Henry Sherburne (March 28, 1611 – 1680) of

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 ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a 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 to the nor ...

, landed there June 12, 1632 from London, a pioneer who rose to considerable wealth in pre-independence colonial New Hampshire. His descendant Samuel Sherburne built the 1766 (and later) house which bears Henry's name today in Portsmouth. Henry was the older brother of John Sherburne, another New Hampshire pioneer. Colonel

Tobias Lear Tobias Lear (September 19, 1762 – October 11, 1816) was the personal secretary to President George Washington. Lear served Washington from 1784 until the former-President's death in 1799. Lear's journal details Washington's final moments and his ...

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

's private secretary, was his great grandson. Sherburne and his brother John were lineal descendants of the illustrious "Sherburne" (or Shireburn) family of England (their ancestors progressively built Stonyhurst Hall in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

but lost it when the elder branch of the family, which remained there, became extinct in 1717). After Henry's great grandfather quit Stonyhurst for

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, where he dwelled in Beam Hall, Henry's father Joseph moved to

Odiham Odiham () is a large historic village and civil parish in the Hart district of Hampshire, England. It is twinned with Sourdeval in the Manche Department of France. The 2011 population was 4,406. The parish in 1851 had an area of 7,354 acres w ...

, where Henry was born. While it's unknown where he was educated, in the New World Sherburne's classical education and fine

court hand Court hand (also common law hand, Anglicana, cursiva antiquior, charter hand) was a style of handwriting used in medieval English law courts, and later by professionals such as lawyers and clerks. "It is noticeably upright and packed together with ...

quickly proved useful. By 1640 he was a warden of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

in Portsmouth, and was thereafter selected as town clerk (1656–1660), treasurer, and commissioner of Portsmouth. In 1644 he was appointed judge at Portsmouth. Later the General Court of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

appointed him associate judge. He was a large landowner in Portsmouth. He married twice; first to the daughter of New Hampshire pioneer Ambrose Gibbons, by whom he had many children who have since spread about the New World."Some Descendants of Henry and John Sherburne of Portsmouth, New Hampshire" (Boston, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Sherburne, Edward Raymond, 1904)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherburne, Henry People of colonial New Hampshire 1680 deaths 1611 births