Richard Riker

Richard Riker (September 9, 1773 – September 26, 1842) was an American lawyer and politician from New York, who served as the first district attorney of what is now New York County, and as recorder of New York City.

Richard Riker
Recorder of New York City
In office 1815–1819
Preceded by	Josiah O. Hoffman
Succeeded by	Peter A. Jay
In office 1821–1823
Preceded by	Peter A. Jay
Succeeded by	Samuel Jones
In office 1824–1838
Preceded by	Samuel Jones
Succeeded by	Robert H. Morris
District attorney (1st District)
In office August 19, 1801 – February 13, 1810
Preceded by	Josiah O. Hoffman
Succeeded by	Cadwallader D. Colden
In office February 19, 1811 – March 5, 1813
Preceded by	Cadwallader D. Colden
Succeeded by	Barent Gardenier
Personal details
Born	Richard Riker September 9, 1773 Newtown, Queens, Province of New York
Died	September 26, 1842(1842-09-26) (aged 69) New York City, New York
Political party	Democratic-Republican Party
Spouse(s)	Janette Phoenix ​ ( m. 1807; his death 1842)
Parents	Samuel Riker Anna Lawrence

Career

Riker studied law at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) under Rev. John Witherspoon, and was admitted to the New York state bar in 1795.[1] In 1801, he was appointed to the newly created office of the District Attorney of the First District, where he prosecuted cases in New York, Queens, Kings, Richmond, Suffolk and Westchester counties. Before 1801 the New York State Attorney General had personally prosecuted cases. During his tenure, he also served as a member of the New York State Assembly in 1806, representing New York City. Riker remained in office until 1810, and then served as district attorney again from 1811 to 1813.[2]

He served three non-consecutive terms as the Recorder of New York City between 1815 and 1838. In this position, Riker abused the Fugitive Slave Act to send free blacks to the South to be sold into slavery. By the 1830s, abolitionists considered Riker a member of the "Kidnapping Club",[3] along with Daniel D. Nash and Tobias Boudinot, who "boasted that he could 'arrest and send any black to the South.'"[4][5] In 1828, Riker was also made the subject of a satirical poem, "The Recorder" by Fitz-Greene Halleck, which mockingly compared him and other members of the New York party machine to classical figures like Julius Caesar.

Riker was a close friend of DeWitt Clinton, and both were supporters of Alexander Hamilton, leading to duels with supporters of Hamilton's rival Aaron Burr. Riker served as Clinton's second in a duel with John Swartwout on July 30, 1802 at the dueling grounds in Weehawken, New Jersey, where Swartwout was wounded in the leg. On November 21, 1803, Riker dueled with John Swartwout's brother, Brigadier General Robert Swartwout, at Weehawken in defense of Clinton's honor. Riker was shot in the leg at this duel, giving him a permanent limp.[6][7]

Personal life

He was born in Newtown, Queens County, New York, the son of Congressman Samuel Riker and Anna Lawrence Riker, niece of Jonathan Lawrence. In March 1807, Riker married Janette Phoenix, daughter of Daniel Phoenix (ca. 1740-1812, who served as New York City Treasurer, 1784-1809), and they had six children. He was a member of the prominent and wealthy Riker family, which owned Rikers Island, now New York City's primary jail complex, until 1884.[8] The island's name has been the subject of some controversy, and has drawn comparisons between Riker's kidnappings and the disproportionately African-American population of the jail.[7][4]

References

1. Thompson, Benjamin Franklin. The History of Long Island, from Its Discovery and Settlement to the Present Time, pg. 535. 1843.
2. Civil List and Forms of Government of the Colony and State of New York, Weed, Parsons and Company, 1867.
3. Leslie M. Harris, In the Shadow of Slavery: African Americans in New York City, 1626-1863, University of Chicago Press, 2003, p. 208.
4. Mock, Brentin. "The Dark 'Fugitive Slave' History of Rikers Island", CityLab, July 23, 2015.
5. Foner, Eric. "Slavery and Freedom in New York City", from Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad, W. W. Norton & Company, 2015.
6. "Other Duels in Weehawken, 1798-1845", Weehawken Historical Commission, 2004.
7. Di Novi, Will. "Re-Naming Rikers", Pacific Standard, May 18, 2016.
8. Pessen, Edward. Riches, Class and Power, Transaction Publishers, 1973.