Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography, edited by James
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WISNER, Henry - A Klos Family Project - Revolutionary War General
WISNER, Henry, patriot, born in
Goshen, Orange County, New York, about 1725; died there in 1790. He was the
grandson of a Swiss soldier who settled in Orange county in 1715. Henry was
appointed in 1768 one of the assistant justices of the court of common pleas,
and represented Orange county in the New York general assembly in 1759-'69. He
strenuously espoused the side of colonial rights against the pretensions of the
British parliament, and was a member of the Continental congress of 1774 and of
the 2d Continental congress, which adopted the Declaration
of Independence. For that measure Wisner voted, and he was the only New York
delegate who acquired that honor, but before the Declaration
was engrossed on parchment and ready for signing, he went to New York to attend
the Provincial congress, of which he had been elected a member.
He studied the art of making gunpowder and erected three powder-mills in the
neighborhood of Goshen, from which large quantities of powder were supplied to
the Revolutionary army. He was otherwise of practical service to the patriot
cause by having spears and gun-slints made and by repair-mg the roads in orange
county, thus facilitating the transportation of provisions and military material
to the American troops. He also, at his own expense, erected works and mounted
cannon on the banks of Hudson river, which greatly impeded British vessels in
their passage of the Highlands. He was one of the committee that framed the
first constitution of New York in 1777, state senator in 1777-'82, and a member
of the New York convention of 1788, which ratified the United
States constitution. On that occasion he voted in the negative, fearing, in
common with other stanch patriots, that a strong Federal government would
overpower state and individual rights. In person Wisher was tall, with pleasing
manners, and a frame that was vigorous even in old age. He possessed a strong
intellect and an energetic character. See "A Memorial of Henry
Wisner," by Franklin Burdge (New York, 1878).
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