Cornelius Hogeboom, 53, was Sheriff of Columbia County, New York and a Revolutionary War veteran who held the rank of Captain in the Albany County Militia. He was killed on October 22, 1791, while carrying out his duties to serve a writ of ejectment during rising tenant unrest in the Hudson Valley that later became known as the Anti-Rent War.

Hogeboom was preparing to auction the farm of tenant Jonathan Arnold for nonpayment of rent when a group of seventeen men, disguised as Native Americans, ambushed him and his officers. Jonathan Arnold fired a pistol into the air to signal the attackers and himself fired the shot that struck Sheriff Hogeboom in the heart, killing him instantly. Arnold and three alleged accomplices reportedly fled to Nova Scotia. Suspects were arrested and charged in connection with the killing, but all were ultimately acquitted.