William Pitkin

William Pitkin (born April 30, 1694 in Hartford , Colony of Connecticut , † October 1, 1769 in East Hartford , Colony of Connecticut) was a British merchant, politician and governor of the Colony of Connecticut from 1766 to 1769.

Career

childhood and education

William Pitkin, second child of William Pitkin II, a successful businessman and politician , and Elizabeth (Stanley) Pitkin, was born on April 30, 1694 in Hartford, Connecticut. In mid-1600, the Pitkin family settled on the east bank of the Connecticut River in what later became Hartford but is now East Hartford. William I was the first member of his family in America . He came from England with a valid education and a handsome sum of money. He was also, like his son William Pitkin II, politically active. They both served on the Council of Assistants to the Governor of the Colony of Connecticut. When William III. the Pitkins had become one of the leading families in Hartford.

As a young man, William III worked. in the family's fulling mills and legally received his instructions from his father. When he was 21, his father gave him over three hundred acres of land to settle. Although his father wished he could become a merchant, he was hired as a rent collector for Hartford common land in 1725 and served in that position for the City of Hartford and the Colony of Connecticut for over 40 years.

William Pitkin married Mary Woodbridge, daughter of Timothy Woodbridge, pastor of First Church in Hartford , and Mary (Wyllys) Woodbridge on May 7, 1724 . The couple had five children.

Judicial activity

Pitkin's legal education enabled him to resolve civil disputes in Hartford, soon becoming known for his fairness and courteous manner. As grievances spread in the city, he became the spokesman and arbitrator for the East Society of Hartford. City meetings were held on the opposite side of the Connecticut River, and members of the East Society had to take a ferry to get across the river. When they complained that the ferry price was too high, Pitkin was on the committee that suggested free rides for those traveling on city affairs. However, when the East Society continued to complain, a ferry was taken from the opposite bank. Pitkin was meanwhile of the opinion that ferries should be stationed on both banks of the river. He also negotiated these disputes so well that in 1769, the year he died, the East Society asked the General Assembly to become a separate city.

Pitkin was elected to the Council of Assistants and appointed Judge of the County Court of Hartford County in 1734 . His carefree disposition and reputation for solving disputes fairly brought him much demand. He was chosen to set up a heated argument at Stafford . He also became the only person who could call a meeting or distribute the town's fortune until the dispute was resolved. The City of Durham likewise asked Pitkin if he could step in immediately to settle a dispute before the matter was brought to the General Assembly. In 1741 he became a judge at the Superior Court.

In addition to settlement disputes within Connecticut, Pitkin was also involved in solving problems outside the colony. In 1740 he was named one of five members of the Council of War . The Council was created to be able to assist the Governor at any time in conflicts and to act with the power of the General Assembly in emergencies. Pitkin was in a committee, with the Six Nations - Indians should negotiate and this should convince rather with the UK than with France an alliance to respond. The Six Nations were a powerful alliance of Iroquois tribes, and both the British and the French saw an agreement with them as extremely important to their broader interests in North America .

MP

In 1754 Pitkin was elected as a delegate to the Albany Conference with three other Connecticut MPs . The conference was convened by the northern colonies to develop a defense plan for the impending war between Britain and France. Pitkin was on a committee with Benjamin Franklin that drafted a plan to provide troops and provisions under the command of a President General for the aforementioned colonies of New Hampshire , Massachusetts , Connecticut, Rhode Island , New York, and New Jersey . The President General would lead the militia and would be advised by a council made up of members from each colony. Although Pitkin agreed to the deal first, the public mood back in Connecticut caused him to change his mind. People did not like the idea that their militia would be commanded by a President General from another colony and were concerned that Connecticut might lose some of its independence through this conference.

During the middle of the 18th century, the New England colonies experienced religious upheaval. In Connecticut, the Saybrook Platform was one of the most controversial issues as pastors' associations were created and ward associations were formed. The Saybrook Platform following and those opposed to the Great Awakening eventually came to be known as the Old Lights . The Old Lights endorsed the changes made by the Saybrook Platform because, in their opinion, this would allow them greater control over the individual churches and maintain law and order. Hostile to these changes were the New Lights that filled the associations with a taste of Presbyterianism and undermined the very essence of the Congregational Church . The Great Awakening, led by the New Lights, tried to counter the changes and bring the Congregational Church back to its roots, with all of its functions in the individual local congregations. Charismatic traveling pastors preached across the state, causing great outrage among the Old Lights who viewed the pastors as a threat to traditional values ​​such as themselves.

The religious dispute raged for years and divided people along the political and geographical lines. The majority of the Old Lights lived in the affluent and populous west of Connecticut, while the New Lights were concentrated in the eastern part of the colony. In 1754, Thomas Fitch , an outspoken Old Light, was elected governor of the Colony of Connecticut, while Pitkin, a supporter of the New Lights, was elected lieutenant governor. Despite their differences, Fitch and Pitkin managed to work together amicably during the French and Indian Wars and were re-elected annually until 1766.

