John Endecott
Encyclopedia
John Endecott was an English colonial magistrate, soldier and the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
. During all of his years in the colony but one, he held some form of civil, judicial, or military high office. He served a total of 16 years as governor, including most of the last 15 years of his life; this period of service was the longest of any colonial governor. He also held important posts representing the colony as part of the New England Confederation
, and was a leading force in expanding the settlement of Salem, Massachusetts
and other parts of Essex County
.
Endecott was a zealous and somewhat hotheaded Puritan
, with Separatist
attitudes toward the Anglican Church. This sometimes put him at odds with Nonconformist
views that were dominant among the colony's early leaders, which became apparent when he gave shelter to the vocally Separatist Roger Williams
. Endecott also argued that women should dress modestly and that men should keep their hair short, and issued judicial decisions banishing individuals who held religious views that did not accord well with those of the Puritans. He notoriously defaced the English flag because he saw St George's Cross
as a symbol of the papacy, and had four Quakers put to death for returning to the colony after their banishment. An expedition he led in 1636 is considered the opening offensive in the Pequot War
, which practically destroyed the Pequot
tribe as an entity.
Endecott used some of his properties to propagate fruit trees; a pear tree
he planted still lives in Danvers, Massachusetts
. He also engaged in one of the earliest attempts to develop a mining industry in the colonies when copper ore was found on his land. His name is found on a rock in Lake Winnipesaukee
, carved by surveyors sent to identify the Massachusetts colony's northern border in 1652. Places and institutions are named for him, and (like many early colonists) he has several notable descendants.
town of Dorchester because of his significant later association with people from that place. In the early 20th century, historian Roper Lethbridge
proposed that Endecott was born circa 1588 in or near Chagford
in Devon
. (Based on this evidence, Chagford now has a house from the period named in Endecott's honour.) However, more recent research by the New England Historic Genealogical Society
has identified problems with Lethbridge's claims, which they dispute. According to their research, Endecott may have been born in or near Chagford, but there is no firm evidence for this, nor is there evidence that identifies his parents. They conclude, based on available evidence, that he was probably born no later than 1600. A John Endecott was active in Devon
early in the 17th century, but there is no firm evidence connecting him to this Endecott.
Very little is known of Endecott's life before his association with colonisation efforts in the 1620s. He was known to Sir Edward Coke
, and may have come to know Roger Williams
through this connection. He was highly literate, and spoke French
. Some early colonial documents refer to him as "Captain Endecott", indicating some military experience, and other records suggest he had some medical training.
on behalf of the Plymouth Council for New England
; the council was at the time the umbrella organisation overseeing English colonisation efforts in North America between 40 and 48 degrees latitude.
Endecott was chosen to lead the first expedition, and sailed for the New World aboard the Abigail with fifty or so "planters and servants" on 20 June 1628. The settlement they organized was first called Naumkeag, after the local Indian tribe, but was eventually renamed Salem
in 1629. The area was already occupied by settlers of the failed Dorchester Company, some of whose backers also participated in the New England Company. This group of earlier settlers
, led by Roger Conant, had migrated from a settlement on Cape Ann
(near present-day Gloucester, Massachusetts
) after it was abandoned. Endecott was not formally named governor of the new colony until it was issued a royal charter in 1629. At that time, he was appointed governor by the company's council in London, and Matthew Craddock was named the company's governor in London.
Endecott's responsibility was to establish the colony and to prepare it for the arrival of additional settlers. The winters of 1629 and 1630 were difficult compared to those in England, and he called on the Plymouth Colony for medical assistance. His wife, who had been ill on the voyage over, died that winter. Other difficulties he encountered included early signs of religious friction among the colony's settlers (dividing between Nonconformists and Separatists
), and poor relations with Thomas Morton, whose failed Wessagusset Colony
and libertine practices (which including a May pole and dancing) were anathema to the conservative Puritanism practiced by most settlers in the Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies. Early in his term as governor he visited the abandoned site of Morton's colony and had the Maypole taken down. When one group of early settlers wanted to establish a church independent of that established by the colonial leadership, he had their leaders summarily sent back to England.
and the colonial charter. The company had reorganised itself, relocating its seat to the colony itself, with Winthrop as its sole governor. After seeing the conditions at Salem, Winthrop decided to relocate the colony's seat at the mouth of the Charles River
, where he founded what is now the city of Boston
. Endecott, who was chosen as one of the governor's Assistants (a precursor to the later notion of a Governor's Council), chose to remain in Salem, where he was one of its leading citizens for the rest of his life, serving in roles as town councilor and militia leader, in addition to statewide roles as militia leader, magistrate, deputy governor, and governor. He established a plantation called "Orchard" in Salem Village (now known as Danvers
), where he cultivated seedlings of fruit trees. One particular pear tree, brought over as a sapling on one of the early settlement convoys, still lives and bears fruit; it is known as the Endicott Pear Tree
.
In the early 1630s the religious conflict between the Nonconformists and the Separatists was the primary source of political disagreement in the colony, and it was embodied by the churches established in Boston and Salem. The Salem church adhered to Separatist teachings, which sought a complete break with the Church of England
, while Nonconformist teachings, which were held by Winthrop and most of the colonial leadership in Boston, sought to reform the Anglican church from within. The arrival in Boston in 1631 of Roger Williams, an avowed Separatist, heightened this conflict. Authorities there banished him, and he first went to Salem, where, due to Endecott's intervention, he was offered a position as a teacher in the local church. When word of this reached Boston, Endecott was criticised for supporting Williams, who was banished from the colony. Williams went to Plymouth, but returned to Salem a few years later, becoming the church's unofficial pastor following the death of Samuel Skelton
in 1634. Boston authorities called for his arrest after he made what they viewed as treasonous and heretical statements; he fled, eventually establishing Providence, Rhode Island
. During this time Endecott argued that women should be veiled in church, and controversially defaced the local militia's flag, because it bore St George's Cross
, which Williams claimed was a symbol of the papacy. This action is celebrated in Nathaniel Hawthorne
's story, "Endicott and the Red Cross", where the writer presents the "tension between Endecott as a symbol of religious intolerance and as [an?] emblem of heroic resistance to foreign domination of New England." Endecott did this at a time when the Privy Council
of King Charles I
was examining affairs in Massachusetts, and the colonial administration was concerned that a strong response was needed to prevent the loss of the colonial charter. Endecott was censured for the rashness of his action (and not for the act itself), and deprived of holding any offices for one year; 1635 was the only year in which he held no office. The committee managing the colonial militia voted that year to stop using the English flag as its standard. Following the incident, and the refusal of the colonial assembly to grant Salem additional land on the Marblehead Neck
because of Williams' presence in Salem, the Salem church circulated a letter to other churches in the colony, calling the legislative act a heinous sin. Although the authorship of the letter is uncertain, Endecott defended the letter when summoned to Boston, and was consequently jailed for a day; after "he came and acknowledged his fault, he was discharged."
, swarming with Indians. The Indians fled at the approach of the investigating colonists, and Oldham's body was found below the main deck. The attackers were at the time believed to be from tribes affiliated with the Narragansetts
, but Narragansett leaders claimed that those responsible had fled to the protection of the Pequot
s. At the time the Pequots were aggressively expansionist in their dealings with the surrounding native tribes (including the Narragansett), but had generally kept the peace with the English colonists of present-day southern New England. The accusation of the Narraganssetts angered Massachusetts authorities (then under governor Henry Vane
), who were already upset that the Pequots had earlier failed to turn over men implicated in killing another trader on the Connecticut River
. This second perceived affront produced calls in Massachusetts for action against the Pequots. In August 1636 Governor Vane placed Endecott at the head of a 90 man force to extract justice from the Pequots.
