Moses I. Cantine (January 18, 1774 - January 24, 1823) was an American politician, judge and newspaper editor from New York. A Democratic-Republican, he was most notable for his service as a member of the New York State Senate and First Judge of the Greene County Court.
Cantine was born in Marbletown, Ulster County, New York on January 18, 1774, a son of Johannes and Maria (Brodhead) Cantine. [1] [2] He graduated from Princeton University in 1796, studied law, was admitted to the bar, and practiced in Greene County, New York. [1] [3]
A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, [4] Cantine served as district attorney of the Third District (Columbia, Greene and Rensselaer counties) from 1805 to 1806, 1808 to 1810, and 1811 to 1818. [5] He served in the New York State Senate from 1814 to 1818. [2] He served as First Judge of the Greene County Court from 1818 to 1820. [1]
A longtime member of the New York Militia, Cantine served as inspector of the 4th Brigade with the rank of major. [6] [7] During the War of 1812, he served on the northern frontier, the border area between New York and Canada. [8] In 1818, he was appointed the militia's judge advocate general with the rank of lieutenant colonel. [6] [9]
On August 25, 1820, Cantine and Isaac Q. Leake took over the Albany Argus from Jesse Buel. [1] In addition to publishing the newspaper, Cantine and Leake received appointment as the official state printers. [10]
He died in Albany, New York on January 24, 1823. [2] Contemporary news accounts indicate that Cantine died after drinking Crème de Noyaux. [11] This liqueur contains trace amounts of hydrogen cyanide, and bottles left to age will sometimes have the poison concentrate near the top, posing a risk to the person who takes the first drink after the bottle is opened. [12]
Cantine was married to Christina Hoes (1780-1823), the sister of Martin Van Buren's wife Hannah. [1] They were the parents of two children, Moses Jr. and Christina. [1]