Thomas Tench

Thomas Tench (* around 1650 in England , † beginning of April 1708 in Anne Arundel County , Maryland ) was an English colonial governor of the Province of Maryland .

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Thomas Tench was born in England around 1650. In 1684 he came to Anne Arundel County, Maryland, as a free citizen. At least initially he worked as a merchant exporting servants to the colony. He brought at least 81 people from England to the Province of Maryland. In addition, he also worked as a regular trader and planter . In 1694 one of his ships was temporarily confiscated for violating the navigational file. At the time of his death he owned 1,400 acres of land in Anne Arundel County, 3,600 pounds of tobacco and six slaves, among other things . Ecclesiastically he belonged to the Church of England . From 1685 to 1692 he was also a judge in Anne Arundel County.

Thomas Tench only appeared politically after the revolution in Maryland of 1688/89. At that time, as a result of the Glorious Revolution in England in Maryland, Catholic supremacy was broken by the Protestants and the Calvert family (Lords of Baltimore), the former owners of the colony, were ousted. Tench's part in this overthrow is unclear. But his sympathies for this revolution are certain. He subsequently worked closely with Governor Lionel Copley . He held various local political, ecclesiastical and legal offices and became a member of the upper house of the colonial parliament. Since 1691 he was a member of the Council. From 1702 to 1704, after Nathaniel Blakiston resigned as the highest-ranking politician, he temporarily held the post of colonial governor until the arrival of John Seymour . After that, he continued his previous activities. On March 29, 1708 he wrote his will and on April 7 he was buried. From this one can conclude that he probably died in early April 1708.

Web links

• Tench in the Archives of Maryland
• Tench on WikiTree