Endecott's instructions were to go to Block Island, where he was to kill all of the Indian men and take captive the women and children. He was then to go to the Pequots on the mainland, where he was to make three demands: first, that the killers of Oldham and the other trader be surrendered; second, that a payment of one thousand fathom
s of wampum
be made; and third, that some Pequot children be delivered to serve as hostages. Endecott executed these instructions with zeal. Although most of the Indians on Block Island only briefly opposed the English landing there, he spent two days destroying their villages, crops and canoes; most of the Indians on the island successfully eluded English searches for them. English reports claimed as many as 14 Indians were killed, but the Narragansetts only reported one dead. Endecott then sailed for Saybrook, an English settlement at the mouth of the Connecticut River. Lion Gardiner
, the leader there, angrily informed Endecott when he learned of the mission's goals, "You come hither to raise these wasps around my ears, and then you will take wing and flee away."
After some discussion and delays due to bad weather, Gardiner and a company of his men agreed to accompany the Massachusetts force to raid the Pequot harvest stores. When they arrived at the Pequot village near the mouth of the Thames River
, they returned the friendly greetings of the inhabitants with stony silence. Eventually a Pequot sachem rowed out to meet them; the English delivered their demands, threatening war if they did not receive satisfaction. When the sachem left to discuss the matter in the village, Endecott gave a promise to await his return; however, shortly after the sachem left, he began landing his fully armed men on shore. The sachem rushed back, claiming the senior tribal leaders were away on Long Island
; Endecott responded that this was a lie, and ordered an attack on the village. Most of the villagers got away, and once again the expedition's activity was reduced to destroying the village and seizing its crop stores; Gardiner reported that "[t]he Bay-men killed not a man". After completing this work, Endecott and the Massachusetts men boarded their boats to return to Boston, leaving Gardiner and his men to finish the removal of the crops. The Pequots regrouped and launched an attack on Gardiner's party whose armor protected them from the arrowfire, but their escape was nevertheless difficult.
Historian Alfred Cave describes Endecott's actions as a "heavy-handed provocation of an Indian war." All of the surrounding colonies protested the action, complaining that the lives of their citizens were placed in jeopardy by the raid. Since the Pequots had previously been relatively peaceful with the English, Endecott's raid had the effect Gardiner predicted and feared. Communities on the Connecticut River were attacked in April 1637, and Gardiner was virtually besieged in Saybrook by Pequot forces. Endecott had no further role in the war, which ended with the destruction of the Pequots as a tribe; their land was divided up by the colonies and their Indian allies in the 1638 Treaty of Hartford
, and the surviving tribespeople were distributed among their neighbors.
, which enumerated a number of individual rights
available to all colonists, and presaged the United States Bill of Rights
. The next few years were quiet, although rumors of war with the Indians led to the formation in 1643 of the New England Confederation
, designed to facilitate united action by the New England colonies against common external threats as well as internal matters like dealing with escaped slaves and fugitives from justice.
In 1643, Governor Winthrop became embroiled in a controversy over the propriety of taking sides in a power struggle going on in neighbouring French Acadia
. Endecott pointed out that he should have let the French fight amongst themselves without English involvement, as this would weaken them both. The 1644 governor's election became a referendum on Winthrop's policy; Endecott was elected governor, with Winthrop as his deputy. During his one year term he oversaw the division of the colony into four counties: Suffolk
, Essex
, Middlesex
, and Norfolk
. The ascent of the Salem-based Endecott also prompted an attempt by other Salem residents to have the colonial capital relocated there; the attempt was rejected by the governor's council of assistants.
Fallout from the English Civil War
(begun in 1642) also permeated Boston during Endecott's tenure. Two ships, one with a Royalist captain, the other with a Parliamentarian
captain, arrived in Boston, and the Parliamentarian sought to seize the Royalist ship. After much deliberation, Endecott's councils essentially adopted support of the Parliamentarian position, reserving the right to declare independence if the Parliament "should hereafter be a malignant spirit". The Parliamentarian was permitted to seize the Royalist vessel, and the colony also began seizing Royalist vessels that came into port.
Thomas Dudley was elected governor in 1645, with Winthrop as his deputy. Endecott, as a consolation, was given command of the colonial militia, reporting to the governor. He was also once again made a governor's assistant, and was chosen to represent the colony to the confederation in 1646. The threat of Indian conflicts in neighbouring colonies prompted the colony to raise its defensive profile, in which Endecott played a leading role. Winthrop was reelected governor in 1646; after his death in 1649, Endecott succeeded him as governor. By annual re-elections Endecott served nearly continuously until his death in 1665; for two periods (1650–1651 and 1654–1655) he was deputy governor.
In 1639 Endecott had been granted several hundred acres of land north of Salem, in what is now Boxford
and Topsfield
. The tract was not formally laid out until 1659, but as early as 1651 Endecott was granted an additional "three hundred acres of land to tend the furtherance of a copper works" that was adjacent to his land. Endecott hired Richard Leader, an early settler who had done pioneering work at an iron works
in nearby Lynn
, but the efforts to develop the site for copper processing failed.
A persistent shortage of coin
age in all of the colonies prompted Massachusetts to establish a mint
in 1652, and begin production of coins from its silver reserves. This act solved a practical problem, but the colony had no authority to do so from the crown. Although this did not become an issue while Endecott was governor, it eventually became a source of controversy with the crown, and the mint had apparently ceased operations around 1682.
The colony's boundaries expanded somewhat during Endecott's tenure, mainly in the 1650s. In addition to formally claiming present-day Stonington, Connecticut
as spoils from the Pequot War, Endecott sought to establish the colony's northern boundary. In 1652 he sent a commission with surveyors to locate the most northerly point on the Merrimack River
, since the colonial grant defined its northern border as 3 miles (4.8 km) north of that river. These surveyors were led by Indian guides to the outlet of Lake Winnipesaukee
which was claimed by the guides to be the source of the Merrimack. At that location, the party incised an inscription on a rock
that survives, and is now located in a small New Hampshire
state park. When this survey line was extended eastward, the boundary was determined to fall on the coast at Casco Bay
, and the colony thus claimed most of what is now southern Maine
and New Hampshire.
, Endecott, according to Clarke's account of the exchange, told Clarke that he "deserved death, and said he would not have such trash brought into his jurisdiction." Clarke refused to pay the fine; it was paid by friends against his wishes, and he returned to Rhode Island. Of the three men convicted, only Obadiah Holmes
was whipped; John Crandall
, out on bond, returned to Rhode Island with Clarke.
When Oliver Cromwell
consolidated his control over England in the early 1650s, he began a crackdown on religious communities that dissented from his religious views. This notably included Baptists and Quakers, and these groups began their own migration to the North American colonies to escape persecution. Those that first arrived in Boston in 1656 were promptly deported by Endecott's deputy, Richard Bellingham
, while Endecott was in Salem. More Quakers arrived while Endecott was resident in Boston, and he had them imprisoned pending trial and deportation. He met several times with the Quaker, Mary Prince, after receiving an "outrageous letter" from her. The meetings were apparently fruitless, and she and the other Quakers were deported. Following these acts, the members of the New England Confederation all adopted measures for the prompt removal of Quakers from their jurisdiction.
