The de Lancey family of the county, descended in part from him and in part from his brother Peter, is one to which uncommon historical interest attaches. His father, Stephen de Lancey, a descendant in the Huguenot bianch of an ancient and noble French house, fled from France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and in 16SG arrived in New York with a capital of £300. Embarking in mercantile pursuits, he soon amassed wealth and gained a very influential position, not only in the commercial community of New York, but in the government. He was a member of the general assembly for many years, was a vestryman of Trinity Church in New York, and was noted for his public-spirited interest in the concerns of the city. He was a warm friend of the Huguenots of New Rochelle. In 1700 he married Ann, second daughter of Stephanus Van Cortlandt. James de Lancey, the future chief justice and governor, was their eldest son, born in New York City, November 27, 1703. James was educated at the University of Cambridge, England. In 1729 he was appointed a member of the governor's council, succeeding John Barberie, who was his uncle by marriage. In 1731 he was made an associate justice of the Supreme Court, and in 1733, at the ago of thirty, was promoted to the chief justiceship. Whatever may have been the determining reasons for his support of Governor Cosby

ARISTOCRATIC

FAMILIES

and antagonism of Chief Justice Morris in the Van Dam ease, he unhesitatingly followed to its logical conclusion the course that he adopted upon that occasion. Of a very proud nature, he deeply resented the assumption by the other side of superior virtue and superior regard for liberty and law. Morris was a man of positive traits, and by the exercise of unquestioned judicial authority had grown dictatorial in his old age.