Major-General Fitz-John Winthrop (March 14, 1639 – November 27, 1707) was a Connecticut Militia officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Connecticut from 1698 to 1707, when he died in office.[1][2]
Fitz-John Winthrop | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Governor of Connecticut | |
| In office 1698–1707 | |
| Monarchs | William III (1698-1702) Queen Anne (1702-1707) |
| Preceded by | Robert Treat |
| Succeeded by | Gurdon Saltonstall |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 14, 1637 Boston, Massachusetts |
| Died | November 27, 1707 (aged 68) Boston, Massachusetts |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Tongue (m. 1677) |
| Children | Mary Winthrop |
| Parent(s) | John Winthrop the Younger and Elizabeth Reade |
| Occupation | Military officer, colonial administrator |
Early life
editWinthrop was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, the eldest son of John Winthrop the Younger and Elizabeth (Reade) Winthrop.[3] Winthrop was sent to Harvard, but failed the entrance examination.[3]
Career
editIn 1658, Winthrop went to England.[3] He served in the English New Model Army in Scotland under General George Monck. He accompanied Monck when he marched into England in 1660 at the head of his army and restored King Charles II to the throne.[4] As part of the restoration settlement most of the army was paid off and disbanded.
Winthrop, remained in England and was in London in 1661 when his father presented his petition to obtain a charter for the establishment of a Connecticut colony. In April 1663, both returned to New London.[5]
Winthrop returned to Connecticut and was a representative in 1671. He was a major in King Philip's War, and in July 1675, Winthrop requested Wombe, an Indian gunsmith captured by Ninigret, as a servant.[6] In 1686 Winthrop was one of the council of Governor Andros. He was a Magistrate of Connecticut in 1689,[7] and in 1690 Winthrop was appointed major-general and commanded the unsuccessful expedition of the New York and Connecticut forces against Canada. From 1693 to 1698 he was Agent of the Colony to Great Britain. He was appointed governor of Connecticut in 1696 and held the post until his death in 1707.[4]
Personal life
editAbout 1677, he entered into a common-law marriage with Elizabeth Tongue. Together, the couple had one daughter:[3]
- Mary Winthrop (1683–1713),[8][9] who married Johannes Livingston (1680–1720), son of Robert Livingston the Elder.[10]
Winthrop died in Boston, Massachusetts, on November 27, 1707. He is interred at the King's Chapel Burying Ground in Boston, Massachusetts. His funeral service was conducted by Cotton Mather, who called his sermon there Winthropi justa.[1]
Notes
edit- ^ a b Winsor, Justin (1887) Narrative and critical history of America, Volume 5 Houghton, Mifflin and Co.,Boston page 111
- ^ "Fitz-John Winthrop". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
- ^ a b c d "Fitz-John Winthrop". Connecticut State Library. Archived from the original on January 6, 2013. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
- ^ a b Chisholm 1911, p. 736.
- ^ Fitz-John Winthrop. The governors of Connecticut: biographies of the chief executives. 1905. p. 57. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
- ^ Winthrop Family Papers, Mass Historical Society
- ^ Fitz-John Winthrop. Vol. 2. Dictionary of American Biography. July 2006. ISBN 9781428645783. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
- ^ "From the Harvard Art Museums' collections Mary Winthrop Livingston (Mrs. John Livingston) (c. 1683-1713)". www.harvardartmuseums.org. Harvard Art Museums. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
- ^ "Livingston, Robert (1688-1775) to Robert Livingston re: death of Mary Winthrop Livingston". www.gilderlehrman.org. Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
- ^ Livingston, Edwin Brockholst (1910). The Livingstons of Livingston Manor: Being the History of that Branch of the Scottish House of Callendar which Settled in the English Province of New York During the Reign of Charles the Second; and Also Including an Account of Robert Livingston of Albany, "The Nephew," a Settler in the Same Province and His Principal Descendants. Knickerbocker Press. pp. 67–68. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
References
edit- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 736.