The measures adopted were insufficient to prevent the influx of these perceived undesirables, so harsher measures were enacted. Repeat offenders were to be punished by having ears cut off, and, on the third offense, to have the tongue "bored through with a hot iron". By 1658 the punishment for the third offense had been raised to death, "except they do then and there plainly and publicly renounce their said cursed opinions and devilish tenets." In October 1658 the death penalty was enacted for the second offense in Massachusetts. One year later, three Quakers were arrested and sentenced to death under this law. Two of them, Marmaduke Stephenson and William Robinson, where hanged, while the third, Mary Dyer
, received a reprieve at the last minute. Dyer returned to the colony in 1660, and, under questioning by Endecott and the other magistrates, refused to either recant her beliefs or agree to permanent banishment from the colony. She was hanged on 1 June 1660; she, Stephenson, Robinson, and William Leddra (hanged in 1661) are now known as the Boston martyrs
. The severity of these acts was recognized by the colonists as problematic, and the laws were changed so that execution was the penalty for the fifth offense. (The poor treatment of Quakers and other religious dissenters would be cited as one of the reasons for revocation of the colonial charter in 1684.)
Endecott's role in the treatment of the Quakers was immortalized by John Greenleaf Whittier
in his poem "Cassandra Southwick", named for another Quaker who suffered while Endecott was governor. Whittier characterized Endecott as "dark and haughty", and exhibiting "bitter hate and scorn" for the Quaker.
Even though the Puritan colonists of New England were supportive of Oliver Cromwell's reign in England, they were not always receptive to Cromwell's suggestions. In response to a proposal by Cromwell that New Englanders migrate to Ireland
to increase its Protestant population, the Massachusetts assembly drafted a polite response, signed by Endecott, indicating that its people were happy where they were.
had been restored
to the English throne. This was an immediate cause of concern in all of the colonies that had supported Cromwell, since their charters might be revoked. In Boston it created a more difficult problem for Edward Whalley
and William Goffe
, two of the "regicide" commissioners who had voted to execute Charles I. Although Charles promised in the 1660 Declaration of Breda
that all were pardoned except by act of Parliament, the Indemnity and Oblivion Act
of 1660 singled out all of the regicides for punishment. Whalley and Goffe moved freely about the Boston area for some time, and Endecott refused to order their arrest until word arrived of the passage of the Indemnity Act. Endecott then issued a warrant for their arrest on 8 March 1661. It is unknown whether Whalley and Goffe had advance warning of the warrant, but they fled, apparently to the New Haven area.
Endecott's warrant was followed by an order issued by King Charles in March and received by Endecott in May 1661 containing a direct order to apprehend the two fugitives and ship them back to England. Endecott dutifully obeyed, but he appointed two recently arrived Royalists to track them down. Somewhat predictably, their search came up empty, and Whalley and Goffe thus escaped. Biographer Lawrence Mayo suggests Endecott would have appointed different men for the search had he been serious about catching them.
Opponents to the rule of the Puritans in Massachusetts were vocal in airing their complaints to the new king. Among their complaints was the fact that Charles' ascension to power had not been formally announced; this only took place in 1661 after Endecott received a chastising order from the king. This prompted the assembly to draft another of several laudatory letters it addressed to the king, congratulating him on his rise to power. The mint was claimed to be a bald-faced attempt to devalue good English currency, some colonists complained that the expansion of the colony's borders in 1652 was little more than a land grab, while others put forward claims of administrative malfeasance with respect to funds provided by the crown for the Christianization of Indians, and the Quakers cataloged a long list of grievances. Believing that it was best to ignore the accusations, Endecott and other members of the old guard opposed sending representatives to London to argue against these charges. Supporters of the idea raised funds in a private subscription, and sent a commission to London.
The colonial mission, led by future governor Simon Bradstreet
and pastor John Norton
, was successful, and King Charles announced that he would renew the colonial charter, provided the colony allowed the Church of England to practice there. The Endecott administration dragged its feet on implementation, and after months of inaction, the king sent a commission headed by Samuel Maverick
, one of the colony's most vocal critics, to investigate. Endecott had advance warning of what the commission was to investigate, and took steps to address in form, if not in substance, some of the expected actions. Charles insisted that all religious dissenters be freed, which Endecott had done long before Maverick's arrival, but he did so by deporting them. Upon the commissioners' arrival, the assembly took up the matter of allowing Church of England activity in the colony. They passed a law deliberately using the king's language, allowing anyone "orthodox in religion" to practice in the colony; however, they also defined such orthodoxy as consisting of views that were acceptable to local ministers. This effectively negated the law, because there were probably no ministers in the colony who would agree that Anglicans satisfied their idea of orthodoxy.
, later evidence has identified his burial site as tomb 189 in the Granary Burying Ground
.
Before he came to the colonies in 1628, Endecott was married to his first wife, Anne Gower, who was a cousin of Governor Matthew Craddock. After her death in New England, he was married in 1630 to a woman whose last name was Gibson, and by 1640 he was married to Elizabeth, the daughter of Philobert Cogan of Somersetshire. It is uncertain whether these represent two different wives, or a single wife whose name was Elizabeth (Cogan) Gibson. Because of the uncertainty concerning his wives, it is not known who the mother of his two sons was. There is only firm evidence that he was already married to Elizabeth in 1640, and the records that survive for the 1630s, when his sons were born, do not otherwise identify his wife by name. Endecott's last wife, Elizabeth, was a sister-in-law of the colonial financier and magistrate Roger Ludlow
. Endecott's two known children were John Endecott and Dr. Zerubabbel Endecott, neither of whom, seemingly to his disappointment, followed him into public service. There is also evidence that Endecott fathered another child in his early years in England; in about 1635 he arranged funds and instructions for the care of a minor also named John Endecott.
Despite his high position, Endecott was never particularly affluent. According to his will, several large tracts of land, including the Orchard estate in Salem and one quarter of Block Island, were distributed to his wife and sons; however, it was also noted that some of his books were sold to pay debts. One unexpected legacy left behind by Endecott was the uncertain boundaries of the "Orchard" estate. Several generations later, his descendants were involved in litigation concerning disputed occupancy of part of the estate.
Endecott's descendants include Massachusetts governor
Endicott Peabody
and United States Secretary of War
William Crowninshield Endicott
. His descendants donated family records dating as far back as the colonial era to the Massachusetts Historical Society
. In 1930, the Massachusetts tercentenary was marked by the issuance of a medal bearing Endecott's likeness; it was designed by Laura Gardin Fraser
. Endicott College
in Beverly, Massachusetts
(once a part of Salem) is named for him.
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
. During all of his years in the colony but one, he held some form of civil, judicial, or military high office. He served a total of 16 years as governor, including most of the last 15 years of his life; this period of service was the longest of any colonial governor. He also held important posts representing the colony as part of the New England Confederation
New England Confederation
The United Colonies of New England, commonly known as the New England Confederation, was a short-lived military alliance of the English colonies of Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven. Established in 1643, its primary purpose was to unite the Puritan colonies against the Native...
, and was a leading force in expanding the settlement of Salem, Massachusetts
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
and other parts of Essex County
Essex County, Massachusetts
-National protected areas:* Parker River National Wildlife Refuge* Salem Maritime National Historic Site* Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site* Thacher Island National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:...
.
