Henry Sloughter

Henry Sloughter († July 23, 1691 ) was the English governor of New York Province in 1691 .

Life

There are hardly any usable sources about Henry Sloughter. His life before 1690 is completely in the dark. But he must have been an English officer. In 1690 he had attained the rank of colonel. That year, the province of New York was shaken by the so-called Leisler Rebellion . At the end of that year, King William III appointed Colonel Sloughter as the new governor of the province. Due to various circumstances, such as B. Bad weather delayed Sloughter's arrival in New York. His lieutenant governor Richard Ingoldesby arrived before him in New York, where he took up the fight against the rebellion. When Sloughter arrived, that fight was just about to culminate. He managed to get Jakob Leisler to give up. He was arrested and charged with treason and murder. On April 17, 1691, Leisler was sentenced to death and executed on May 16. Sloughter originally campaigned for the execution to be postponed. First he wanted to know the will of the king in this matter. However, he could not prevail against pressure from Leisler's opponents. Finally, he signed the death warrant.

As a result, two factions emerged in the province of New York . One supported the new administration and the other continued to cling to the past Leisler rebellion. This complicated Slougher's position as governor. In the Wikipedia article on the Leisler Rebellion, the death and troubles of Sloughter are reported as follows:

Original quote: Governor Sloughter's sudden death on July 23, 1691 sparked speculation in certain circles that he was poisoned, although the autopsy confirmed that he had died of pneumonia. He left a letter describing the considerable external pressure under which he had ordered the execution. There were other incidents during his tenure; Ingoldesby, who took office after Sloughter's death, accused him of having pocketed the sum of 1,100 pounds (approx. 198,900 pounds today) intended to pay the militia. In addition, he is said to have confiscated a stolen ship that was auctioned off and then sold it a second time . End of quote.

The scanty source mentioned below mentions that he was colonial governor of Massachusetts for a short time in 1691. However, his name does not appear in the corresponding lists.