Mahlon Dickerson Mahlon Dickerson ( April 17 , 1770October 5 , 1853 ) was an American judge and politician . He was elected Governor of New Jersey as well as United States Senator from that state . He was twice appointed Secretary of the Navy - under Presidents Andrew Jackson and Martin van Buren . He was the elder brother of New Jersey Governor Philemon Dickerson . History . Born in Hanover Township , New Jersey , he was educated by private tutors and graduated with an A . B . from the College of New Jersey ( now Princeton University ) in 1789 . He then studied the law to be admitted to the bar in 1793 . During the Whiskey Rebellion , he served as a private in the Second Regiment Cavalry , New Jersey Detached Militia . Career . After his militia service , he settled in Philadelphia , and began practicing in Pennsylvania courts in 1797 . He served as a Judge of the Mayor ' s Court , and as a member of the Philadelphia Common Council in 1799 . He was named state commissioner of bankruptcy in 1802 , served as adjutant general of Pennsylvania from 1805 to 1808 , and as Philadelphia city recorder from 1808 to 1810 . He returned to New Jersey , settling in Morris County in 1810 . Elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 1811 , he served one term . He was law reporter for the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1813 to 1814 , and a justice of the same from 1813 to 1815 . He was elected Governor of New Jersey in 1815 and served until 1817 , having been elected as a Democratic - Republican to the United States Senate in 1816 . Dickerson served in the Senate from March 4 , 1817 to January 30 , 1829 , when he resigned , but he was immediately reelected to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Ephraim Bateman and served from January 30 , 1829 , to March 4 , 1833 , for a total of 16 years of service . Dickerson served as chairman of the U . S . Senate Committee on the Library during the 15th Congress , chairman of the U . S . Senate Committee on Commerce and Manufactures for the 16th through 18th Congresses and the U . S . Senate Committee on Manufactures from the 19th through 22nd Congresses . In 1833 , upon leaving the Senate , he was elected Member of the New Jersey Legislative Council for Morris County and served as Vice President for that term . In 1834 he declined appointment as Minister to Russia . In June of that year , he was appointed Secretary of the Navy by President Andrew Jackson and was reappointed by President Martin Van Buren , serving until June 1838 . The destroyer " USS Dickerson " was named in his honor . On July 14 , 1840 , Dickerson was nominated by President Martin Van Buren to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey vacated by William Rossell . Dickerson was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 21 , 1840 , and received his commission on July 23 , 1840 . However , Dickerson was appointed as a place holder so his brother Philemon wouldn ' t have to give up his seat in the closely divided House of Representatives until very near the end of the Congress and the Van Buren Administration , so he served less than one year , resigning on February 16 , 1841 . He was also a delegate to the New Jersey of 1844 . Societies . During the 1820s , Dickerson was a member of the prestigious society , Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences , who counted among their members former presidents Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams and many prominent men of the day , including well - known representatives of the military , government service , medical and other professions . Later life . Dickerson died in 1853 in Succasunna , New Jersey and is interred at Presbyterian Cemetery , Succasunna .