Samuel Jennings or Samuel Jenings was born in

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 ...

and died in Burlington, New Jersey, in 1708. Jennings and his family arrived in

West Jersey West Jersey and East Jersey were two distinct parts of the Province of New Jersey. The political division existed for 28 years, between 1674 and 1702. Determination of an exact location for a border between West Jersey and East Jersey was ofte ...

in September 1680. Governor Edward Byllynge in 1682 appointed Jennings to the position of deputy-governor of West Jersey. At the instigation 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 ...

, Jennings allowed himself to be popularly elected as governor, causing a falling-out with Byllynge, who believed this to be an illegal usurpation of his authority. In 1684, Byllynge removed him from his position as deputy. Jennings later became involved in the controversy started by George Keith and Thomas Budd, siding with the

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

. As a result, he was tried and convicted. In 1694, Jennings was sent to London for his six-day trial. He ably defended his position, and published ''The Case Stated'' while in London. After the late 1690s the government of East and

became increasingly dysfunctional. This ultimately resulted in the surrender by the Proprietors of

and those of

East Jersey The Province of East Jersey, along with the Province of West Jersey, between 1674 and 1702 in accordance with the Quintipartite Deed, were two distinct political divisions of the Province of New Jersey, which became the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

of the right of government to Queen Anne. Anne's government united the two colonies as the

Province of New Jersey The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1783. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherland but came under English rule after t ...

, a

royal colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Counci ...

, establishing a new system of government. This reorganization and the period leading up to it saw many New Jersey politicians jockeying for power and influence in the new government. By 1701 he was the Speaker of the West New Jersey General Free Assembly, and was being recommended as a potential member of the

New Jersey Provincial Council The New Jersey Provincial Council was the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature under colonial rule until it was replaced by the New Jersey Legislative Council under the New Jersey Constitution of 1776. History The Provincial Council was est ...

for the Western Division; he was appointed by

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 ...

on July 29, 1703. He remained on the council until his resignation in 1706.''Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey'', date: various (pre 1950) After leaving the council, Jennings was elected to the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

for the City of Burlington, and served as Speaker during 1707. He died in 1708.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Samuel Colonial governors of New Jersey Deputy Governors of West New Jersey Members of the New Jersey Provincial Council 1708 deaths Members of the New Jersey General Assembly Speakers of the New Jersey General Assembly English emigrants Year of birth unknown

See also

References