Gurdon Saltonstall

Gurdon Saltonstall

Gurdon Saltonstall (born March 27, 1666 in Haverhill , Massachusetts Bay Colony , † September 20, 1724 in New London , Colony of Connecticut ) was the governor of the Colony of Connecticut between 1707 and 1724.

Career

Gurdon Saltonstall, son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Ward) Saltonstall, was born on March 27, 1666 in Haverhill, Massachusetts. His family has been involved in Massachusetts politics since his grandfather, Sir Richard Saltonstall, served on the Massachusetts Bay Colony Court of Assistants in the 1630s. After Gurdon graduated from Harvard University in 1684 with a Bachelor of Arts , he then studied theology . He made his Master of Arts in 1687 , also at Harvard University and in 1688 was parish pastor of New London. As such, he became the pastor of Governor Fitz-John Winthrop , a position that made him Winthrop's secretary, plenipotentiary, and ultimately a close friend. This has given him considerable expertise in the workings of the Connecticut government. After Winthrop's death on November 27, 1707, the General Assembly met in a special session in December and elected Saltonstall as governor, although he had never previously served in any political office.

A committee was sent to New London to notify Saltonstall of his election and to take the oath of office if he accepted the position. Since his official acceptance was not recorded before January 1, 1708, it is not clear whether he took up his service earlier than that time. Since no person could be elected to the Connecticut colonial government in the spring election unless their name was on the list of twenty candidates the previous fall, a special law was passed allowing an earlier unlisted candidate to stand as governor. This allowed Saltonstall to be elected in May 1708.

By then, Connecticut's legislative reports and official notices have been printed in Boston . Acknowledging the need to distribute Lent and Thanksgiving Day notices to parishes, and reports from the General Court to cities, in a far more contemporary and efficient manner, caused Saltonstall to write to Boston in the summer of 1708 looking for a candidate. Connecticut's first printer was to be. In October 1708 the General Court named Thomas Short, brother-in-law of Boston's printer, Bartholomew Green, as the Colony's first printer.

Gurdon Saltonstall was a socially conservative politician and a steadfast believer in a traditional government. As governor, he tried to the end of Connecticut's opposition, which consisted of some English colonial politicians, and was decisive in increasing the colonial influence in military action against the French and Indians in Queen Anne's War . This brought greater security for Connecticut residents. Moreover, Connecticut's support for English politics was seen as a sign of a loyal colony, and England's position on the Charter of the Colony of Connecticut was now more positive. The Colony of Connecticut enjoyed better relations with England than it had for several decades. The downside was extensive debt.

Saltonstall's belief in higher authority led to wide-ranging reforms within the Congregational Church . During his tenure, the General Assembly blessed a meeting of 12 pastors and four townspeople near Saybrook to develop guidelines for transforming the Congregational Church in Connecticut. The resolutions passed at that session came to be known as the Saybrook Platform and were designed to ensure doctrinal purity and unity. The pastors were given greater authority over their congregations and the "associations" of pastors, church elders, "consociations" and uniting churches at the county level were created to oversee the individual religious associations. The result was a constructed proximity to Presbyterianism rather than traditional Congregationalism. Saltonstall also decided at this meeting that the newly established college near Saybrook should move to New Haven , where it would later be named after its greatest benefactor, Elihu Yale .

As Gurdon Saltonstall's administration progressed, his push for recognition of power led to confrontations with James Fitch , a populist political leader and property speculator from Norwich . The clashes ranged from interpersonal to political battles between two legislative houses. An example of this problem occurred in 1723 after the death of Nathan Gold , who had been lieutenant governor since 1708. Both houses wished to have a role in who would replace him. A solution was finally reached, as both groups Joseph Talcott of Hartford accepted. Public criticism of the government grew and Saltonstall, who saw himself as a loyal representative of a higher power, took the criticism personally. More than once he threatened to resign as governor unless the domestic tumult over the government stopped.

Gurdon Saltonstall was married three times. His first marriage was with Jerusha Richards, daughter of James Richards from Hartford. She died on July 25, 1697 in Boston, Massachusetts. He then married an Elizabeth Rosewell, daughter of William and Catherine (Russell) Rosewell. She died on September 12, 1710. In his third marriage he was married to Mary (Whittingham) Clarke, daughter of William and Mary (Lawrence) Whittingham, and widow of William Clarke from Boston. She survived Gurdon Saltonstall and died on January 23, 1730 in Boston. He had ten children (five each from his first two wives), but only seven of them lived to be of adulthood.

Gurdon Saltonstall died on September 20, 1724 in New London. New London had supplied the Colony of Connecticut with governors for 44 of the previous 67 years, so Saltonstall was buried with an impressive ceremony in the "Ancient Cemetery". A special law was passed by the General Assembly that allowed both Houses to elect his successor. Joseph Talcott was chosen, a compromise that Saltonstall would have liked.

A street in New Haven and East Haven was named after Governor Saltonstall . It can also be assumed that Lake Saltonstall, which is located in the border area of ​​East Haven and Branford , was also named after him.

literature

• Blake, SL, "Gurdon Saltonstall, Soldier, Preacher, Statesman," Records and Papers of the New London County Historical Society, Part V, vol. 1 (1894) [CSL call number F 102 .N7 N7]
• Garrity, John A. and Mark C. Carnes, eds. American National Biography. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999, sv "Saltonstall, Gurdon" [GIS Ref CT 213 .A68 1999].
• "Gov. Saltonstall's Warrant for Calling in the Indians," New England Historical and Genealogical Register, XXV (January 1871) pp. 78-81 [CSL call number F 1 .N56].
• Love, William DeLoss. Thomas Short, The First Printer of Connecticut. Hartford: Hartford Press, 1901 [CSL call number Z 209 .C7 L9].
• Mather, Cotton. Decus ac Tutamen: A Brief Essay ... in Commemoration of ... Gurdon Saltonstall. New London, 1724 [CSL call number SpecColl BV 4275 .M37 1724].
• Norton, Frederick Calvin. The Governors of Connecticut. Hartford: Connecticut Magazine Co., 1905 [CSL call number HistRef F93 .N 88 1905].
• Poteet, JM, "The Lordly Prelate: Gurdon Saltonstall Against His Times," The New England Quarterly, vol. LIII, no.4 (December 1980) [CSL call number F 1 .N62].
• Raimo, John W. Biographical Dictionary of American Colonial and Revolutionary Governors, 1607–1789. Westport, CT: Meckler Books, 1980 [CSL call number E 187.5 .R34].
• Saltonstall, Leverett, and Richard M. Saltonstall. Ancestry and Descendants of Sir Richard Saltonstall. Np: Riverside Press, 1897 [CSL call number CS 71 .S179 1897].

Web links

• Gurdon Saltonstall in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• Connecticut State Library (English)
• The Political Graveyard (English)