George Partridge (February 8, 1740 – July 7, 1828) was an American teacher and politician. He represented

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

as a delegate to the Continental Congress and as a Representative in the

U.S. House The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

Background

Partridge was born in

Duxbury Duxbury (alternative older spelling: "Duxborough") is a historic seaside town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. A suburb located on the South Shore approximately to the southeast of Boston, the population was 16,090 at the 20 ...

in the

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

, and 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 ...

, graduating in 1762 and obtaining a master's degree in 1765. He studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

but never entered the active ministry. Instead, he became a school teacher in Kingston.

Political career

In 1774, Partridge was elected as a delegate to the

Massachusetts Provincial Congress The Massachusetts Provincial Congress (1774–1780) was a provisional government created in the Province of Massachusetts Bay early in the American Revolution. Based on the terms of the colonial charter, it exercised ''de facto'' control over the ...

, a provisional government formed to replace the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from th ...

which had been suspended by Royal Governor Gen.

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 th ...

. Of the first meeting of the Provincial Congress, Partridge wrote:

Gen. Gage said he had come over with his troops and proclamations to frighten us rebels into submission! We soon had his mandate, dissolving the General Court ... So we met
n Salem N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...
And in a short time we began to ask one another, What can we do? The worst must come to the worst! ... Shall we submit to Great Britain? ... Or shall we resist her encroachments to the point of the sword? ... The gulf is passed. We will have a Congress at
Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...
. We will send letters to all the colonies and urge them to send delegates to meet at
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
... We will go to our homes and wake everyone that sleeps!

Partridge then served with the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

from 1775 to 1779. In 1779 the legislature named him a delegate to the Continental Congress. He was reappointed continuously until 1785, although he missed the session held in

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

in 1783. He was a charter member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

in 1780. When the new government of the United States was installed Partridge was elected to the

First United States Congress The 1st United States Congress, comprising the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, met from March 4, 1789, to March 4, 1791, during the first two years of George Washington's presidency, first at Federal Hall in ...

as a representative of . He served from March 4, 1789 until he resigned on August 14, 1790. He was elected a member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society i ...

in 1814. Partridge died at home in Duxbury in 1828 and is buried in the Mayflower Cemetery there.

Partridge Academy

Upon his death, Partridge bequeathed $10,000 to form a private secondary school in

. This led to the establishment of Patridge Academy which was built on Tremont Street in Duxbury in 1844. The Academy served as the town's only secondary school until the construction of the first Duxbury High School in 1927. Partridge Academy burned in 1933 and its location is now occupied by the Duxbury Town Offices.''Duxbury ... Past & Present'' by Patrick T.J. Browne and Norman Forgit, (Duxbury: Duxbury Rural and Historical Society, 2009) pp. 4-5.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Partridge, George 1740 births 1828 deaths Continental Congressmen from Massachusetts 18th-century American politicians Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the American Antiquarian Society Harvard University alumni Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts People from Duxbury, Massachusetts Schoolteachers from Massachusetts People of colonial Massachusetts