John Wentworth (January 16, 1671 – December 12, 1730) was an American sea captain, merchant, judge, politician and colonial administrator who served as the lieutenant governor of New Hampshire from 1717 to 1730.John Norris McClintock, ''Colony, province, state, 1623-1888: History of New Hampshire'', (1889), p. 174 at: Google Books accessed August 27, 2010

Early life

He was a grandson of "Elder"

William Wentworth William Charles Wentworth (August 179020 March 1872) was an Australian pastoralist, explorer, newspaper editor, lawyer, politician and author, who became one of the wealthiest and most powerful figures of early colonial New South Wales. Throug ...

(born at Alford, Lincolnshire, England, in 1615; died in

Dover, New Hampshire Dover is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 32,741 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city in the New Hampshire Seacoast region and the fifth largest municipality in the state. It is the county se ...

, March 16, 1697), an early settler in

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 ...

. William was a follower of the Rev.

John Wheelwright John Wheelwright (c. 1592–1679) was a Puritan clergyman in England and America, noted for being banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony during the Antinomian Controversy, and for subsequently establishing the town of Exeter, New Hamps ...

. With him and 33 others, William signed, August 4, 1639, “A Combination for a Government at Exeter, N. H.” William moved to

Wells, Maine Wells is a resort town in York County, Maine, United States. Founded in 1643, it is the third-oldest town in Maine. The population was 11,314 at the 2020 census. Wells Beach is a popular summer destination. History The Abenaki Indians calle ...

, with Wheelwright; and when the latter went to England on the accession of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

to power, William moved to Dover, where he was a ruling elder and often preached. On his death, he left a widow, nine sons, and one daughter.

Political career

John Wentworth was raised to be a sea captain. In 1712 he was appointed by Queen Anne a councillor for New Hampshire; in 1713 he became a justice of the common pleas, and late in 1717 lieutenant governor. Before New Hampshire received its own Royal Governor in 1741, its governors were also commissioned to govern the neighboring

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the Thirteen Colonies, thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III of England, William III and Mary II ...

, where they spent most of their time. Consequently, the lieutenant governors exercised significant power. As lieutenant governor, John Wentworth had little function in the government for several years. Then in January 1723, Governor

Samuel Shute Samuel Shute (January 12, 1662 – April 15, 1742) was an English military officer and royal governor of the provinces of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. After serving in the Nine Years' War and the War of the Spanish Succession, he was appoin ...

abruptly returned to England, so Wentworth took over in New Hampshire, governing until the arrival of Shute's replacement, William Burnet, in 1728. He continued as Lt. Governor until his death in 1730, John Wentworth, ''Wentworth Genealogy: English and American'', 1878, vol. 1, pp.178-183 as found at Google books. again governing between Burnet's death in 1729 and the arrival of

Jonathan Belcher Jonathan Belcher (8 January 1681/8231 August 1757) was a merchant, politician, and slave trader from colonial Massachusetts who served as both governor of Massachusetts Bay and governor of New Hampshire from 1730 to 1741 and governor of New J ...

in 1730. During his administration he brought focus on the border dispute between New Hampshire and Massachusetts, cultivating power centers in London that eventually led to resolution of that dispute (albeit in 1740, long after his death), and establishing the dynasty that would dominate New Hampshire until independence.

Family

On October 12, 1693 Wentworth married Sara Hunking. The couple had thirteen children, three of whom (Samuel, Benning, and Mark Hunking Wentworth) would become prominent themselves.

Benning Wentworth Benning Wentworth (July 24, 1696 – October 14, 1770) was an American merchant and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New Hampshire from 1741 to 1766. While serving as governor, Wentworth is best known for issuing several la ...

was later the first directly appointed royal governor of New Hampshire. Mark's son in his turn would also become the last royal governor,

Sir John Wentworth, 1st Baronet Sir John Wentworth, 1st Baronet (9 August 1737 – 8 April 1820) was the British colonial governor of New Hampshire at the time of the American Revolution. He was later also Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia. He is buried in the crypt of St. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wentworth, John 1671 births 1730 deaths People of colonial New Hampshire Politicians from Portsmouth, New Hampshire