Jonathan Belcher
Jonathan Belcher | |
|---|---|
Belcher commissioned this engraved portrait when he was appointed governor of the Massachusetts and New Hampshire colonies. | |
| Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay | |
| In office 10 August 1730 – 7 September 1741 | |
| Monarch | George II |
| Lieutenant | William Tailer Spencer Phips |
| Preceded by | William Tailer (acting) |
| Succeeded by | William Shirley |
| Governor of the Province of New Hampshire | |
| In office 1730–1741 | |
| Monarch | George II |
| Lieutenant | John Wentworth David Dunbar |
| Preceded by | John Wentworth (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Benning Wentworth |
| Governor of the Province of New Jersey | |
| In office 1747 – 31 August 1757 | |
| Monarch | George II |
| Lieutenant | Thomas Pownall |
| Preceded by | John Reading (acting) |
| Succeeded by | John Reading (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 January 1682 |
| Died | 31 August 1757 (aged 75) |
| Resting place | Old Burying Ground, Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Partridge Belcher Louise Teale Belcher |
| Children | Jonathan Belcher Andrew Belcher |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Profession | Merchant, politician, slave trader |
| Signature | |
Jonathan Belcher (8 January 1681/82 – 31 August 1757) was a merchant, politician, and slave trader from colonial Massachusetts who served as both governor of Massachusetts Bay and governor of New Hampshire from 1730 to 1741 and governor of New Jersey from 1747 to 1757.
Born into a wealthy Massachusetts merchant family (his father Andrew Belcher was a tavern owner in Cambridge, and his grandfather immigrated to Massachusetts Bay from England), Belcher attended Harvard College and then entered into the family business and local politics. He was instrumental in promoting Samuel Shute as governor of Massachusetts in 1715, and sat on the colony's council, but became disenchanted with Shute over time and eventually joined the populist faction of Elisha Cooke Jr.
After the sudden death of Governor William Burnet in 1729 Belcher successfully acquired the governorships of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. During his tenure, Belcher politically marginalized those who he perceived as opposition and made many powerful enemies in both provinces. In a long-running border dispute between Massachusetts and New Hampshire, Belcher sided with Massachusetts interests despite openly proclaiming neutrality in the matter. It was later discovered that he allowed illegal logging on Crown lands by political allies. His opponents, led by William Shirley and Samuel Waldo, eventually convinced the Board of Trade to replace Belcher (with Shirley in Massachusetts and Benning Wentworth in New Hampshire), and the border dispute was resolved in New Hampshire's favor.
Belcher was appointed governor of New Jersey in 1747 with support from its Quaker community. He unsuccessfully attempted to mediate the partisan conflicts between New Jersey's Quakers and wealthy landowners, and promoted the establishment of the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University. Through most of his tenure as royal governor, Belcher was ill with a progressive nervous disorder, and died in office in 1757. Belchertown, Massachusetts, is named for him.