John Usher (27 April 1648 – September 1726) was an English colonial administrator. Born in

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 ...

, he served as treasurer of the

Dominion of New England The Dominion of New England in America (1686–1689) was an administrative union of English colonies covering New England and the Mid-Atlantic Colonies (except for Delaware Colony and the Province of Pennsylvania). Its political structure represe ...

from 1686 until the

Boston Revolt The 1689 Boston revolt was a popular uprising on April 18, 1689, against the rule of Sir Edmund Andros, the governor of the Dominion of New England. A well-organized "mob" of provincial militia and citizens formed in the town of Boston, the cap ...

of 1689. After the revolt, dominion governor

Sir Edmund Andros Sir Edmund Andros (6 December 1637 – 24 February 1714) was an English colonial administrator in British America. He was the governor of the Dominion of New England during most of its three-year existence. At other times, Andros served ...

was confined in Usher's home. Usher was twice lieutenant governor of the

Province of New Hampshire The Province of New Hampshire was a colony of England and later a British province in North America. The name was first given in 1629 to the territory between the Merrimack and Piscataqua rivers on the eastern coast of North America, and was nam ...

(1692–1697 and 1702–1715). As lieutenant governor, he frequently held the reins of power, since the governors (his father-in-law Samuel Allen, and Joseph Dudley) were often absent from the province. His rule was unpopular. He died in

Medford, Massachusetts Medford is a city northwest of downtown Boston on the Mystic River in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 59,659. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus alo ...

, in 1722. Usher's father, Hezekiah, was the first known bookseller in colonial America. He also printed the first book in the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of Kingdom of Great Britain, British Colony, colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Fo ...

: 1640's '' Bay Psalm Book''.

References

1648 births 1726 deaths Politicians from Boston Colonial governors of New Hampshire Dominion of New England {{NewHampshire-politician-stub