Henry Josselyn (also spelled Jocelyn; died ca. 1683) was an early settler of northern

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

. He was first retained by John Mason, the proprietor of the territory that later became

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, to administer his holdings. Arriving at the

Piscataqua River The Piscataqua River (Abenaki: ''Pskehtekwis'') is a tidal river forming the boundary of the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Maine from its origin at the confluence of the Salmon Falls River and Cochecho River. The drainage basin of the river ...

in 1634, he administered Mason's settlement (roughly including present-day

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

and some nearby communities) until Mason's death in 1635. (In some New Hampshire histories he is styled as "governor" of the Mason properties). He thereafter moved further up the coast, settling in what is now

Scarborough, Maine Scarborough is a New England town, town in Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County on the southern coast of the U.S. state of Maine. The town is a coastal resort area. Located about south of Portland, Maine, Portland, Scarborough is part of t ...

. He briefly acted as deputy governor of the

Province of Maine The Province of Maine refers to any of the various English colonies established in the 17th century along the northeast coast of North America, within portions of the present-day U.S. states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, and the Canadian ...

in the colonial administration of

Thomas Gorges Sir Thomas Gorges (1536 – 30 March 1610) of Longford Castle in Wiltshire, was a courtier and Groom of the Chamber to Queen Elizabeth I. Via his great-grandmother Lady Anne Howard, a daughter of John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk, he was a s ...

, before the area came under the control of the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...

. He was opposed to Massachusetts rule, and was arrested on one occasion for his resistance. When the area was granted to

James, Duke of York James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

in 1664, it became part of the

Province of New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the Uni ...

, and Josselyn was appointed a magistrate. There is no record of his death; a letter date May 10, 1683 mentions his passing.

References

''New England Historic and Genealogical Register'', Volume 40
Colonial governors of New Hampshire Date of birth unknown Date of death unknown English emigrants People from Scarborough, Maine {{Maine-politician-stub