Representative John Herkimer

John Herkimer (1773, Tryon County, New York – June 8, 1848, Danube, Herkimer County, New York) was an American lawyer, militia officer, and politician from New York. He was born into the prominent Herkimer family, the son of George Herkimer, who was a brother of General Nicholas Herkimer and Johan Jost Herkimer, figures of regional and Revolutionary War significance. Growing up in what was then Tryon County, in the Mohawk Valley of central New York, he was part of a community shaped by frontier settlement, landholding interests, and the political realignments that followed the American Revolution. These family and regional connections helped situate him within the emerging political and legal culture of early New York State.

Details of Herkimer’s formal education are not extensively documented, but his later career as a lawyer and judge indicates that he received the legal training customary for the period, likely through apprenticeship and study under established practitioners in the region. By the turn of the nineteenth century, he had established himself sufficiently in public life to win election to the state legislature, reflecting both his professional standing and the influence of the Herkimer family in local affairs.

Herkimer’s political career began at the state level. He was elected as a member of the New York State Assembly from Montgomery County in 1800, 1804, and 1806, participating in the legislative work of a state undergoing rapid growth and institutional development. In 1801 he served as a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention, which considered revisions to the state’s foundational governing document and addressed questions of representation, executive power, and the structure of state government. Through these roles he became identified with the Democratic-Republican movement in New York, which opposed Federalist policies and advocated a more broadly based republican political order.

During the War of 1812, Herkimer served in the New York State Militia, holding the rank of major. In that capacity he led a battalion in the defense of Sackets Harbor, New York, a strategically important naval and military base on Lake Ontario that was a focal point of British and American operations. His service there placed him among the many state militia officers who played a critical role in local and regional defense during the conflict, and it reinforced his public reputation as both a civilian leader and a military officer.

As a member of the Republican Party representing New York at the national level, John Herkimer contributed to the legislative process during two terms in the United States Congress. Elected as a Democratic-Republican, he served in the Fifteenth Congress from March 4, 1817, to March 3, 1819, and later in the Eighteenth Congress from March 4, 1823, to March 3, 1825. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, encompassing the “Era of Good Feelings,” debates over internal improvements, and evolving party alignments. In these terms he participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his New York constituents in the House of Representatives, aligning with the broader Republican tradition that dominated national politics in the post-war period.

Herkimer’s local and judicial career developed alongside changes in county and town boundaries in central New York. In 1817 the Town of Danube, in which his home was located, was created out of part of the Town of Minden, and the area was transferred from Montgomery County to Herkimer County. Following this reorganization, Herkimer served for some years as an associate judge of the Herkimer County Court. In that role he helped administer justice at the county level, applying state law in civil and criminal matters and contributing to the legal order of a region transitioning from frontier conditions to more settled civic life.

John Herkimer spent his later years in Danube, Herkimer County, where he continued to be identified with the civic and legal affairs of the community that bore his family’s name. He died there on June 8, 1848. He was buried at the General Herkimer Cemetery in Danube, New York, a burial ground associated with his distinguished family and the broader history of the Mohawk Valley.