William Browne (sometimes reported as Brown; February 27, 1737 – February 13, 1802) was a justice of the

Massachusetts Superior Court of Judicature The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the distinction of being the oldest continuously functi ...

(the highest court of the

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 ...

) from 1774 to 1775, and

Governor of Bermuda The Governor of Bermuda (fully the ''Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Somers Isles (alias the Islands of Bermuda)'') is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Bermuda. For the purposes of this a ...

from 1782 to 1788.

Early life

Born in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

on February 27, 1737, son of Samuel Browne Jr. and Catherine Winthrop. He was the part of the prominent Browne family of Salem, and through his mothers side, he was descended from four colonial governors, including

John Winthrop John Winthrop (January 12, 1587/88 – March 26, 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and one of the leading figures in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led t ...

. Browne attended

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

and was classmate and friend of

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

. He graduated in 1755 and was valedictorian of his class. Browne married Ruth Wanton, daughter of

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

Governor Jospeh Wanton. In 1762 he was appointed as collector of the port of Salem, a position he held until 1766 when he was dismissed for sympathizing with colonist on the

Sugar Act The Sugar Act 1764, also known as the American Revenue Act 1764 or the American Duties Act, was a revenue-raising act passed by the Parliament of Great Britain on 5 April 1764. The preamble to the act stated: "it is expedient that new provisi ...

. William Browne was also a colonel of the Essex County militia.

Massachusetts judge

William Browne was appointed a judge in Essex County from 1770, and later appointed to the Massachusetts high court in 1774, following the death of Nathaniel Ropes. He was appointed by Governor Thomas Hutchinson, though his appointment was approved during the tenure of Governor

Thomas Gage General Thomas Gage (10 March 1718/192 April 1787) was a British Army general officer and colonial official best known for his many years of service in North America, including his role as British commander-in-chief in the early days of the ...

American Revolution

Browne was forced out of office 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 ...

, in part for refusing to reject the heightened salary granted to judges by the Crown. He was also appointed a ''mandamus councilor'' to Governor Gage, a post he refused to resign, earning him widespread dislike in Massachusetts. This refusal led to the resignation of all of the officers of the Essex County militia regiment he led. In 1774 he and his family fled to

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 ...

.https://ee.stanford.edu/~gray/salemhouses.pdf

Seizure of property

Browne left Massachusetts for England in 1776, and his extensive family properties in Salem were later seized by the state in 1781. This included: his mansion in downtown Salem, along with his farmhouse on the Marblehead and Salem border, that would eventually become known as the

General Glover House The General Glover House, also known as the Glover Farmhouse, is a 1700s colonial house, and the final home to American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War hero John Glover (general), General John Glover, located on the Marblehead, Massachusetts, ...

in present day

Swampscott Swampscott () is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located up the coast from Boston in an area known as the North Shore. The population was 15,111 as of the 2020 United States Census. A former summer resort on Massachusetts Ba ...

, and the remnants of Browne Hall that he inherited in what is now present day Danvers. This site would later be mentioned by

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...

in his writing ''Browne's Folly''. Of all his properties, only his farmhouse is still standing.

Governor of Bermuda

William Browne was appointed

by the prime minister,

Lord North Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (13 April 17325 August 1792), better known by his courtesy title Lord North, which he used from 1752 to 1790, was 12th Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most o ...

, in 1781. Arriving in Bermuda in 1782, he immediately took steps to improve the island's defenses and raising militia companies heavily populated with exiled

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

s. Following American independence, he sought to establish trade with the United States and make Bermuda a

free port Free economic zones (FEZ), free economic territories (FETs) or free zones (FZ) are a class of special economic zone (SEZ) designated by the trade and commerce administrations of various countries. The term is used to designate areas in which com ...

.http://www.uelac.org/Loyalist-Trails/2008/Loyalist-Trails-2008.php?issue=200838 Browne eventually received some financial compensation from the British government for his family's losses.

Later life and death

William Browne would retire as governor at the age of 51, and move to

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

, England. He would leave

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

in better shape than he found it, having established commerce with the new

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

that would ensure the islands economic sustainability. Browne is noted as saying that “Bermuda is divided on domestic business, but it is united in its loyalty to His Majesty”. William Browne died in England on February 13, 1802.

remembered his friend and former classmate as "a solid, judicious character...They made him a judge of the superior court and that society made of him a refugee. A Tory I verily believe he never was."

References

1737 births 1802 deaths People from Salem, Massachusetts Harvard College alumni Justices of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Governors of Bermuda {{Massachusetts-state-judge-stub