President pro tempore of the United States Senate
What position did John Laurance take in Dec 1798?
John Laurance John Laurance ( sometimes spelled Lawrence or Laurence ) ( 1750 – November 11 , 1810 ) was a delegate to the 6th , 7th and 8th Congresses of the Confederation , a United States Representative and United States Senator from New York and a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New York . Education and career . Born in 1750 , near Falmouth , Cornwall , England , Laurance immigrated to the Province of New York , British America in 1767 and settled in New York City . He pursued academic studies , then read law in 1772 , with Cadwallader Colden , the Lieutenant Governor of New York . He was admitted to the bar and entered private practice in New York City , Province of New York ( State of New York , United States from July 4 , 1776 ) from 1772 to 1776 . In 1775 , Laurance married Elizabeth McDougall , the daughter of General Alexander McDougall . Military service . Laurance served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War as a commissioned officer from 1775 to 1782 . At the outbreak of war in 1775 , he was appointed a second lieutenant in the 4th New York Regiment , and took part in the 1775 Invasion of Quebec . In 1776 , he received a commission as captain and paymaster of the Continental Armys 1st New York Regiment , serving under his father-in-law Alexander McDougall ( sometimes spelled MacDougall ) . He was Judge Advocate General from 1777 to 1782 . Among the cases he handled were prosecuting at the court-martial of Charles Lee for insubordination in 1778 , and the 1779 court-martial of Benedict Arnold for corruption . He also presided at the trial of Major John André , serving on the 1780 board that convicted the major of spying and sentenced him to death by hanging , and was the boards recorder . Laurance attained the rank of colonel and resigned his commission in 1782 . He was a charter member of the Society of the Cincinnati . Post-war career . He resumed private practice in New York City from 1782 to 1785 . Among Laurances legal apprentices was Charles Adams , son of President John Adams . He was also active in land speculation and other business ventures with Alexander Hamilton . He was a member of the New York State Assembly , serving from 1782 to 1783 from Westchester County , and from New York County from 1784 to 1785 . He was a regent of the University of the State of New York in 1784 . He was a trustee of Columbia College ( now Columbia University ) from 1784 to 1810 . He was a delegate to the 6th , 7th and 8th Congresses of the Confederation ( Continental Congresses ) from 1785 to 1787 . He was a member of the New York State Senate from 1788 to 1790 . While serving in the State Senate , Laurance was also a member of New York Citys Board of Aldermen . He was an ardent supporter of adopting the United States Constitution . United States Representative . Laurance was elected as a Federalist from New Yorks 2nd congressional district to the United States House of Representatives of the 1st and 2nd United States Congresses , serving from March 4 , 1789 , to March 3 , 1793 . During this time , in 1790 , his first wife Elizabeth ( McDougall ) Laurance died , and in 1791 he married Elizabeth Lawrence Allen ( d . 1800 ) , the widow of attorney James Allen , and mother of four children . Federal judicial service . Laurance was nominated by President George Washington on May 5 , 1794 , to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of New York vacated by Judge James Duane . He was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 6 , 1794 , and received his commission the same day . His service terminated on November 8 , 1796 , due to his resignation , after his election as United States Senator from New York . United States Senator . Laurance was elected as a Federalist to the United States Senate from New York to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of United States Senator Rufus King and served from November 9 , 1796 , until August 1800 , when he resigned . He served as President pro tempore of the United States Senate during the 5th United States Congress . Later career and death . Following his departure from Congress , Laurance resumed private practice in New York City from 1800 to 1810 , also residing there until his death . He died on November 11 , 1810 , in New York City . He was interred at the First Presbyterian Church in Manhattan . Legacy . After more than two centuries of neglect by historians , the first book-length study of John Laurance was published by the American Philosophical Society in 2019 .