William Stoughton (judge)

William Stoughton

William Stoughton (born September 30, 1631 , † July 7, 1701 in the Province of Massachusetts Bay ) was Chief Justice and Colonial Governor in colonial Massachusetts.

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The place of birth of William Stoughton is given in some sources as England and in others as Massachusetts . Which version is correct must remain open. His parents Israel and Elizabeth Stoughton owned a large estate in Massachusetts Bay. He graduated from Harvard College and then studied theology in England at the University of Oxford . After returning to Massachusetts, he worked for some time as a Puritan preacher in Dorchester , now a part of Boston . But he soon gave up this job to start a career in politics. From 1671 he held various offices in the colonial administration. Until 1686 he was on an advisory board to the colonial governor and represented the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the New England Confederation . In the meantime he represented colonial interests in London with little success . Stoughton was closely linked to Joseph Dudley both commercially and politically . When he headed the short-lived Dominion of New England for some time , Stoughton was his deputy. Both also used their political positions for private and business gain. Stoughton also held leading political positions under Dudley's successor as President of the Dominion, Edmund Andros . At the time he was very unpopular in the colony. Nevertheless, he became lieutenant governor when the Province of Massachusetts Bay was founded under William Phips . When Phips was dismissed on suspicion of fraud, Stoughton temporarily took over the office of colonial governor. He wore it between December 4, 1694 and May 26, 1699. This time was overshadowed by tension with French colonists in the north of the colony, today's US state of Maine . Under the new governor Richard Coote , Stoughton was again lieutenant governor. After his resignation from office, he took over the role of governor again for almost a year until his death (July 22, 1700 to July 7, 1701).

Regardless of his political career, when the Province of Massachusetts Bay was founded in 1692, Governor William Phips appointed him not only lieutenant governor but also first chief justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court of Judicature . The appointment came in spite of the fact that Stoughton had no legal background. He held this office until shortly before his death. Today it would be inconceivable in a democracy that the office of head of government and the chief judge were united in personal union. As a judge, Stoughton directed some spectacular cases of witchcraft charges . The trials were more or less unfair and the judgments were made in advance. Stoughton also made use of clairvoyance or ghost surveys (spectral evidence). He never regretted his inglorious behavior in these trials and always justified it.

Web links

Commons : William Stoughton  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• biography
• Stoughton at famous Trials.com

• William Stoughton in the database of Find a Grave (English)