Endecott was a zealous and somewhat hotheaded Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
, with Separatist
Congregationalist polity
Congregationalist polity, often known as congregationalism, is a system of church governance in which every local church congregation is independent, ecclesiastically sovereign, or "autonomous"...
attitudes toward the Anglican Church. This sometimes put him at odds with Nonconformist
Nonconformism
Nonconformity is the refusal to "conform" to, or follow, the governance and usages of the Church of England by the Protestant Christians of England and Wales.- Origins and use:...
views that were dominant among the colony's early leaders, which became apparent when he gave shelter to the vocally Separatist Roger Williams
Roger Williams (theologian)
Roger Williams was an English Protestant theologian who was an early proponent of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. In 1636, he began the colony of Providence Plantation, which provided a refuge for religious minorities. Williams started the first Baptist church in America,...
. Endecott also argued that women should dress modestly and that men should keep their hair short, and issued judicial decisions banishing individuals who held religious views that did not accord well with those of the Puritans. He notoriously defaced the English flag because he saw St George's Cross
St George's Cross
St George's Cross is a red cross on a white background used as a symbolic reference to Saint George. The red cross on white was associated with St George from medieval times....
as a symbol of the papacy, and had four Quakers put to death for returning to the colony after their banishment. An expedition he led in 1636 is considered the opening offensive in the Pequot War
Pequot War
The Pequot War was an armed conflict between 1634–1638 between the Pequot tribe against an alliance of the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies who were aided by their Native American allies . Hundreds were killed; hundreds more were captured and sold into slavery to the West Indies. ...
, which practically destroyed the Pequot
Pequot
Pequot people are a tribe of Native Americans who, in the 17th century, inhabited much of what is now Connecticut. They were of the Algonquian language family. The Pequot War and Mystic massacre reduced the Pequot's sociopolitical influence in southern New England...
tribe as an entity.
Endecott used some of his properties to propagate fruit trees; a pear tree
Endicott Pear Tree
The Endicott Pear Tree, also known as the Endecott Pear, is a European Pear treelocated in Danvers, Essex County, Massachusetts...
he planted still lives in Danvers, Massachusetts
Danvers, Massachusetts
Danvers is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Located on the Danvers River near the northeastern coast of Massachusetts, Danvers is most widely known for its association with the 1692 Salem witch trials, and for its famous asylum, the Danvers State Hospital.-17th century:The land...
. He also engaged in one of the earliest attempts to develop a mining industry in the colonies when copper ore was found on his land. His name is found on a rock in Lake Winnipesaukee
Lake Winnipesaukee
Lake Winnipesaukee is the largest lake in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. It is approximately long and from wide , covering — when Paugus Bay is included—with a maximum depth of ....
, carved by surveyors sent to identify the Massachusetts colony's northern border in 1652. Places and institutions are named for him, and (like many early colonists) he has several notable descendants.
Life
Most of what is known about John Endecott's origins is at best circumstantial. Biographers of the 19th century believed he was from the DorsetDorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
town of Dorchester because of his significant later association with people from that place. In the early 20th century, historian Roper Lethbridge
Roper Lethbridge
Sir Roper Lethbridge C.I.E was a British academic and civil servant in India and a Conservative Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1892.-Early life and education:...
proposed that Endecott was born circa 1588 in or near Chagford
Chagford
Chagford is a small town and civil parish on the north-east edge of Dartmoor, in Devon, England, close to the River Teign. It is located off the A382, about 4 miles west of Moretonhampstead. The name Chagford is derived from the word chag, meaning gorse or broom, and the ford suffix indicates its...
in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. (Based on this evidence, Chagford now has a house from the period named in Endecott's honour.) However, more recent research by the New England Historic Genealogical Society
New England Historic Genealogical Society
The New England Historic Genealogical Society is the oldest and largest genealogical society in the United States, founded in 1845. A charitable, nonprofit educational institution, NEHGS is located at 99-101 Newbury Street, in Boston, Massachusetts, in an eight-story archive and research center....
has identified problems with Lethbridge's claims, which they dispute. According to their research, Endecott may have been born in or near Chagford, but there is no firm evidence for this, nor is there evidence that identifies his parents. They conclude, based on available evidence, that he was probably born no later than 1600. A John Endecott was active in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
early in the 17th century, but there is no firm evidence connecting him to this Endecott.
Very little is known of Endecott's life before his association with colonisation efforts in the 1620s. He was known to Sir Edward Coke
Edward Coke
Sir Edward Coke SL PC was an English barrister, judge and politician considered to be the greatest jurist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. Born into a middle class family, Coke was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge before leaving to study at the Inner Temple, where he was called to the...
, and may have come to know Roger Williams
Roger Williams (theologian)
Roger Williams was an English Protestant theologian who was an early proponent of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. In 1636, he began the colony of Providence Plantation, which provided a refuge for religious minorities. Williams started the first Baptist church in America,...
through this connection. He was highly literate, and spoke French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. Some early colonial documents refer to him as "Captain Endecott", indicating some military experience, and other records suggest he had some medical training.
Settlement in the New World
In March 1627/8 Endecott was one of seven signatories to a land grant given to "The New England Company for a Plantation in Massachusetts" (or the New England Company) by the Earl of WarwickRobert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick
Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick was an English colonial administrator, admiral, and puritan.Rich was the eldest son of Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick and his wife Penelope Devereux, Lady Rich, and succeeded to his father's title in 1619...
on behalf of the Plymouth Council for New England
Plymouth Council for New England
The Plymouth Council for New England was the name of a 17th century English joint stock company that was granted a royal charter to found colonial settlements along the coast of North America....
; the council was at the time the umbrella organisation overseeing English colonisation efforts in North America between 40 and 48 degrees latitude.
Endecott was chosen to lead the first expedition, and sailed for the New World aboard the Abigail with fifty or so "planters and servants" on 20 June 1628. The settlement they organized was first called Naumkeag, after the local Indian tribe, but was eventually renamed Salem
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
in 1629. The area was already occupied by settlers of the failed Dorchester Company, some of whose backers also participated in the New England Company. This group of earlier settlers
Old Planters (Massachusetts)
Old planters are early settlers and are to be differentiated from explorers and new planters. In the United States, there were many early explorers and early attempts at settlements along the east coast....
, led by Roger Conant, had migrated from a settlement on Cape Ann
Cape Ann
Cape Ann is a rocky cape in northeastern Massachusetts on the Atlantic Ocean. The cape is located approximately 30 miles northeast of Boston and forms the northern edge of Massachusetts Bay. Cape Ann includes the city of Gloucester, and the towns of Essex, Manchester-by-the-Sea, and...
(near present-day Gloucester, Massachusetts
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Gloucester is a city on Cape Ann in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is part of Massachusetts' North Shore. The population was 28,789 at the 2010 U.S. Census...
) after it was abandoned. Endecott was not formally named governor of the new colony until it was issued a royal charter in 1629. At that time, he was appointed governor by the company's council in London, and Matthew Craddock was named the company's governor in London.
Congregationalist polity
Congregationalist polity, often known as congregationalism, is a system of church governance in which every local church congregation is independent, ecclesiastically sovereign, or "autonomous"...
