Samuel L. Gouverneur Representative and Senator Theodorus Bailey who died in office on September 6, 1828. While in New York he invested in racehorses, and the Bowery Theatre along with James Alexander Hamilton, son of Alexander Hamilton, and Prosper M. Wetmore. Gouverneur served as Postmaster until July 4, 1836, when he was succeeded by Jonathan J. Coddington. Gouverneur served as private secretary to his uncle, the fifth U.S. President James Monroe who served two consecutive terms as President from March 4, 1817 until March 4, 1825. Gouverneur helped former president Monroe to press his claims to Congress to repay mounting debts. After Elizabeth
Presidency of James Monroe Monroe appointed a geographically-balanced cabinet, through which he led the executive branch. At Monroe's request, Crawford continued to serve as Treasury Secretary. Monroe also chose to retain Benjamin Crowninshield of Massachusetts as Secretary of the Navy and Richard Rush of Pennsylvania as Attorney General. Recognizing Northern discontent at the continuation of the Virginia dynasty, Monroe chose John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts to fill the prestigious post of Secretary of State, making Adams the early favorite to eventually succeed Monroe as president. An experienced diplomat, Adams had abandoned the Federalist Party in 1807 in support of Thomas Jefferson's foreign policy, and