Boudinot, Elias, 1740-1821

Elias Boudinot (May 2, 1740 – October 24, 1821) was a lawyer and statesman from Elizabeth, New Jersey who was a delegate to the Continental Congress and served as President of Congress from 1782 to 1783. He was elected as a U.S. Congressman for New Jersey following the American Revolutionary War. He was appointed by President George Washington as Director of the United States Mint, serving from 1795 until 1805.

Born in Philadelphia in the Province of Pennsylvania, Boudinot received a classical education and studied law. After being admitted to the bar, he commenced practice in Elizabethtown in the Province of New Jersey. Boudinot became a prominent lawyer and his practice prospered. As the revolution drew near, he aligned with the Whigs, and was elected to the New Jersey provincial assembly in 1775.On May 5, 1777, General George Washington asked Boudinot to be appointed as commissary general for prisoners. In November 1777, the New Jersey legislature named Boudinot as one of their delegates to the Second Continental Congress. His duties as Commissary prevented his attendance, so in May 1778 he resigned. By early July he had been replaced and attended his first meeting of the Congress on July 7, 1778. As a delegate, he still continued his concerns for the welfare of prisoners of war.

In 1781, Boudinot returned to the Congress, for a term lasting through 1783. In November 1782, he was elected as President of the Continental Congress for a one-year term. As President, he signed the Preliminary Articles of Peace in April 1783. In 1789, Boudinot was elected from New Jersey to the United States House of Representatives. He was elected to the second and third congresses as well, where he generally supported the administration. He refused to join the expansion of affiliated groups that formed formal political parties. In 1794, he declined to serve another term, and left Congress in early 1795. In October 1795, President George Washington appointed him as Director of the United States Mint, a position he held through succeeding administrations until he retired in 1805.

Boudinot died in Burlington, New Jersey and was buried in St. Mary's Protestant Episcopal Church Cemetery there.