- Jonathan Belcher
Infobox Governor
name = Jonathan Belcher
order =
office = Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay
term_start =August 10 ,1730
term_end =September 7 ,1741
lieutenant =
predecessor =William Tailer
successor =William Shirley
birth_date =January 8 ,1682
birth_place =Cambridge, Massachusetts
death_date =August 31 ,1757
death_place =
party =
spouse =
profession =
religion =Jonathan Belcher (
January 8 ,1682 ndashAugust 31 ,1757 ) was colonialgovernor ofMassachusetts ,New Hampshire and,New Jersey .Born in
Cambridge, Massachusetts , he attendedHarvard University . His first wife, Mary Partridge Belcher (1685-1736), was the daughter of Lt. Gov. William Partridge, and a sister was the wife of Lt. Gov. George Vaughn. One of his sons, Jonathan Belcher, was theChief Justice of theNova Scotia Supreme Court andLieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia . His other son,Andrew Belcher , served on theMassachusetts Governor's Council .In 1718, Belcher was elected to the Massachusetts council and became colonial governor when his predecessor died. Initially accepted by Boston, his popularity decreased when he brought the censure of the English government. He was later appointed governor of the province of New Jersey and assisted in the founding of the College of New Jersey (now known as
Princeton University ), including building the library for the new school.Belchertown, in western Massachusetts, is named for him. His son, also named Jonathan Belcher, was the Lt. Gov of
Nova Scotia . He was the uncle of Lt. GovAndrew Oliver and Chief Justice Peter Oliver, and was also the great-grandfather of AdmiralEdward Belcher .His great-nephew Peter Oliver, Jr., was the husband of the daughter of
Governor of Massachusetts Thomas Hutchinson. Thomas Hutchinson and his wife were descendants ofAnne Hutchinson , a descendant ofWilliam the Conqueror . Margaret (Sanford) Hutchinson was a descendant ofRhode Island GovernorsPeleg Sanford andWilliam Coddington .External links
* [http://www.njstatelib.org/NJ_Information/Digital_Collections/Governors_of_New_Jersey/GBELC.pdf Biography of Jonathan Belcher] ,
New Jersey State Library
* [http://www.mass.gov/statehouse/massgovs/jbelcher.htm Official Massachusetts Governor Biography]
*worldcat id|id=lccn-n86-114791
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