Wynkoop, Henry, 1737-1816

Dates:

Birth 1737-03-02

Death 1816-03-25

Gender:

Male

Nationality: Americans, Britons

Language: English

Biographical notes:

Henry Wynkoop (March 2, 1737 – March 25, 1816) was an American jurist and statesman. He served as a member of the Continental Congress from 1779 to 1782 and as a United States Representative from Pennsylvania's At-Large district during the First United States Congress.

Born in Northampton Township in the Province of Pennsylvania, he inherited his father's 153 acre farm in Newtown upon his death in 1759. Wynkoop undertook English and classical studies and was admitted to Princeton University but he did not graduate. He served as a member of the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1760 and 1761, as associate justice of Bucks County Courts from 1764 to 1777 and president judge of the Bucks County Courts from 1777 to 1789. He served as a delegate to the provincial conferences of July 15, 1774, and June 18, 1775, as major of Bucks County Associated Battalions, and as member of the general committee of safety in 1776 and 1777.

Wynkoop served as a member of the Continental Congress from 1779 to 1782. He served as a Justice of the Court of Common Pleas and the orphan's court in Kingston, Pennsylvania from 1780 to 1789. Elected as a Pro-Administration candidate to the First Congress from Pennsylvania's At-Large district, he was not a candidate for re-election in 1790 and went on to lose a 1792 bid. After his Congressional service, Wynkoop was appointed as an Associate Judge in Bucks County, as which he served until his death in Bucks County; he was interred in the graveyard of the Low Dutch Reformed Church, Richboro, Pennsylvania.