Sir Charles Hobby (1665–1715) was a

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

merchant and militia colonel, commanding a provincial regiment during the siege of Port Royal 1710, and serving as its acting governor in 1711. He was knighted in 1705.

Biography

Hobby was the son of a wealthy Boston merchant. He lived in Jamaica from before 1692 until 1700, when he returned to Boston beginning a commercial career. In 1705 he was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

ed for bravery during an

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

on the island. The real reason was, according to Thomas Hutchinson, a consideration of £800. Hobby's wealth and connections made him a captain of the

Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts is the oldest chartered military organization in North America and the third oldest chartered military organization in the world. Its charter was granted in March 1638 by the Great and Gen ...

and a colonel of a regiment of Massachusetts militia.

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

in religion, Hobby was a

vestryman A vestryman is a member of his local church's vestry, or leading body.Anstice, Henry (1914). ''What Every Warden and Vestryman Should Know.'' Church literature press He is not a member of the clergy.Potter, Henry Codman (1890). ''The Offices of Wa ...

of the

King's Chapel King's Chapel is an American independent christianity, Christian unitarianism, unitarian congregation affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association that is "unitarian Christian in theology, anglicanism, Anglican in worship, and congrega ...

, together with Governor

Joseph Dudley Joseph Dudley (September 23, 1647 – April 2, 1720) was a colonial administrator, a native of Roxbury in Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the son of one of its founders. He had a leading role in the administration of the Dominion of New England ...

and Captain

Cyprian Southack Cyprian Southack (1662 – 27 March 1745) was an English cartographer and colonial naval commander. He commanded the ''Province Galley'', Massachusetts' one-ship navy (1696–1711) and commanded the first navy ship of Nova Scotia, the ship ''Wi ...

. He was

churchwarden A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' members of the parish b ...

in 1713 and 1714. Hobby was nevertheless known as a rake, and of a living that not recommended itself to the

puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...

minds of Boston. At his death, he owned six

slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

s. In Boston, Hobby was involved in a dispute with Governor Dudley. Taking his complaint to the authorities in London, he became the spokesman of different groups wishing to remove to governor from office. In spite of his high living, he was recommended both by Increase and

Cotton Mather Cotton Mather (; February 12, 1663 – February 13, 1728) was a New England Puritan clergyman and a prolific writer. Educated at Harvard College, in 1685 he joined his father Increase as minister of the Congregationalist Old North Meeting H ...

. Staying in London until 1708, he made connections with

Francis Nicholson Lieutenant-General Francis Nicholson (12 November 1655 – ) was a British Army general and colonial official who served as the Governor of South Carolina from 1721 to 1725. He previously was the Governor of Nova Scotia from 1712 to 1715, the ...

and his former antagonist

Samuel Vetch Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bi ...

. Dropping his case against Dudley, he returned to Boston. During the expedition to Port Royal in 1710, Hobby commanded Hobby's Regiment, a Massachusetts provincial regiment raised in Boston. During the absence of the governor, Samuel Vetch, during the

Quebec Expedition The Quebec Expedition, or the Walker Expedition to Quebec, was a British attempt to attack Quebec in 1711 in Queen Anne's War, the North American theatre of the War of Spanish Succession. It failed when seven transports and one storeship were ...

1711, Hobby was acting governor of Annapolis Royal. Returning to Boston the same year, Hobby continued his mercantile activities, investing in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

property and trade. He tried to wrest the governorship of that colony from Vetch; again proceeding to London, and yet again making peace with his antagonist, and was recommended as lieutenant governor. Hobby died in London in 1715, leaving a bankrupt estate.Olson 1969, pp. 289-270.

Notes

References

*Baylies, Francis (1830). ''An Historical Memoir of the Colony of New Plymouth.'' Boston. * Bouton, Nathaniel (1869). ''Documents and papers relating to the Province of New Hampshire. Vol. III.'' Manchester. * Dalton, Charles (1904). ''English Army Lists and Commissions Registers, 1661-1714. Vol. VI. 1707-1714.'' London: Eyre and Spotswoode. *Hutchinson, Thomas (1795). ''The History of Massachusetts.'' 3rd edition. London. * * Parry, William Stevens (1873). ''Papers Relating to the History of the Church in Massachusetts, 1676–1785.'' Boston. * Whitman, Zachariah G. (1842). ''The History of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company.'' Boston. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hobby, Charles 1665 births 1715 deaths People from Boston People of colonial Massachusetts Military personnel from colonial Massachusetts Military history of New England People of Queen Anne's War Governors of the Colony of Nova Scotia