), and poor relations with Thomas Morton, whose failed Wessagusset Colony
Wessagusset Colony
Wessagusset Colony was a short-lived English trading colony in New England located in present-day Weymouth, Massachusetts. It was settled in August 1622 by between fifty and sixty colonists who were ill-prepared for colonial life...
and libertine practices (which including a May pole and dancing) were anathema to the conservative Puritanism practiced by most settlers in the Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies. Early in his term as governor he visited the abandoned site of Morton's colony and had the Maypole taken down. When one group of early settlers wanted to establish a church independent of that established by the colonial leadership, he had their leaders summarily sent back to England.
Early 1630s
Endecott's first tenure as governor came to an end in 1630, with the arrival of John WinthropJohn Winthrop
John Winthrop was a wealthy English Puritan lawyer, and one of the leading figures in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the first major settlement in New England after Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the first large wave of migrants from England in 1630, and served as governor for 12 of...
and the colonial charter. The company had reorganised itself, relocating its seat to the colony itself, with Winthrop as its sole governor. After seeing the conditions at Salem, Winthrop decided to relocate the colony's seat at the mouth of the Charles River
Charles River
The Charles River is an long river that flows in an overall northeasterly direction in eastern Massachusetts, USA. From its source in Hopkinton, the river travels through 22 cities and towns until reaching the Atlantic Ocean at Boston...
, where he founded what is now the city of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. Endecott, who was chosen as one of the governor's Assistants (a precursor to the later notion of a Governor's Council), chose to remain in Salem, where he was one of its leading citizens for the rest of his life, serving in roles as town councilor and militia leader, in addition to statewide roles as militia leader, magistrate, deputy governor, and governor. He established a plantation called "Orchard" in Salem Village (now known as Danvers
Danvers, Massachusetts
Danvers is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Located on the Danvers River near the northeastern coast of Massachusetts, Danvers is most widely known for its association with the 1692 Salem witch trials, and for its famous asylum, the Danvers State Hospital.-17th century:The land...
), where he cultivated seedlings of fruit trees. One particular pear tree, brought over as a sapling on one of the early settlement convoys, still lives and bears fruit; it is known as the Endicott Pear Tree
Endicott Pear Tree
The Endicott Pear Tree, also known as the Endecott Pear, is a European Pear treelocated in Danvers, Essex County, Massachusetts...
.
In the early 1630s the religious conflict between the Nonconformists and the Separatists was the primary source of political disagreement in the colony, and it was embodied by the churches established in Boston and Salem. The Salem church adhered to Separatist teachings, which sought a complete break with the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, while Nonconformist teachings, which were held by Winthrop and most of the colonial leadership in Boston, sought to reform the Anglican church from within. The arrival in Boston in 1631 of Roger Williams, an avowed Separatist, heightened this conflict. Authorities there banished him, and he first went to Salem, where, due to Endecott's intervention, he was offered a position as a teacher in the local church. When word of this reached Boston, Endecott was criticised for supporting Williams, who was banished from the colony. Williams went to Plymouth, but returned to Salem a few years later, becoming the church's unofficial pastor following the death of Samuel Skelton
Samuel Skelton
Samuel Skelton was the first pastor of the First Church of Salem, MA, which is the original Puritan church in North America.Rev. Skelton was probably born in Yorkshire, England. He graduated from Cambridge in 1611 and earned a master's degree there in 1615...
in 1634. Boston authorities called for his arrest after he made what they viewed as treasonous and heretical statements; he fled, eventually establishing Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
. During this time Endecott argued that women should be veiled in church, and controversially defaced the local militia's flag, because it bore St George's Cross
St George's Cross
St George's Cross is a red cross on a white background used as a symbolic reference to Saint George. The red cross on white was associated with St George from medieval times....
, which Williams claimed was a symbol of the papacy. This action is celebrated in Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials...
's story, "Endicott and the Red Cross", where the writer presents the "tension between Endecott as a symbol of religious intolerance and as [an?] emblem of heroic resistance to foreign domination of New England." Endecott did this at a time when the Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
of King Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
was examining affairs in Massachusetts, and the colonial administration was concerned that a strong response was needed to prevent the loss of the colonial charter. Endecott was censured for the rashness of his action (and not for the act itself), and deprived of holding any offices for one year; 1635 was the only year in which he held no office. The committee managing the colonial militia voted that year to stop using the English flag as its standard. Following the incident, and the refusal of the colonial assembly to grant Salem additional land on the Marblehead Neck
Marblehead, Massachusetts
Marblehead is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,808 at the 2010 census. It is home to the Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary and Devereux Beach...
because of Williams' presence in Salem, the Salem church circulated a letter to other churches in the colony, calling the legislative act a heinous sin. Although the authorship of the letter is uncertain, Endecott defended the letter when summoned to Boston, and was consequently jailed for a day; after "he came and acknowledged his fault, he was discharged."
Pequot War
In 1636 the boat of Massachusetts trader John Oldham was seen anchored off Block IslandBlock Island
Block Island is part of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and is located in the Atlantic Ocean approximately south of the coast of Rhode Island, east of Montauk Point on Long Island, and is separated from the Rhode Island mainland by Block Island Sound. The United States Census Bureau defines Block...
, swarming with Indians. The Indians fled at the approach of the investigating colonists, and Oldham's body was found below the main deck. The attackers were at the time believed to be from tribes affiliated with the Narragansetts
Narragansett (tribe)
The Narragansett tribe are an Algonquian Native American tribe from Rhode Island. In 1983 they regained federal recognition as the Narragansett Indian Tribe of Rhode Island. In 2009, the United States Supreme Court ruled against their request that the Department of Interior take land into trust...
, but Narragansett leaders claimed that those responsible had fled to the protection of the Pequot
Pequot
Pequot people are a tribe of Native Americans who, in the 17th century, inhabited much of what is now Connecticut. They were of the Algonquian language family. The Pequot War and Mystic massacre reduced the Pequot's sociopolitical influence in southern New England...
s. At the time the Pequots were aggressively expansionist in their dealings with the surrounding native tribes (including the Narragansett), but had generally kept the peace with the English colonists of present-day southern New England. The accusation of the Narraganssetts angered Massachusetts authorities (then under governor Henry Vane
Henry Vane the Younger
Sir Henry Vane , son of Henry Vane the Elder , was an English politician, statesman, and colonial governor...
), who were already upset that the Pequots had earlier failed to turn over men implicated in killing another trader on the Connecticut River
Connecticut River
The Connecticut River is the largest and longest river in New England, and also an American Heritage River. It flows roughly south, starting from the Fourth Connecticut Lake in New Hampshire. After flowing through the remaining Connecticut Lakes and Lake Francis, it defines the border between the...
. This second perceived affront produced calls in Massachusetts for action against the Pequots. In August 1636 Governor Vane placed Endecott at the head of a 90 man force to extract justice from the Pequots.
Endecott's instructions were to go to Block Island, where he was to kill all of the Indian men and take captive the women and children. He was then to go to the Pequots on the mainland, where he was to make three demands: first, that the killers of Oldham and the other trader be surrendered; second, that a payment of one thousand fathom
Fathom
A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems, used especially for measuring the depth of water.There are 2 yards in an imperial or U.S. fathom...
s of wampum
Wampum
Wampum are traditional, sacred shell beads of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of the indigenous people of North America. Wampum include the white shell beads fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk shell; and the white and purple beads made from the quahog, or Western North Atlantic...
be made; and third, that some Pequot children be delivered to serve as hostages. Endecott executed these instructions with zeal. Although most of the Indians on Block Island only briefly opposed the English landing there, he spent two days destroying their villages, crops and canoes; most of the Indians on the island successfully eluded English searches for them. English reports claimed as many as 14 Indians were killed, but the Narragansetts only reported one dead. Endecott then sailed for Saybrook, an English settlement at the mouth of the Connecticut River. Lion Gardiner
Lion Gardiner
Lion Gardiner , an early English settler and soldier in the New World, founded the first English settlement in what became the state of New York on Long Island. His legacy includes Gardiners Island, which is held by his descendants.-Early life:...
