Benjamin Pond

Benjamin Pond (1768 – October 6, 1814) was a United States Representative from New York and a Democratic-Republican politician who served at both the state and federal levels during the early years of the American republic. His congressional service occurred during a significant period in American history, as he participated in the legislative process and represented the interests of his New York constituents amid the tensions leading up to and during the War of 1812.

Pond was born in 1768 in Stockbridge, in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, where he attended the common schools. He pursued an agricultural life from an early age, becoming a farmer, a vocation he would continue throughout his life alongside his public service. Around 1800, he moved westward to Poultney, Vermont, reflecting the broader pattern of settlement and development in northern New England and upstate New York in the early national period.

After several years in Vermont, Pond relocated to northern New York. He settled in a portion of the town of Crown Point that, at the founding of the town of Schroon, became part of Schroon and was later incorporated into what is now the town of North Hudson, New York. There he continued his work as a farmer while emerging as a local leader in a frontier community that was still being organized politically and administratively.

Pond’s political career began in 1804, when he was appointed a justice of the peace and became the town supervisor of Schroon, positions that placed him at the center of local governance and judicial administration. His responsibilities expanded in 1808, when he was appointed a judge of the Essex County Court of Common Pleas. He held this judicial office from 1808 until his death in 1814, overseeing civil matters in a rapidly developing region. At the same time, he entered state-level politics, serving as a member of the New York State Assembly from 1808 to 1810, where he participated in shaping state legislation during a period of growth and political realignment.

In 1810 Pond was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Twelfth Congress, serving one term in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1811, to March 3, 1813. As a member of the Republican (Democratic-Republican) Party representing New York, he contributed to the legislative process at a time when the nation was moving toward open conflict with Great Britain. During his term, Congress grappled with issues of trade restrictions, national defense, and foreign policy that culminated in the War of 1812, and Pond took part in the democratic process on behalf of his constituents in northern New York.

During the War of 1812, Pond supplemented his civil and legislative service with military duty in the New York Militia. He served as a matross—a soldier assigned to assist in the operation of artillery—in Captain Russell Walker’s company of the 6th Artillery Regiment. In this capacity he participated in the defense of northern New York, a strategically important region bordering British Canada. He took part in the Battle of Plattsburgh in September 1814, a decisive engagement that helped secure the northern frontier and influenced the eventual peace negotiations.

In 1814 Pond was elected to the Fourteenth Congress, with the term scheduled to begin on March 4, 1815, reflecting the continued confidence of his constituents in his leadership and service. However, he did not live to take his seat. Pond died in Schroon, New York, on October 6, 1814, of disease incurred through exposure during his service at the Battle of Plattsburgh. His death cut short a career that combined local, state, federal, and military service during a formative era of the United States.

Pond was originally buried in Pine Ridge Cemetery in what is now North Hudson, New York, close to the community where he had lived and served. On September 3, 1923, his remains were reinterred in Riverside Cemetery in Elizabethtown, New York, the county seat of Essex County, reflecting a later recognition of his contributions to the region and to the nation’s early political and military history.