The war ended with a great victory for the British in 1760. However, the war was exceedingly expensive, so Britain decided that the American colonies should be taxed to help meet the costs. In 1765 the Stamp Act was passed, and a tax was placed on numerous paper items such as playing cards, newspapers, leaflets and legal documents. The Stamp Act shocked almost all of the colonists.

The dispute over the Stamp Act also increased the tension between the New Lights and the Old Lights in Connecticut. Although both groups were angry and outraged by the act, the Old Lights believed that as loyal British subjects it was their job to submit. The New Lights strongly opposed the act, and one group of them formed the Sons of Liberty , who pledged to have the act repealed regardless of the consequences. A large group of them went so far as to capture Jared Ingersoll , the Royal Stamp distributor. The mob forced him to resign under threats of assault .

When the Stamp Act came into effect on November 1, 1765, all colonial governors swore an oath on it. Fitch was reluctant to do so, but ultimately lost the political support of all of his closest friends. Pitkin, as well as other members of the council, defiantly left the room, showing their hostility. Although the Stamp Act was repealed in February 1766, the Sons of Liberty joined a campaign to remove Fitch and his supporters from office. In an upcoming election they supported Pitkin as governor and Jonathan Trumbull , another New Light, as lieutenant governor.

governor

Pitkin won the election in 1766 with a landslide tremendous victory for the New Lights. His victory was overshadowed by the death of his wife Mary, to whom he had been married for over forty years. She died in February 1766 and was buried in "East Hartford's Center Cemetery".

Pitkin ran again and again between 1767 and 1769. Every annual election that took place was a fierce competition as the Old Lights kept trying to get Fitch back into governorship. Pitkin beat Fitch every time, in 1767 he won by 4,777 votes against Fitch's 3,484 votes, in 1768 with 5,033 votes against 2,835 votes, and in 1769 with 4,654 votes against 2,636 votes. Pitkin remained calm about the resulting turmoil because of his reputation for justice and his sometimes sociable manner.

In addition to his public duties, Pitkin was involved in the fulling mills his father left him, making it Connecticut's first trade governor.

Pitkin's brief tenure was dominated by the continued clashes between the colonies and Britain over recent attempts to restrict colonial freedom. The Townshend Acts of 1767, which imposed taxes on various important goods, caused less excitement than the Stamp Act, but the colonists were just as against it. The Connecticut colonists united with those of Massachusetts and New York in boycotting major UK trade goods. In the end, all but the acts were canceled. Finally, after blocking the British government for as long as he could, Pitkin reluctantly identified New Haven , Wallingford and Branford as the locations where British troops might be stationed. He was known as the Champion of Colonial Rights for his efforts to defend Connecticut from what many viewed as British tyrannical rule. He died on October 1, 1769 in Hartford, what is now East Hartford.

William Pitkin was buried next to his wife Mary in "East Hartford's Center Cemetery". The William Pitkin School was named after him.

literature

• Bates, Albert C., ed. The Pitkin Papers: Correspondence and Documents During William Pitkin's Governorship of the Colony of Connecticut, 1766-1769, with Some of Earlier Date. Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society, vol. XIX. Hartford: Connecticut Historical Society, 1921 [CSL call number F91 .C7 v.19].
• Daniels, Bruce C. Connecticut's First Family: William Pitkin and His Connections. Connecticut Bicentennial Series XI, Chester, CT: Pequot Press, 1975 [CSL call number HistRef ConnDoc Am35 cb nos.9-15].
• Dictionary of American Biography. Volume 14. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936, sv "Pitkin, William," pp. 640-641 [CSL call number E 176 .D56].
• Garrity, John A. and Mark C. Carnes, eds. American National Biography. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999, sv "Pitkin, William," pp. 568-569 [CSL call number CT 213 .A68 1999].
• Highways & Byways of Connecticut. Hartford: G. Fox & Co., 1947 [CSL call number F 94 .H54 1947].
• Norton, Frederick Calvin. The Governors of Connecticut. Hartford: Connecticut Magazine Co., 1905 [CSL call number HistRef F93 .N 88 1905].
• Lanman, Charles. Biographical Annals of the Civil Government of the United States During Its First Century, From Original and Official Sources. Washington, DC: J. Anglim, 1876 [CSL call number E 176 .L291].
• National Cyclopedia of American Biography. New York: James White & Company, 1898-, sv "Pitkin, William", vol. X, pp. 927-8 [CSL call number E 176 .N27].
• Pitkin, Albert P. Pitkin Family of America: A Genealogy of the Descendants of William Pitkin, From 1659 to 1886. Hartford: AP Pitkin, 1887 [CSL call number CS 71 .P684 1887].
• 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].
• Williams, Eliphalet. The Ruler's Duty and Honor ... A Sermon Occasioned by the ... Death of the Hon. William Pitkin. Hartford, 1770 [CSL call number Welles Collection 920 P6822w].
• Wilson, James Grant and John Fiske, ed. Appleton's Encyclopedia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1887-1900 [CSL call number E 176 .A655].

Web links

• William Pitkin in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• Connecticut State Library (English)