional district and served from March 4, 1827, to March 3, 1829. During his single term in the U.S. House of Representatives, he participated in the legislative process at a time of significant political and social change, as the country moved toward broader popular participation in government and the rise of Andrew Jackson’s influence. In Congress, he represented the interests of his New York constituents within this shifting national context, contributing to debates and decisions characteristic of the Jacksonian era.

After the conclusion of his congressional service, Belden returned to Monticello and resumed the practice of law. He continued to be active in public affairs and, in 1831, he held a notable military position in the state militia. That year he served as a general of the Twenty-third Brigade of Infantry of the State of New York, reflecting both his standing in the community and the common practice of prominent local figures holding militia commissions in the early nineteenth century.

Belden’s career was cut short by his early death. He died in Monticello, Sullivan County, New York, on October 9, 1833, at the age of 36 years and 195 days. He was interred in the Old Cemetery on St. John Street in Monticello. Despite his brief life, his service as a Jacksonian representative from New York and his role in state military affairs placed him among the public figures who helped shape the political landscape of New York and the United States during the Jacksonian period.