1760-1824

Colonel Elias Dayton was a distinguished patriot and soldier of New Jersey in the war of independence, and his son, Jonathan Dayton, was one of the ablest civilians of that State, after independence had been achieved. Jonathan Dayton was born at Elizabethtown, New Jersey, shortly before the Revolution. He was carefully educated and prepared for the career of a lawyer and statesman, and from his first entrance into public life his promotion was rapid. After being appointed to several offices in his native State, Mr. Dayton was in 1788 elected a member of the national house of representatives. In the preceding year he had served as one of the delegates to the convention which framed the constitution of the United States. He was also elected a senator in Congress, and took his seat on the 4th of March, 1799. On the 3d of March, 1805, his term expired, and he retired from public office. Mr. Dayton was an accomplished lawyer, a firm friend to the constitution, and one of its ablest defenders.

[During the convention which drafted the new constitution, Georgia delegate William Pierce, and others for various reasons, left the convention before September and did not sign the new constitution. However, while in attendance Pierce made private notes on each representative.]

Pierce's notes.