Thomas Savage (1608 – 14 February 1682) was a soldier and merchant in

colonial New England The New England Colonies of British America included Connecticut Colony, the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth Colony, and the Province of New Hampshire, as well as a few smaller short-lived colon ...

who attained the rank of major during

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...

Life

Born in

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, he was son of William Savage, a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

. Thomas was apprenticed to the

Merchant Taylors Company ] The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors is one of the 110 Livery company, livery companies of the City of London. The Company, originally known as the ''Guild and Fraternity of St John the Baptist in the City of London'', was founded prio ...

of London on 9 January 1621. He immigrants to Province of Massachusetts Bay, Massachusetts with Sir Henry Vane aboard the ''Planter'' in 1635. He was admitted a freeman of

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 ...

in 1636. The next year he took the side of his mother-in-law,

Anne Hutchinson Anne Hutchinson (née Marbury; July 1591 – August 1643) was a Puritan spiritual advisor, religious reformer, and an important participant in the Antinomian Controversy which shook the infant Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1636 to 1638. Her ...

, in the controversy that her teaching excited. He was compelled in consequence to leave the colony, and with

William Coddington William Coddington (c. 1601 – 1 November 1678) was an early magistrate of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and later of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He served as the judge of Portsmouth and Newport, governor of Portsmouth ...

he and many others founded the settlement of

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

in 1638. Savage was a signer of the

Portsmouth Compact The Portsmouth Compact was a document signed on March 7, 1638 that established the settlement of Portsmouth, which is now a town in the state of Rhode Island. It was the first document in American history that severed both political and religious ...

. After living there for some time he was permitted to return to Boston.

Military career

He became a member of the Artillery Company of Massachusetts in 1637. In 1639 he was elected as the company's second sergeant and in 1640 he became its first sergeant. In 1641 he was elected for a one year term as lieutenant of the Military Company of Massachusetts. He was reelected as lieutenant in 1645 and was elected as captain of the Company in 1651. He was also re-elected as captain in 1659, 1668, 1675 and 1680. He was probably the only person to be elected as captain of the Company five times. Savage served in the colonial militia during

, and transported captured Native Americans into Boston for the purpose of being sold into slavery in Europe.Peterson, Mark. ''The City-State of Boston''. Princeton University Press, 2019, pp. 132-133

Political career

On 12 March 1654 he and Captain Thomas Clarke were chosen to represent Boston at the general court, of which he continued a member. He was elected

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the assembly in 1637, 1660, 1671, 1677, and 1678. After representing Boston for eight years, he became deputy for Hingham in 1663. In 1664 he, with many other leading citizens, dissented from the policy of the colony in refusing to recognise four commissioners sent by King Charles II to regulate its affairs, and in 1666 he and his friends embodied their views in a petition. In 1671 he was chosen deputy for

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andove ...

, and in 1675 commanded the forces of the state in the first expedition against

Metacomet Metacomet (1638 – August 12, 1676), also known as Pometacom, Metacom, and by his adopted English name King Philip,Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

to administer an oath to Sir John Leverett the governor, pledging him to execute the oath required by the act of trade. In 1680 he was elected "assistant" or

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

, and retained the office until his death on 14 February 1682. Upon his death his estate had a net value of over 2,500 pounds.

Family

Savage was twice married; first, in 1637, to Faith, daughter of

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

and

. By her he had three sons and two daughters. She died on 20 February 1652. On 15 September he married Mary, daughter of the Rev. Zechariah Symmes of Charlestown, Boston, Charlestown, by whom he had eight sons and three daughters. She survived him, and afterwards married Anthony Stoddard.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Savage, Thomas 1608 births 1682 deaths People from Taunton Businesspeople from Boston People from colonial Boston People of colonial Massachusetts People of colonial Rhode Island King Philip's War

Life

Military career

Political career

Family

See also

References