Oliver Partridge
Encyclopedia
Oliver Partridge was a military commander and politician in colonial America
. He represented Massachusetts
at the Albany Congress
of 1754, and at the Stamp Act Congress
of 1765. He was also the first senior military commander of Massachusetts.
to a family of English colonial officers and magistrate
s. He was a member of the Dudley-Winthrop Family
, known for their involvement in colonial politics. He was a great-grandson of Massachusetts Governor Simon Bradstreet
and a great-great-grandson of Massachusetts Governor and Harvard founder Thomas Dudley
. He was the only son of Colonel Edward Partridge, and grandson of Colonel Samuel Partridge. His grandson, Edward Partridge
(1793 – 1840), was an early convert to the Latter Day Saints.
is reflected in his ranking 2nd in his Yale
class of 1730 at a time when Harvard and Yale graduates were ranked according to their family’s social position, rather than academic merit. Oliver’s uncle, Rev. Elisha Williams
, of the numerous and influential Williams clan, was the head of Yale College during Partridge’s student years there, reading law and surveying
. In 1734 Partridge married Anna, the daughter of the Reverend William Williams of Weston
and was appointed joint Clerk of the Court of Hampshire County
. He also served as a selectman of Hatfield
almost every year from 1731 to 1774 and again in 1780–81; a representative in the Massachusetts General Court
1741, 1761, and 1765-1767; and High Sheriff
of Hampshire County from 1741-1743.
, he was appointed to a committee of 3 by Massachusetts Governor William Shirley
(along with John Leonard and his cousin John Stoddard) to oversee the construction of a line of military forts along the western frontier of the Colonies to defend against the French. In 1754 he represented Massachusetts in the Albany Congress that ultimately passed Benjamin Franklin
’s plan for colonial union. Upon his return to Massachusetts from New York he was commissioned a Colonel and succeeded his uncle Israel Williams in command of Britain’s western provincial forces. In 1765 he, alongside James Otis, Jr.
and Timothy Ruggles
, represented Massachusetts at the Stamp Act Congress in New York. While Partridge was a Loyalist
and a Tory
, as was common among the landed gentry, he reconciled himself to the inevitability of separation from the British Empire
once it had become an accomplished fact, and resumed his legal duties as an American. Such was the respect in which he was held by his countrymen that his revolutionary neighbors did not dare molest his person or property during the Revolutionary War, and in 1780 and 1781 he was again appointed selectman for Hatfield.
Colonial America
The colonial history of the United States covers the history from the start of European settlement and especially the history of the thirteen colonies of Britain until they declared independence in 1776. In the late 16th century, England, France, Spain and the Netherlands launched major...
. He represented Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
at the Albany Congress
Albany Congress
The Albany Congress, also known as the Albany Conference and "The Conference of Albany" or "The Conference in Albany", was a meeting of representatives from seven of the thirteen British North American colonies in 1754...
of 1754, and at the Stamp Act Congress
Stamp Act Congress
The Stamp Act Congress was a meeting on October 19, 1765 in New York City of representatives from some of the British colonies of North America. They discussed and acted upon the Stamp Act recently passed by the governing Parliament of Great Britain overseas, which did not include any...
of 1765. He was also the first senior military commander of Massachusetts.
Family
Partridge was born in Hatfield, MassachusettsHatfield, Massachusetts
Hatfield is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,249 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area....
to a family of English colonial officers and magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
s. He was a member of the Dudley-Winthrop Family
Dudley-Winthrop family
-Thomas Dudley:*Born: 1576, Yardley-Hastings, Northampton, England*Political position: Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony 1634, 1640, 1645, 1650*Father of Anne Dudley who married Simon Bradstreet*Father of Joseph Dudley...
, known for their involvement in colonial politics. He was a great-grandson of Massachusetts 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 a great-great-grandson of Massachusetts Governor and Harvard founder Thomas Dudley
Thomas Dudley
Thomas Dudley was a colonial magistrate who served several terms as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Dudley was the chief founder of Newtowne, later Cambridge, Massachusetts, and built the town's first home...
. He was the only son of Colonel Edward Partridge, and grandson of Colonel Samuel Partridge. His grandson, Edward Partridge
Edward Partridge
Edward Partridge was the grandson of Massachusetts Congressman Oliver Partridge, Esq., and a member of a family noted for commercial, social, political, and military leadership in Western Massachusetts. One of the first converts to the Latter Day Saint movement, he was baptized in or near Seneca...
