James Schureman
American merchant and politician (1756-1824)
James Schureman (February 12, 1756 – January 22, 1824) was an American merchant and statesman from New Brunswick, New Jersey. He represented New Jersey in the Continental Congress as well as the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate.
Biography
James was born in New Brunswick in the Province of New Jersey and attended Queen's College (now Rutgers University), graduating in 1775. When he graduated he raised a volunteer company in New Brunswick and led it as captain in the Middlesex County militia. He led them in the Battle of Brooklyn on August 27, 1776, where he was captured. He was held as a prisoner of war until early in the spring of 1777 when he escaped to rejoin the Continental Army at Morristown.
Schureman returned to New Brunswick and took up a mercantile career while still serving in the militia. He was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly from 1783 to 1785. In 1786, New Jersey sent him as a delegate to the Continental Congress. That same year he was one of those at the Annapolis Convention that called for a new constitution for the United States.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “James Schureman” as american merchant and politician (1756-1824). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as american merchant and politician (1756-1824). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q930576. VIAF identifies the subject as 60525622. The Library of Congress control number is n85209780. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1756, 1824, 1775 and 1776.
Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “James Schureman”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow James Schureman primary sources, James Schureman archive and James research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “James Schureman”?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “James Schureman” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.