John Wentworth Jr. (July 17, 1745 – January 10, 1787) was a

Founding Father of the United States The Founding Fathers of the United States, known simply as the Founding Fathers or Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the war for independence from Great Britai ...

and a lawyer who served as a New Hampshire delegate to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

, where he signed the

Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was an agreement among the 13 Colonies of the United States of America that served as its first frame of government. It was approved after much debate (between July 1776 and November 1777) by ...

Biography

He was born to Judge John Wentworth in

Somersworth, New Hampshire Somersworth is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 11,855 at the 2020 census. Somersworth has the smallest area and third-lowest population of New Hampshire's 13 cities. History Somersworth, originally ca ...

in 1745, and is a descendant 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 ...

. He graduated from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1768 before studying law. He moved to

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 ...

where he started his practice. His cousin, Governor Wentworth, appointed him the probate register for Strafford County, and he held that post until his death. He was active in the various revolutionary committees, and was elected to the convention (later the State Assembly) from Dover every year from 1776 to 1780. He was a member of the state council, supporting

Meshech Weare Meshech Weare (June 16, 1713January 14, 1786) was an American farmer, lawyer, and revolutionary statesman from Seabrook and Hampton Falls, New Hampshire. He served as the first president of New Hampshire. Before 1784 the position of governor wa ...

, from 1780 to 1784, and was a member of the New Hampshire Committee of Safety. That committee operated as the revolutionary government when the Assembly was not in session. In 1778 and 1779, he was selected as one of the delegates to the Continental Congress. His term of service gave him the chance to sign the Articles of Confederation when the Congress passed that plan to unify the colonies. As New Hampshire established a more stable government, he was elected to the State's Senate from 1784 to 1786. He died in Dover and is buried in the Pine Hill Cemetery there.''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress''
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References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wentworth, John Jr. 1745 births 1787 deaths American people of English descent Harvard University alumni Continental Congressmen from New Hampshire 18th-century American politicians Signers of the Articles of Confederation People of colonial New Hampshire People from Somersworth, New Hampshire People from Dover, New Hampshire Founding Fathers of the United States