Matthew Griswold (March 25, 1714 – April 28, 1799) was the 17th governor of Connecticut from 1784 to 1786. He also served as the 21st

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

(and the first since statehood). He was also chief justice of the

Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

, during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

(1769–1784).

Early life

Matthew Griswold was born in

Lyme, Connecticut Lyme is a New England town, town in New London County, Connecticut, New London County, Connecticut, United States, situated on the eastern side of the Connecticut River. The population was 2,352 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Lyme i ...

, the eldest son of John Griswold, politician and landowner, and Hannah (Lee) Griswold. He was the fourth generation of his family to live in Connecticut; the

Griswold family The Griswold family () is an American political family from Connecticut and New York of English descent. The family's fortune originates from the 19th Century industrial and merchant pursuits. Family origins The Griswold family originates fr ...

had emigrated there from

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 ...

in 1639. Through his mother, he is connected to the

DeWolf family The DeWolf family (also spelled D’Wolf or DeWolfe) is a prominent Canadian and American family that traces its roots to Balthazar DeWolf. Balthazar DeWolf Balthazar DeWolf (d. about 1696) is first mentioned in the records of Hartford, Conne ...

. The Griswolds were one of the wealthiest and most respected families in Lyme; several Griswolds served in public office in Connecticut over the generations. In his mid-20s, he decided to study law. He was admitted to the New London Bar in 1742 and opened a practice in Lyme. Many of his legal cases involved settling estates and collecting debts. He became a well-liked and respected teacher of the law as well and over the years developed the one of the first and finest collections of law books in Connecticut. He married then Deputy Governor Roger Wolcott's daughter Ursula on November 10, 1743, and had seven children with her. Their son,

Roger Griswold Roger Griswold (; May 21, 1762 – October 25, 1812) was a nineteenth-century lawyer, politician and judge from Connecticut. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, judge of the Connecticut Supreme Court and the 22 ...

, later also became governor of Connecticut. Matthew Griswold was brother-in-law to

Oliver Wolcott Oliver Wolcott Sr. (November 20, 1726 December 1, 1797) was an American Founding Father and politician. He was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation as a representative of Connecticut, and t ...

and

Erastus Wolcott Erastus Wolcott (1722–1793) was an American politician and a Connecticut state militia commander during the American Revolutionary War. He served in the Connecticut General Assembly for over twenty years and was a justice of the Connecticut Su ...

Career

His reputation as a fair and hard-working lawyer won Griswold the appointment of king's attorney for New London County. The king's attorney represented the interests of England and her colonies in court. That Griswold held this position for over 30 years stands as a testimony to both his ability as a lawyer and his fair-mindedness. Griswold's busy law practice left much of the management of Black Hall to Ursula. Griswold was elected to the Connecticut General Assembly in 1748, and from 1751 to 1759. He was then elected to the Council of Assistants, serving from 1759 to 1769. Griswold and eight other councilmembers demonstrated opposition to the Stamp Act of 1765 when Governor Thomas Fitch was required to take an oath to support it. Griswold became a member of the

Sons of Liberty The Sons of Liberty was a loosely organized, clandestine, sometimes violent, political organization active in the Thirteen American Colonies founded to advance the rights of the colonists and to fight taxation by the British government. It pl ...

, who publicly protested the Stamp Act. In each of the years from 1769 to 1784, he was elected Deputy Governor of Connecticut. In that position, he also served as chief justice of the Superior Court. During this time, he was concerned about education, and was a member of a committee to improved teaching at

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

. Yale awarded him a

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL. ...

in 1779 in appreciation.

American Revolution

Griswold was a strong supporter of the colonists' cause during the

. He served on many committees that oversaw troop movements, military appointments, provisions, and defense; he especially focused on defending American ships and the Connecticut shoreline. According to family legend, Griswold twice evaded British soldiers as they searched for him, an important target, in his own home.

Governorship and later years

After the end of the war, Griswold was chosen to be Governor in 1784 by the General Assembly, after he failed to receive a majority of votes in the regular election. He was re-elected in 1785, but then lost to Samuel Huntington in 1786. In 1788, as delegate from Lyme, he became president of Connecticut's convention to ratify the new

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

. Later in 1788, Ursula Griswold died, and Matthew Griswold retired from public life.

Death

Griswold continued to manage his family estate, Black Hall, until his death on April 28, 1799. He is interred at

Duck River Cemetery The Duck River Cemetery, also known as the Old Lyme Cemetery is the communal burying ground of the town of Old Lyme, Connecticut. Slater, James A. The Colonial Burying Grounds of Eastern Connecticut and the Men Who Made Them. Memoirs of the Conne ...

, Old Lyme, New London County, Connecticut. His brother-in-law was Rev. Jonathan Parsons, father of General

Samuel Holden Parsons Samuel Holden Parsons (May 14, 1737 – November 17, 1789) was an American lawyer, jurist, generalHeitman, ''Officers of the Continental Army'', 428. in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and a pioneer to the Ohio Countr ...

. His sister Sarah Griswold was the mother of

James Hillhouse James Hillhouse (October 20, 1754 – December 29, 1832) was an American lawyer, real estate developer, and politician from New Haven, Connecticut. He represented the state in both chambers of the US Congress. From February to March 1801, Hill ...

References

External links

The Political Graveyard
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Griswold, Matthew 1714 births 1799 deaths People from Lyme, Connecticut People of colonial Connecticut Griswold family American people of English descent Connecticut Federalists Federalist Party state governors of the United States Governors of Connecticut Members of the Connecticut General Assembly Council of Assistants (1662–1818) Chief Justices of the Connecticut Supreme Court 18th-century American politicians