, the leader there, angrily informed Endecott when he learned of the mission's goals, "You come hither to raise these wasps around my ears, and then you will take wing and flee away."
After some discussion and delays due to bad weather, Gardiner and a company of his men agreed to accompany the Massachusetts force to raid the Pequot harvest stores. When they arrived at the Pequot village near the mouth of the Thames River
Thames River (Connecticut)
The Thames River is a short river and tidal estuary in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It flows south for through eastern Connecticut from the junction of the Yantic and Shetucket rivers at Norwich, to New London and Groton, which flank its mouth at the Long Island Sound.Differing from its...
, they returned the friendly greetings of the inhabitants with stony silence. Eventually a Pequot sachem rowed out to meet them; the English delivered their demands, threatening war if they did not receive satisfaction. When the sachem left to discuss the matter in the village, Endecott gave a promise to await his return; however, shortly after the sachem left, he began landing his fully armed men on shore. The sachem rushed back, claiming the senior tribal leaders were away on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
; Endecott responded that this was a lie, and ordered an attack on the village. Most of the villagers got away, and once again the expedition's activity was reduced to destroying the village and seizing its crop stores; Gardiner reported that "[t]he Bay-men killed not a man". After completing this work, Endecott and the Massachusetts men boarded their boats to return to Boston, leaving Gardiner and his men to finish the removal of the crops. The Pequots regrouped and launched an attack on Gardiner's party whose armor protected them from the arrowfire, but their escape was nevertheless difficult.
Historian Alfred Cave describes Endecott's actions as a "heavy-handed provocation of an Indian war." All of the surrounding colonies protested the action, complaining that the lives of their citizens were placed in jeopardy by the raid. Since the Pequots had previously been relatively peaceful with the English, Endecott's raid had the effect Gardiner predicted and feared. Communities on the Connecticut River were attacked in April 1637, and Gardiner was virtually besieged in Saybrook by Pequot forces. Endecott had no further role in the war, which ended with the destruction of the Pequots as a tribe; their land was divided up by the colonies and their Indian allies in the 1638 Treaty of Hartford
Treaty of Hartford
The term Treaty of Hartford applies to three historic agreements negotiated at Hartford, Connecticut. The 1638 treaty divided the spoils of the Pequot War. The 1650 treaty defined a border between the Dutch Nieuw Amsterdam and English settlers in Connecticut...
, and the surviving tribespeople were distributed among their neighbors.
Later terms as governor
Endecott was elected deputy governor in 1641 and in this role was one of the signatories to the Massachusetts Body of LibertiesMassachusetts Body of Liberties
The Massachusetts Body of Liberties was the first legal code established by European colonists in New England. Compiled by the Puritan minister Nathaniel Ward, the laws were established by the Massachusetts General Court in 1641...
, which enumerated a number of individual rights
Individual rights
Group rights are rights held by a group rather than by its members separately, or rights held only by individuals within the specified group; in contrast, individual rights are rights held by individual people regardless of their group membership or lack thereof...
available to all colonists, and presaged the United States Bill of Rights
United States Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These limitations serve to protect the natural rights of liberty and property. They guarantee a number of personal freedoms, limit the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and...
. The next few years were quiet, although rumors of war with the Indians led to the formation in 1643 of the New England Confederation
New England Confederation
The United Colonies of New England, commonly known as the New England Confederation, was a short-lived military alliance of the English colonies of Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven. Established in 1643, its primary purpose was to unite the Puritan colonies against the Native...
, designed to facilitate united action by the New England colonies against common external threats as well as internal matters like dealing with escaped slaves and fugitives from justice.
In 1643, Governor Winthrop became embroiled in a controversy over the propriety of taking sides in a power struggle going on in neighbouring French Acadia
Acadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
. Endecott pointed out that he should have let the French fight amongst themselves without English involvement, as this would weaken them both. The 1644 governor's election became a referendum on Winthrop's policy; Endecott was elected governor, with Winthrop as his deputy. During his one year term he oversaw the division of the colony into four counties: Suffolk
Suffolk County, Massachusetts
Suffolk County has no land border with Plymouth County to its southeast, but the two counties share a water boundary in the middle of Massachusetts Bay.-National protected areas:*Boston African American National Historic Site...
, Essex
Essex County, Massachusetts
-National protected areas:* Parker River National Wildlife Refuge* Salem Maritime National Historic Site* Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site* Thacher Island National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:...
, Middlesex
Middlesex County, Massachusetts
-National protected areas:* Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge* Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge* Longfellow National Historic Site* Lowell National Historical Park* Minute Man National Historical Park* Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge...
, and Norfolk
Norfolk County, Massachusetts
-National protected areas:* Adams National Historical Park* Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area * Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site* John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site-Demographics:...
. The ascent of the Salem-based Endecott also prompted an attempt by other Salem residents to have the colonial capital relocated there; the attempt was rejected by the governor's council of assistants.
Fallout from the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
(begun in 1642) also permeated Boston during Endecott's tenure. Two ships, one with a Royalist captain, the other with a Parliamentarian
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
captain, arrived in Boston, and the Parliamentarian sought to seize the Royalist ship. After much deliberation, Endecott's councils essentially adopted support of the Parliamentarian position, reserving the right to declare independence if the Parliament "should hereafter be a malignant spirit". The Parliamentarian was permitted to seize the Royalist vessel, and the colony also began seizing Royalist vessels that came into port.
Thomas Dudley was elected governor in 1645, with Winthrop as his deputy. Endecott, as a consolation, was given command of the colonial militia, reporting to the governor. He was also once again made a governor's assistant, and was chosen to represent the colony to the confederation in 1646. The threat of Indian conflicts in neighbouring colonies prompted the colony to raise its defensive profile, in which Endecott played a leading role. Winthrop was reelected governor in 1646; after his death in 1649, Endecott succeeded him as governor. By annual re-elections Endecott served nearly continuously until his death in 1665; for two periods (1650–1651 and 1654–1655) he was deputy governor.
In 1639 Endecott had been granted several hundred acres of land north of Salem, in what is now Boxford
Boxford, Massachusetts
Boxford is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 7,965 at the 2010 census.Part of the town comprises the census-designated place of Boxford.-Geography:...
and Topsfield
Topsfield, Massachusetts
Topsfield is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,085 at the 2010 census.Part of the town comprises the census-designated place of Topsfield.-Colonial period:...
. The tract was not formally laid out until 1659, but as early as 1651 Endecott was granted an additional "three hundred acres of land to tend the furtherance of a copper works" that was adjacent to his land. Endecott hired Richard Leader, an early settler who had done pioneering work at an iron works
Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site
Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site is a National Historic Site located about 10 miles northeast of Downtown Boston in Saugus, Massachusetts. It is the site of the first integrated ironworks in North America, 1646 – 1668...
in nearby Lynn
Lynn, Massachusetts
Lynn is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 89,050 at the 2000 census. An old industrial center, Lynn is home to Lynn Beach and Lynn Heritage State Park and is about north of downtown Boston.-17th century:...
