Thomas Dongan, (pronounced "Dungan") 2nd Earl of Limerick (1634 – 14 December 1715), was a member of the Irish Parliament, Royalist military officer during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

, and

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the

Province of New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the Uni ...

. He is noted for having called the first representative legislature in New York, and for granting the province's Charter of Liberties.

Biography

Early life

He was born in 1634 into an old Gaelic Norman (Irish Catholic) family in Castletown Kildrought (now

Celbridge Celbridge (; ) is a town and townland on the River Liffey in County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is west of Dublin. Both a local centre and a commuter town within the Greater Dublin Area, it is located at the intersection of the ...

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

, in the

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland ( ga, label=Classical Irish, an Ríoghacht Éireann; ga, label=Modern Irish, an Ríocht Éireann, ) was a monarchy on the island of Ireland that was a client state of England and then of Great Britain. It existed from ...

, the seventh and youngest son of

Sir John Dongan, 2nd Baronet Sir John Dongan, 2nd Baronet (1603–1650) was a member of the Irish Parliament. Early life Dongan was born into an old Gaelic Norman (Irish Catholic) family in Castletown Kildrought (now Celbridge), County Kildare, in the Kingdom of Ireland. H ...

, Member of the Irish Parliament, and his wife Mary Talbot, daughter of

Sir William Talbot, 1st Baronet Sir William Talbot, 1st Baronet (died 16 March 1634), was an Irish lawyer and politician. Birth and origins William was the son of Robert Talbot of Carton, County Kildare, who was the third son of Sir Thomas Talbot of Malahide, County Dub ...

, and Alison Netterville. As Stuart supporters, after the overthrow of King Charles I, the family went to King

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

's France, although they managed to hold on to at least part of their Irish estates. His family gave their name to the Dongan Dragoons, a premier military regiment.

Career

While in France, he served in an Irish regiment with

Turenne Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne (11 September 161127 July 1675), commonly known as Turenne , was a French general and one of only six Marshals to have been promoted Marshal General of France. The most illustrious member of the ...

. He stayed in France after the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

and achieved the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in 1674.Driscoll, John T. "Thomas Dongan." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 6 Jun. 2014
/ref> After the

Treaty of Nijmegen The Treaties of Peace of Nijmegen ('; german: Friede von Nimwegen) were a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city of Nijmegen between August 1678 and October 1679. The treaties ended various interconnected wars among France, the Dutch Republi ...

ended the French-Dutch War in 1678, Dongan returned to England in obedience to the order that recalled all English subjects fighting in service to France. Fellow officer

James, Duke of York James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

, arranged to have him granted a high-ranking commission in the army designated for service in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

and a pension. That same year, he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of

Tangiers Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capit ...

, which had been granted to England as part of the dowry of

Catherine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza ( pt, Catarina de Bragança; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to Charles II of England, ...

. He served as part of the

Tangier Garrison The Tangier Garrison was the land force which oversaw the defence of English Tangier between 1661 and 1684 when it was evacuated. It was part of the English Army, the de facto standing army that Charles II established following the Restoratio ...

which defended the settlement.

Governor of New York

In September 1682, James, Duke of York, as Lord Proprietor of the

, appointed Dongan as Vice-admiral in the Navy and provincial governor (1683–1688) to replace

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 ...

The Memorial History of the City of New York
pag
400
(appointment)an
453
(supersession) "Dongan's long service in the French army had made him conversant with the French character and diplomacy and his campaigns in the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

had given him a knowledge of the Dutch language."Phelan, Thomas P. "Thomas Dongan, Catholic Colonial Governor of New York". ''Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia'', vol. 22, no. 4, 1911, pp. 207–237. JSTOR
/ref> James also granted him an estate on

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

. The estate eventually became the town of Castleton; later, another section of the island was named Dongan Hills in honour of Dongan. Dongan landed 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 ...

on 10 August 1683, crossed

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...

, and passed through the small settlements in the eastern part of the island and he made his way to Fort James, arriving on 25 August. In October, Rev. Henry Selyns reported to the Amsterdam Classis, "...our new governor has at last arrived. His excellency is a person of knowledge refinement and modesty. I have had the pleasure of receiving a call from him and I have the privilege of calling on him whenever I desire." At the time of his appointment, the province was bankrupt and in a state of rebellion. Dongan was able to restore order and stability. On 14 October 1683, he convened the first-ever representative assembly in New York history at Fort James. The

New York General Assembly The General Assembly of New York, commonly known internationally as the New York General Assembly, and domestically simply as General Assembly, was the supreme legislative body of the Province of New York during its period of proprietal colonia ...

, under the wise supervision of Dongan, passed an act entitled "A Charter of Liberties". It decreed that the supreme legislative power under the Duke of York shall reside in a governor, council, and the people convened in general assembly; conferred upon the members of the assembly rights and privileges making them a body coequal to and independent of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised t ...

