Peter Theobaldus Curtenius (April 3, 1734, in New York City – 1798 in New York City) was an American merchant and politician.

Col. Peter T. Curtenius
New York State Auditor
In office
April 2, 1782 – March 15, 1797
GovernorGeorge Clinton
John Jay
Preceded byComfort Sands
Succeeded bySamuel Jones
Personal details
Born
Peter Theobaldus Curtenius

April 3, 1734
New York City, Province of New York
Died1798
New York City, New York
Resting placeBeechwoods Cemetery, New Rochelle, New York
Spouse
Catharine Goelet
(m. 1755)
Children9
ParentAnthonius Curtenius
RelativesPeter Goelet (brother-in-law)

Early life edit

Peter Theobaldus Curtenius was born on April 3, 1734, in New York City. He was the son of Rev. Anthonius Curtenius, a clergyman of the Dutch Church who had come from Holland to the United States.[1]

Career edit

In 1774, he was a member of the New York Committee of Correspondence. On May 31, 1775, the New York Provincial Congress appointed him Commissary General, with the rank of colonel, being in charge of the purchase of provisions for the Continental Army.[2]

In 1782, after the resignation of merchant and banker Comfort Sands, he was appointed New York State Auditor, holding the post until the creation of the succeeding office of comptroller in 1797.[2]

Personal life edit

In August 1755, he married Catharine Goelet (died 1806), a sister of his partner Peter Goelet, and their children were:

  • Elizabeth Curtenius (born 1757)
  • Anthony Curtenius (born 1759)
  • Catharine Curtenius Dunlap (born 1761)
  • Gen. Peter Curtenius (1763–1817), who married Mary Anna Lasher (d. 1829)
  • Janet Curtenius (born 1765)
  • Philip Curtenius (born 1768)
  • Jane Curtenius (1770–1846), who married Elbert Roosevelt (1767–1857), a grandson of Johannes Roosevelt.[3]
  • Mary Curtenius (born 1773)
  • Anthony Washington Curtenius (born 1775).

He died from yellow fever in New York City, and was originally buried at the vault of the Middle Dutch Church on Cedar Street, but he and his son Peter's remains were re-interred in 1857 at the Beechwoods Cemetery in New Rochelle, New York.

Descendants edit

His son Peter as the Marshal of the City of New York in 1812 carried out a registration of "Alien Enemies", that is British people, of whom there were about 1500 in the city, following the outbreak of the War of 1812. His grandson, Clinton Roosevelt (1804–1898), was a politician and inventor.[4]

Sources edit

  1. ^ Baptisms at the New Amsterdam Dutch Reformed Church, 1731–1800.
  2. ^ a b Hough, Franklin Benjamin (1858). The New York Civil List: Containing the names and origin of the civil divisions, and the names and dates of election or appointment of the principal state and county officers from the Revolution to the present time. Weed, Parsons and Co. p. 34. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  3. ^ Roosevelt genealogy
  4. ^ New-York, Mercantile Library Association of the City of; Tomlinson, Abraham (1861). New York City During the American Revolution: Being a Collection of Original Papers (now First Published) from the Manuscripts in the Possession of the Mercantile Library Association, of New York City. Privately printed for the Association. p. 69ff. Retrieved 19 August 2019.

External links edit

Political offices
Preceded by
Comfort Sands
as Auditor General
New York State Auditor
1782–1797
Succeeded by
Samuel Jones
as Comptroller