, but the efforts to develop the site for copper processing failed.
A persistent shortage of coin
Coin
A coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory....
age in all of the colonies prompted Massachusetts to establish a mint
Mint (coin)
A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures coins for currency.The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins. One difference is that the history of the mint is usually closely tied to the political situation of an era...
in 1652, and begin production of coins from its silver reserves. This act solved a practical problem, but the colony had no authority to do so from the crown. Although this did not become an issue while Endecott was governor, it eventually became a source of controversy with the crown, and the mint had apparently ceased operations around 1682.
The colony's boundaries expanded somewhat during Endecott's tenure, mainly in the 1650s. In addition to formally claiming present-day Stonington, Connecticut
Stonington, Connecticut
The Town of Stonington is located in New London County, Connecticut, in the state's southeastern corner. It includes the borough of Stonington, the villages of Pawcatuck, Lords Point, Wequetequock, the eastern halves of the villages of Mystic and Old Mystic...
as spoils from the Pequot War, Endecott sought to establish the colony's northern boundary. In 1652 he sent a commission with surveyors to locate the most northerly point on the Merrimack River
Merrimack River
The Merrimack River is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Massachusetts, and then flows northeast until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport...
, since the colonial grant defined its northern border as 3 miles (4.8 km) north of that river. These surveyors were led by Indian guides to the outlet of Lake Winnipesaukee
Lake Winnipesaukee
Lake Winnipesaukee is the largest lake in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. It is approximately long and from wide , covering — when Paugus Bay is included—with a maximum depth of ....
which was claimed by the guides to be the source of the Merrimack. At that location, the party incised an inscription on a rock
Endicott Rock
Endicott Rock is a state park located on the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee in the Weirs Beach village of Laconia, New Hampshire. Its principal attraction is a large rock originally in the lake that was incised with lettering in 1652 by surveyors for the Massachusetts Bay Colony...
that survives, and is now located in a small New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
state park. When this survey line was extended eastward, the boundary was determined to fall on the coast at Casco Bay
Casco Bay
Casco Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine on the southern coast of Maine, New England, United States. Its easternmost approach is Cape Small and its westernmost approach is Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth...
, and the colony thus claimed most of what is now southern Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
and New Hampshire.
Religious intolerance
One written statement made early in his tenure in May 1649 showed Endecott's dislike of a fashionable trend toward long hair: "Forasmuch as the wearing of long haire after the manner of Ruffians and barbarous Indians, hath begun to invade new England contrary to the rule of gods word ... Wee the Magistrates who have subscribed [signed] this paper ... doe declare and manifest our dislike and detestation against the wearing of such long haire". In 1651 he presided over a legal case in which three people were accused of being Baptists, a practice that had been banned in the colony in 1644. In convicting John Clarke and sentencing him to either pay a fine or be whippedFlagellation
Flagellation or flogging is the act of methodically beating or whipping the human body. Specialised implements for it include rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails and the sjambok...
, Endecott, according to Clarke's account of the exchange, told Clarke that he "deserved death, and said he would not have such trash brought into his jurisdiction." Clarke refused to pay the fine; it was paid by friends against his wishes, and he returned to Rhode Island. Of the three men convicted, only Obadiah Holmes
Obadiah Holmes
Obadiah Holmes was an early Rhode Island clergyman and a victim of religious persecution in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was pivotal in the establishment of the Baptist church in America.- Ancestry and Vital Facts :...
was whipped; John Crandall
John Crandall
John Crandall, one of the founding settlers of Westerly, Rhode Island, was born in 1618 in Westerleigh, Gloucestershire, England to James Crandall, a yeoman of Kendleshire in that parish, and his first wife Eleanor...
, out on bond, returned to Rhode Island with Clarke.
When Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
consolidated his control over England in the early 1650s, he began a crackdown on religious communities that dissented from his religious views. This notably included Baptists and Quakers, and these groups began their own migration to the North American colonies to escape persecution. Those that first arrived in Boston in 1656 were promptly deported by Endecott's deputy, Richard Bellingham
Richard Bellingham
Richard Bellingham was a colonial magistrate, lawyer, and several-time governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the last surviving signatory of the colonial charter at his death...
, while Endecott was in Salem. More Quakers arrived while Endecott was resident in Boston, and he had them imprisoned pending trial and deportation. He met several times with the Quaker, Mary Prince, after receiving an "outrageous letter" from her. The meetings were apparently fruitless, and she and the other Quakers were deported. Following these acts, the members of the New England Confederation all adopted measures for the prompt removal of Quakers from their jurisdiction.
The measures adopted were insufficient to prevent the influx of these perceived undesirables, so harsher measures were enacted. Repeat offenders were to be punished by having ears cut off, and, on the third offense, to have the tongue "bored through with a hot iron". By 1658 the punishment for the third offense had been raised to death, "except they do then and there plainly and publicly renounce their said cursed opinions and devilish tenets." In October 1658 the death penalty was enacted for the second offense in Massachusetts. One year later, three Quakers were arrested and sentenced to death under this law. Two of them, Marmaduke Stephenson and William Robinson, where hanged, while the third, Mary Dyer
Mary Dyer
Mary Baker Dyer was an English Puritan turned Quaker who was hanged in Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony , for repeatedly defying a Puritan law banning Quakers from the colony...
, received a reprieve at the last minute. Dyer returned to the colony in 1660, and, under questioning by Endecott and the other magistrates, refused to either recant her beliefs or agree to permanent banishment from the colony. She was hanged on 1 June 1660; she, Stephenson, Robinson, and William Leddra (hanged in 1661) are now known as the Boston martyrs
Boston martyrs
The Boston martyrs is the name given in Quaker tradition to the three English members of the Society of Friends, Marmaduke Stephenson, William Robinson and Mary Dyer, and to the Friend William Leddra of Barbados, who were condemned to death and executed by public hanging for their religious beliefs...
. The severity of these acts was recognized by the colonists as problematic, and the laws were changed so that execution was the penalty for the fifth offense. (The poor treatment of Quakers and other religious dissenters would be cited as one of the reasons for revocation of the colonial charter in 1684.)
Endecott's role in the treatment of the Quakers was immortalized by John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier was an influential American Quaker poet and ardent advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. He is usually listed as one of the Fireside Poets...
in his poem "Cassandra Southwick", named for another Quaker who suffered while Endecott was governor. Whittier characterized Endecott as "dark and haughty", and exhibiting "bitter hate and scorn" for the Quaker.
Even though the Puritan colonists of New England were supportive of Oliver Cromwell's reign in England, they were not always receptive to Cromwell's suggestions. In response to a proposal by Cromwell that New Englanders migrate to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
to increase its Protestant population, the Massachusetts assembly drafted a polite response, signed by Endecott, indicating that its people were happy where they were.
English Restoration
In July 1660 word arrived in Boston that Charles IICharles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
had been restored
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
to the English throne. This was an immediate cause of concern in all of the colonies that had supported Cromwell, since their charters might be revoked. In Boston it created a more difficult problem for Edward Whalley
Edward Whalley
Edward Whalley was an English military leader during the English Civil War, and was one of the regicides who signed the death warrant of King Charles I of England.-Early career:The exact dates of his birth and death are unknown...
and William Goffe
William Goffe
William Goffe was an English Roundhead politician and soldier, perhaps best known for his role in the execution of King Charles I and later flight to America.-Early life:...