(1793 – 1840), was an early convert to the Latter Day Saints.
Education and early offices
His commanding position among the "River Gods" or ruling families of Western New EnglandNew England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
is reflected in his ranking 2nd in his Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
class of 1730 at a time when Harvard and Yale graduates were ranked according to their family’s social position, rather than academic merit. Oliver’s uncle, Rev. Elisha Williams
Elisha Williams
Elisha Williams was a Congregational minister, legislator, jurist, and rector of Yale College from 1726 to 1739.-Life:The son of Rev. William Williams and his wife Elizabeth, née Cotton Elisha Williams (August 24, 1694 – July 24, 1755) was a Congregational minister, legislator, jurist, and...
, of the numerous and influential Williams clan, was the head of Yale College during Partridge’s student years there, reading law and surveying
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
. In 1734 Partridge married Anna, the daughter of the Reverend William Williams of Weston
Weston, Massachusetts
Weston is a suburb of Boston located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States in the Boston metro area. The population of Weston, according to the 2010 U.S. Census, is 11,261....
and was appointed joint Clerk of the Court of Hampshire County
Hampshire County, Massachusetts
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 152,251 people, 55,991 households, and 33,818 families residing in the county. The population density was 288 people per square mile . There were 58,644 housing units at an average density of 111 per square mile...
. He also served as a selectman of Hatfield
Hatfield, Massachusetts
Hatfield is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,249 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area....
almost every year from 1731 to 1774 and again in 1780–81; a representative in the Massachusetts General Court
Massachusetts General Court
The Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the Colonial Era, when this body also sat in judgment of judicial appeals cases...
1741, 1761, and 1765-1767; and High Sheriff
High Sheriff
A high sheriff is, or was, a law enforcement officer in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.In England and Wales, the office is unpaid and partly ceremonial, appointed by the Crown through a warrant from the Privy Council. In Cornwall, the High Sheriff is appointed by the Duke of...
of Hampshire County from 1741-1743.
Later offices and the Revolution
In June 1744, at the outbreak of King George's WarKing George's War
King George's War is the name given to the operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession . It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in the British provinces of New York, Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and Nova Scotia...
, he was appointed to a committee of 3 by Massachusetts Governor William Shirley
William Shirley
William Shirley was a British colonial administrator who served twice as Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay and as Governor of the Bahamas in the 1760s...
(along with John Leonard and his cousin John Stoddard) to oversee the construction of a line of military forts along the western frontier of the Colonies to defend against the French. In 1754 he represented Massachusetts in the Albany Congress that ultimately passed Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
’s plan for colonial union. Upon his return to Massachusetts from New York he was commissioned a Colonel and succeeded his uncle Israel Williams in command of Britain’s western provincial forces. In 1765 he, alongside James Otis, Jr.
James Otis, Jr.
James Otis, Jr. was a lawyer in colonial Massachusetts, a member of the Massachusetts provincial assembly, and an early advocate of the political views that led to the American Revolution. The phrase "Taxation without Representation is Tyranny" is usually attributed to him...
and Timothy Ruggles
Timothy Ruggles
Timothy Dwight Ruggles was an American military leader, jurist and politician. He was a delegate to the first Stamp Act congress of 1765.-Early life:...
, represented Massachusetts at the Stamp Act Congress in New York. While Partridge was a Loyalist
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
and a Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
, as was common among the landed gentry, he reconciled himself to the inevitability of separation from the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
once it had become an accomplished fact, and resumed his legal duties as an American. Such was the respect in which he was held by his countrymen that his revolutionary neighbors did not dare molest his person or property during the Revolutionary War, and in 1780 and 1781 he was again appointed selectman for Hatfield.
Epitaph
He died at Hadley. His epitaph states that "His usefulness in church and state was early known to men; Blest with an active life, till late, and happy in his end."See also
- Franklin Bowditch Dexter, Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College October, 1701 - May, 1745, New York Henry Holt & Co., 1885
- Michael Coe, The Line of Forts, Historical Archaeology on the Colonial Frontier of Massachusetts University Press of New England, 2006
- Richard Melvoin, New England Outpost: War & Society in Colonial Deerfield, 1988
- Lucretia Lyman Ranney, My Children's American Ancestry, Published Privately 1959