George Burrington

George Burrington (* around 1682 in Devonshire , England , † February 22, 1759 in London , England) was a British colonial governor of the Province of North Carolina .

resume

George Burrington came from a prominent and influential family. Among the family's acquaintances was the Duke of Newcastle , who also promoted the career of George Burrington. This initially provided him with an officer position in the armed forces and later he was also involved in his appointment as colonial governor of the Province of North Carolina. It is not known exactly when he came to this region. In March 1723 he received his appointment as governor. He took office on January 15, 1724 as the successor to William Reed . He initially held this office until July 17, 1725. During this time there were conflicts between the governor and the colonists. There was unrest and violence. This was also due to the governor's rude and arrogant dealings with his fellow citizens. The Colony's Chief Justice Christopher Gale traveled to London, where he successfully pushed for the ousting of Burrington.

Even after his dismissal, he stayed in North Carolina, where he continued to cause unrest and had violent arguments with his successor. When he learned that the colony would come under full royal control in 1729, he sailed for London. There he successfully ran his reinstatement as governor. On February 25, 1731 he replaced Richard Everard , who had succeeded him in 1725, from again in this office. In his second term of office, which lasted until April 17, 1734, he campaigned for the improvement of the infrastructure in the colony. This also included building new roads and bridges. The opening of the Cape Fear region to new settlements became significant . This is a region in the southeast of today's US state North Carolina in the vicinity of today's city of Wilmington . Despite these positive actions, there were again internal quarrels as during his first term in office. His tenure is also surrounded by some mysteries. Among other things, this is an alleged attempted murder of him, which is not supported by any contemporary documents. Dissatisfaction with Burrington increased, and Chief Justice William Smith, a successor to Christopher Gale, resigned and, like Gale, traveled to London. There he successfully campaigned for the governor to be removed from office. Burrington later returned to England. On February 22, 1759 he was the victim of a violent crime. He was ambushed in St. James's Park , London. There was a deadly scuffle between the now 77-year-old ex-governor and the perpetrator. Burrington was overpowered and thrown into a canal.

literature

• Ekirch, A. Roger. 1981. "Poor Carolina": Politics and Society in Colonial North Carolina, 1729-1776. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
• Garraty, John A., and Mark C. Carnes. 1999. American national biography. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Haywood, Marshall De Lancey. 1896. Governor George Burrington, with an account of his official administrations in the colony of North Carolina, 1724-1725, 1731-1734. Raleigh: Edwards & Broughton. https://archive.org/details/governorgeorgebu00hayw

• Lee, Enoch Lawrence. 1965. The Lower Cape Fear in colonial days. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
• Powell, WS (1979). Dictionary of North Carolina biography. Vol. 1, A-C. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
• Price, William S., Jr. 1974. A strange incident in George Burrington's royal governorship. North Carolina historical review 51 (April): 149-158.

Web links

• George Burrington at Carolana.Com
• George Burrington in NCpedia