, two of the "regicide" commissioners who had voted to execute Charles I. Although Charles promised in the 1660 Declaration of Breda
Declaration of Breda
The Declaration of Breda was a proclamation by Charles II of England in which he promised a general pardon for crimes committed during the English Civil War and the Interregnum for all those who recognised Charles as the lawful king; the retention by the current owners of property purchased during...
that all were pardoned except by act of Parliament, the Indemnity and Oblivion Act
Indemnity and Oblivion Act
The Indemnity and Oblivion Act 1660 is an Act of the Parliament of England , the long title of which is "An Act of Free and General Pardon, Indemnity, and Oblivion"....
of 1660 singled out all of the regicides for punishment. Whalley and Goffe moved freely about the Boston area for some time, and Endecott refused to order their arrest until word arrived of the passage of the Indemnity Act. Endecott then issued a warrant for their arrest on 8 March 1661. It is unknown whether Whalley and Goffe had advance warning of the warrant, but they fled, apparently to the New Haven area.
Endecott's warrant was followed by an order issued by King Charles in March and received by Endecott in May 1661 containing a direct order to apprehend the two fugitives and ship them back to England. Endecott dutifully obeyed, but he appointed two recently arrived Royalists to track them down. Somewhat predictably, their search came up empty, and Whalley and Goffe thus escaped. Biographer Lawrence Mayo suggests Endecott would have appointed different men for the search had he been serious about catching them.
Opponents to the rule of the Puritans in Massachusetts were vocal in airing their complaints to the new king. Among their complaints was the fact that Charles' ascension to power had not been formally announced; this only took place in 1661 after Endecott received a chastising order from the king. This prompted the assembly to draft another of several laudatory letters it addressed to the king, congratulating him on his rise to power. The mint was claimed to be a bald-faced attempt to devalue good English currency, some colonists complained that the expansion of the colony's borders in 1652 was little more than a land grab, while others put forward claims of administrative malfeasance with respect to funds provided by the crown for the Christianization of Indians, and the Quakers cataloged a long list of grievances. Believing that it was best to ignore the accusations, Endecott and other members of the old guard opposed sending representatives to London to argue against these charges. Supporters of the idea raised funds in a private subscription, and sent a commission to London.
The colonial mission, led by future governor Simon Bradstreet
Simon Bradstreet
Simon Bradstreet was a colonial magistrate, businessman, diplomat, and the last governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Arriving in Massachusetts on the Winthrop Fleet in 1630, Bradstreet was almost constantly involved in the politics of the colony but became its governor only in 1679...
and pastor John Norton
John Norton (Puritan divine)
John Norton was a Puritan divine, and one of the first authors in the United States of America.-Career:...
, was successful, and King Charles announced that he would renew the colonial charter, provided the colony allowed the Church of England to practice there. The Endecott administration dragged its feet on implementation, and after months of inaction, the king sent a commission headed by Samuel Maverick
Samuel Maverick (colonist)
Samuel Maverick was a 17th century English colonist in what is now 'Massachusetts,' the United States. Arriving ahead of the famed Winthrop fleet, Maverick became one of the earliest settlers, one of the largest landowners and one of the first slave-owners in Massachusetts...
, one of the colony's most vocal critics, to investigate. Endecott had advance warning of what the commission was to investigate, and took steps to address in form, if not in substance, some of the expected actions. Charles insisted that all religious dissenters be freed, which Endecott had done long before Maverick's arrival, but he did so by deporting them. Upon the commissioners' arrival, the assembly took up the matter of allowing Church of England activity in the colony. They passed a law deliberately using the king's language, allowing anyone "orthodox in religion" to practice in the colony; however, they also defined such orthodoxy as consisting of views that were acceptable to local ministers. This effectively negated the law, because there were probably no ministers in the colony who would agree that Anglicans satisfied their idea of orthodoxy.
Last years
In 1655 the Massachusetts assembly passed a law requiring its governor to live closer to Boston; this was probably done in response to Endecott's sixth consecutive election as governor. Endecott was consequently obliged to acquire a residence in Boston; although he returned to Salem frequently, Boston became his home for the rest of his life. Endecott died in Boston on 15 March 1664/5. Although early accounts claim he was buried at Boston's King's ChapelKing's Chapel Burying Ground
King's Chapel Burying Ground is a historic cemetery at King's Chapel on Tremont Street in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest cemetery in the city and is a site on the Freedom Trail....
, later evidence has identified his burial site as tomb 189 in the Granary Burying Ground
Granary Burying Ground
Founded in 1660, the Granary Burying Ground in Massachusetts is the city of Boston's third-oldest cemetery. Located on Tremont Street, it is the final resting place for many notable Revolutionary War-era patriots, including three signers of the Declaration of Independence, Paul Revere and the five...
.
Family
Roger Ludlow
Roger Ludlow was one of the founders of the Colony of Connecticut. He was born in March 1590 in Dinton, Wiltshire, England. Roger was the second son of Sir Thomas Ludlow of Maiden Bradley, Wiltshire and Jane Pyle, sister of Sir Gabriel Pyle...
. Endecott's two known children were John Endecott and Dr. Zerubabbel Endecott, neither of whom, seemingly to his disappointment, followed him into public service. There is also evidence that Endecott fathered another child in his early years in England; in about 1635 he arranged funds and instructions for the care of a minor also named John Endecott.
Despite his high position, Endecott was never particularly affluent. According to his will, several large tracts of land, including the Orchard estate in Salem and one quarter of Block Island, were distributed to his wife and sons; however, it was also noted that some of his books were sold to pay debts. One unexpected legacy left behind by Endecott was the uncertain boundaries of the "Orchard" estate. Several generations later, his descendants were involved in litigation concerning disputed occupancy of part of the estate.
Endecott's descendants include Massachusetts governor
Governor of Massachusetts
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the executive magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The current governor is Democrat Deval Patrick.-Constitutional role:...
Endicott Peabody
Endicott Peabody
Endicott "Chub" Peabody was the 62nd Governor of Massachusetts from January 3, 1963 to January 7, 1965.-Early life:...
and United States Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
William Crowninshield Endicott
William Crowninshield Endicott
William Crowninshield Endicott was an American politician and Secretary of War in the Administration of President Grover Cleveland.-Life and work:...
. His descendants donated family records dating as far back as the colonial era to the Massachusetts Historical Society
Massachusetts Historical Society
The Massachusetts Historical Society is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history...
. In 1930, the Massachusetts tercentenary was marked by the issuance of a medal bearing Endecott's likeness; it was designed by Laura Gardin Fraser
Laura Gardin Fraser
Laura Gardin Fraser was an American sculptor and the wife of sculptor James Earle Fraser.Laura Gardin studied under Fraser at the Art Students League of New York from 1910 to 1912. Alone or with her husband she designed a number of U.S...
. Endicott College
Endicott College
- History :Endicott was founded in 1939 by Eleanor Tupper and her husband, George O. Bierkoe, as a two-year women’s college. The college was issued its first charter by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in that year and graduated its first class in 1941. In 1944, it was approved by the state for...
in Beverly, Massachusetts
Beverly, Massachusetts
Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 39,343 on , which differs by no more than several hundred from the 39,862 obtained in the 2000 census. A resort, residential and manufacturing community on the North Shore, Beverly includes Beverly Farms and Prides...
(once a part of Salem) is named for him.
External links
- Biography of Endecott at the Massachusetts Government Interactive State House