Horsmanden, Daniel

Horsmanden, Daniel

(1694–1778) jurist; born in Purleigh, England. Admitted to the Middle Temple in London in 1724, he had emigrated to New York by 1731. He used contacts from England to obtain a seat on the New York Supreme Court. Known as a "political jurist," he lost all his offices in a shift of political fortune in 1747. He recoverd lost ground, however, and returned to the New York Supreme Court in 1753. He became its chief justice in 1763, though in his later years illness prevented him from carrying out his duties.