; established town, county, and general courts of justice; solemnly proclaimed the right of religious liberty; and passed acts enunciating certain constitutional liberties, e.g. taxes could be levied only by the people met in general assembly; right of suffrage; and no martial law or quartering of the soldiers without the consent of the inhabitants. Dongan soon incurred the ill will of

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

who was negotiating with the Iroquois for the purchase of the upper

Susquehanna Valley The Susquehanna Valley is a region of low-lying land that borders the Susquehanna River in the United States, U.S. states of New York (state), New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. The valley consists of areas that lie along the main branch o ...

. Dongan went to Albany, and declared that the sale would be "prejudicial to His Highness's interests". The Cayugas sold the property to New York with the consent of the

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans *Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people *Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been t ...

. Years later, when back in England and in favour at the Court of James II, Penn would use his influence to prejudice the king against Dongan. Dongan Statue

On 22 July 1686 Governor Dongan granted Albany a municipal charter. Almost identical in form to the charter awarded to New York City just three months earlier, the Albany charter was the result of negotiations conducted between royal officials and Robert Livingston the Elder and

Pieter Schuyler Pieter Schuyler (17 September 1657 – 19 February 1724) was the first mayor of Albany, New York. A long-serving member of the executive council of the Province of New York, he acted as governor of the Province of New York on three occasions ...

. The charter incorporated the city of Albany, establishing a separate municipal entity in the midst of the Van Rensselaer Manor. Dongan established the boundary lines of the province by settling disputes with

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

on the East, with the French Governor of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

on the North, and with

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

on the South, thus marking out the present limits of New York State. Regarding Canada, it was necessary to secure the friendship of the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

. This became the subject of a deal of correspondence between Dongan and his counterpart to the north. "... rtainly our rum doth as little hurt as your brandy and in the opinion of Christians is much more wholesome." Dongan journeyed to the Iroquois nation, and convened assembly with them, garnering support, and approval. He was called "corlur" by the Iroquois Chief, a term from the Irish language "Coṁairleoir," used in Parliamentary deference to the Speaker, and meaning "advisor." James later consolidated the colonial governments of New York,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and the

United Colonies of New England The United Colonies of New England, commonly known as the New England Confederation, was a confederal alliance of the New England colonies of Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Saybrook (Connecticut), and New Haven formed in May 1643. Its primary pur ...

into 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 ...

and appointed

, the former Governor-General of New York, as Governor-General. Dongan transferred his governorship back to Andros on 11 August 1688. He retired to his Staten Island estate, where he remained until July 1689. During

Leisler's Rebellion Leisler's Rebellion was an uprising in late-17th century colonial New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Coloni ...

, fearing for his safety, he fled back to England. Dongan was to execute

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

s establishing several towns throughout New York State including the eastern

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

communities of East Hampton and

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. These grants, called the ''Dongan Patents, ''set up Town Trustees as the governing bodies with a mission of managing

common land Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect Wood fuel, wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...

for common good. The Dongan Patents still hold force of law and have been upheld by the

US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...

with the Trustees—rather than town boards, city councils or even the State Legislature—still managing much of the common land in the state. In 1698, his brother

William Dongan, 1st Earl of Limerick William Dongan, 1st Earl of Limerick (1630 – 1698) was an Irish Jacobite soldier and peer. Dongan was the second son of Sir John Dongan, 2nd Baronet and Mary Talbot, daughter of Sir William Talbot, 1st Baronet. His older brother, Sir Walter ...

, died without issue. Because of his service to

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

as a military officer and as provincial governor, he was granted his brother's title in the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...

and a portion of his brother's forfeited estates by a special

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

for his relief. In 1709, Lord Limerick sold his 2,300-acre property at Celbridge to

William Conolly William Conolly (9 April 1662 – 30 October 1729), also known as Speaker Conolly, was an Irish politician, Commissioner of Revenue, lawyer and landowner. Career William Conolly was born the son of an inn-keeper, Patrick Conolly, in Ballysh ...

Death

He lived in London for the last years of his life and died on 14 December 1715 at the age of 81. He was buried in

Old St. Pancras St Pancras Old Church is a Church of England parish church in Somers Town, Central London. It is dedicated to the Roman martyr Saint Pancras, and is believed by many to be one of the oldest sites of Christian worship in England. The church ...

churchyard,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

.Wauchope, Piers. "Dongan, Thomas, second earl of Limerick (1634–1715)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 6 June 2014
/ref>

References

* – L to M * *Ref. John Dongan of Dublin, An Elizabethan Gentleman And His Family. Baltimore; Gateway Press, 1996. Pages 141 – 151 reference Gov. Thomas Dongan.

External links

''Thomas Dongan in 'Miscellaneous Limerick People' file at Limerick City Library, Ireland''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Limerick, Thomas Dongan, 2nd Earl Of Governors of the Province of New York People from Celbridge People from Staten Island Politicians from County Kildare 1634 births 1715 deaths Kingdom of Ireland emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies Irish colonial officials Irish soldiers Soldiers of the Tangier Garrison Members of the Irish House of Lords Earls of Limerick