Representative Joseph Bloomfield

Joseph Bloomfield (October 18, 1753 – October 3, 1823) was an American lawyer, soldier, and statesman who served as the fourth governor of New Jersey and later as a member of the United States House of Representatives. The township of Bloomfield, New Jersey, is named in his honor, its name derived from a local Presbyterian congregation that had earlier taken his name in recognition of his public service.

Bloomfield was born on October 18, 1753, in Woodbridge, in the Province of New Jersey, to Moses Bloomfield, a physician and surgeon, and Sarah Ogden. His father was an abolitionist and represented Middlesex County in the Provincial Congress of New Jersey, providing Joseph with an early example of public service and political engagement in the revolutionary era. Bloomfield received his early education at Reverend Enoch Green’s school in Deerfield Township, New Jersey, where Green also served as pastor of the local Presbyterian Church. He subsequently studied law and, after completing his legal training, was admitted to the bar in 1775. He began his law practice in Bridgeton, New Jersey, just as tensions between the American colonies and Great Britain were escalating into open conflict.

With the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, Bloomfield entered military service in the Continental Army. On February 9, 1776, he was commissioned as a captain in the 3rd New Jersey Regiment. He rose quickly, attaining the rank of major on November 28, 1776, and was appointed judge advocate of the northern army, combining legal expertise with military responsibility. Bloomfield saw active combat and was wounded at the Battle of Brandywine in September 1777. He resigned his Continental Army commission on October 28, 1778, after being elected clerk of the New Jersey General Assembly, marking a transition from full-time military service to a career that blended law and public office. From 1779 to 1783 he practiced law in Burlington, New Jersey, and served as registrar of the admiralty court, handling legal matters related to maritime affairs at a time when naval issues were central to the young nation’s interests.

Following the Revolutionary War, Bloomfield continued to play a prominent role in both civic and military circles. He became one of the founding members of The Society of the Cincinnati in the state of New Jersey, an organization of Continental Army officers dedicated to preserving the ideals and fellowship of the Revolution. He later served as president of the New Jersey State Society of the Cincinnati from 1808 until his death in 1823. In civilian government, Bloomfield was appointed New Jersey attorney general in 1783, a position he held until 1792, overseeing the state’s legal affairs in the formative years of the republic. He was also deeply involved in higher education and intellectual life, serving as a trustee of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) from 1793 until his death. In 1794, Bloomfield led Federal and New Jersey state troops to help suppress the Whiskey Rebellion near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a popular uprising by Appalachian settlers resisting the federal excise tax on liquor and distilled drinks, thereby reinforcing federal authority. From 1795 to 1800 he served as mayor of Burlington, New Jersey, further anchoring his influence in local and state governance.

Bloomfield’s most prominent state office was the governorship of New Jersey. Elected as a Democratic-Republican, he served as the fourth governor of New Jersey from 1801 to 1802 and again from 1803 to 1812, presiding over the state through a period of political consolidation and early national development. During his long tenure, he balanced state concerns with the broader currents of national politics in the Jeffersonian and Madisonian eras. In recognition of his standing, he was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1814, reflecting his engagement with the preservation of American history and letters. Meanwhile, his name became attached to local institutions: in 1796, the Old First Church was reorganized and named the Presbyterian Society of Bloomfield in his honor, and when the Township of Bloomfield was later formed, it took its name from that church, thereby permanently associating his name with the community.

Bloomfield also returned to national military service during the War of 1812. On March 13, 1812, he was commissioned as a brigadier general in the United States Army. In this capacity he served along the Canada–United States border, participating in the nation’s defense during the conflict with Great Britain. He remained in the Army until June 15, 1815, when he was honorably discharged following the end of hostilities. His dual experience as a Revolutionary War officer and a general in the War of 1812 placed him among the small group of American leaders who held high military command in both of the young nation’s early major wars.

After his War of 1812 service, Bloomfield continued his public career in the legislative branch of the federal government. He was elected as a Democratic-Republican to represent New Jersey’s at-large congressional district in the Fifteenth United States Congress and was reelected to the Sixteenth Congress, serving from March 4, 1817, to March 3, 1821. During his tenure in the House of Representatives, he chaired the Committee on Revolutionary Pensions, overseeing legislation and policy related to the support of veterans of the American Revolution. Bloomfield had previously sought election to Congress in the at-large elections of 1795 and 1797, in which multiple candidates were elected; in both contests, where the top five finishers won seats, he finished seventh and was not elected. After his two successful terms, he ran again for the Seventeenth Congress but was not returned to office, marking the end of his national legislative service.

In his personal life, Bloomfield was twice married. His first marriage was to Mary McIlvaine (1752–1818), the daughter of Burlington physician William McIlvaine (1722–1770). Mary’s brother, Colonel Joseph McIlvaine (1749–1787), was the father of Joseph McIlvaine (1769–1826), who later served as a United States Senator from New Jersey, linking Bloomfield by marriage to another prominent New Jersey political family. Joseph and Mary Bloomfield had no children. After Mary’s death in 1818, Bloomfield married Isabella Ramsey (1779–1871), the daughter of John Ramsey. This second marriage occurred during the later years of his public career and extended his family connections into another generation of New Jersey society.

Joseph Bloomfield died in Burlington, New Jersey, on October 3, 1823. He was buried in Saint Mary’s Episcopal Churchyard in Burlington. At the time of his death, he was still serving as president of the New Jersey State Society of the Cincinnati and as a trustee of the College of New Jersey, underscoring his lifelong engagement in public, military, and civic affairs. His legacy endures in the institutions he helped shape, in the township that bears his name, and in the historical record of New Jersey and the early United States.