He was born on April 8, 1743, in Newtown on Long Island in what was then the Province of New York into a family of Dutch origin. He was a son of Andrew Riker (1699–1762) and Jane (née Berrien) Riker (1703–1775).
His great-grandfather Abraham Ryker (1619–1689) was born in the Netherlands and settled in New Netherland.
Career
After Riker attended the common schools, he was a member of the Newtown committee of correspondence in 1774, and was supervisor of Suffolk County in 1783. He was the lieutenant of Light Horse during the American Revolution.[1]
Samuel Riker was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1784. He was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Eighth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of John Smith. He served from November 5, 1804, to March 3, 1805. He was also elected to the Tenth Congress, which met from March 4, 1807, to March 3, 1809.
Personal life
Riker was married to Anna Lawrence (1749–1833). Anna was a daughter of Joseph Lawrence and a niece of merchant and New York State Senator Jonathan Lawrence. Among her cousins were Samuel, John, and William T. Lawrence.[2] Together, they were the parents of:[3]
Joseph Lawrence Riker (1770–1796), a sailor who died in Jamaica.[3]
Jane Margaret Riker (1782–1868), who married merchant John Thom.[6] After his death, she married Irish-American physician William James MacNeven.[7]
Anna Elvira Riker (1785–1860), who married Douwe Ditmars.[3]
John Lawrence Riker (1787–1861), who married Maria Smith.[3]
He died in Newtown in Long Island on May 19, 1823. He was interred in the Dutch Reformed Cemetery.
Descendants
Through his daughter Patience, he was a grandfather of Patience Riker Lawrence (wife of Timothy Gridley Churchill) and a great-grandfather of Jane Lawrence Churchill, who married Henry Y. Satterlee,[5] the EpiscopalBishop ofWashington,[8][9]
