Jacob Reynier Wortendyke

Jacob Reynier Wortendyke (November 27, 1818 – November 7, 1868) was an American Democratic Party politician and attorney who represented New Jersey’s 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1857 to 1859. A lifelong resident of northern New Jersey, he combined a career in law and public service with long-standing ties to the region’s educational and civic institutions.

Wortendyke was born on November 27, 1818, in Chestnut Ridge, New Jersey, a community that is part of present-day Montvale in Bergen County. He was raised in a Dutch American milieu typical of the area in the early nineteenth century. His early education was conducted under a private tutor, reflecting both his family’s commitment to learning and the limited availability of formal public schooling in rural New Jersey at the time.

Pursuing higher education, Wortendyke attended Rutgers College in New Brunswick, New Jersey, one of the state’s principal institutions of higher learning. He graduated in 1839, joining a relatively small cohort of college-educated men in his generation. Following his graduation, he devoted himself to teaching, working as a schoolteacher for ten years. This decade in education provided him with practical experience in public instruction and community affairs before he turned to the study of law.

After his years as a teacher, Wortendyke read law and prepared for admission to the bar. He was admitted to the New Jersey bar in 1853 and commenced the practice of law in Jersey City, New Jersey. His legal practice in a rapidly growing urban center placed him at the intersection of commercial development, municipal governance, and emerging infrastructure issues, experience that would later inform his public service on local and state boards.

Wortendyke entered national politics as a member of the Democratic Party. He was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-fifth Congress, representing New Jersey’s 5th congressional district. He served in the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1857, to March 3, 1859, during a period marked by intensifying sectional tensions in the years leading up to the Civil War. In 1858 he stood for reelection to the Thirty-sixth Congress but was an unsuccessful candidate, and his service in the House concluded at the end of his first term.

After leaving Congress, Wortendyke resumed the practice of law in Jersey City. He also expanded his involvement in public affairs at the state and local levels. From 1860 to 1868 he served as president of the Jersey City water board, overseeing matters related to the city’s water supply and infrastructure at a time of significant urban growth. From 1865 to 1868 he was president of the Riparian Commission of New Jersey, a body responsible for overseeing the state’s rights and interests in tidelands and waterfront properties, an important issue in a state with extensive river and harbor frontage.

Wortendyke maintained a close relationship with his alma mater, Rutgers College. From 1862 until his death in 1868, he served as a trustee of the college, contributing to its governance and development during the mid-nineteenth century. His prominence within the Democratic Party was further reflected in his selection as a delegate to the 1868 Democratic National Convention, held in the final year of his life, during the turbulent Reconstruction era following the Civil War.

Jacob Reynier Wortendyke died in Jersey City on November 7, 1868. He was interred in the Dutch Reformed Church Cemetery in Park Ridge, New Jersey, underscoring his enduring ties to the Dutch Reformed community and to Bergen County. His family name remains associated with the region’s history; the Jacob Wortendyke House in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, a historic residence linked to the Wortendyke family, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983 (Reference No. 83001593), reflecting the longstanding presence and influence of the Wortendyke family in northern New Jersey.