Thomas Pownall's Legacy in the Colony of Massachusetts

On February 25, 1805, former Royal Governor Thomas Pownall died in Bath, England.  Pownall had proven to be arguably the most popular royal governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, winning the love and respect of the people.  He had been born to a family of moderate means and had chosen to seek his fortune in the colonies where he originally was an adventurer and explorer in the western frontiers.  He was able to climb up the ladder of politics when he became lieutenant governor of New Jersey followed by governor of Massachusetts in 1757.

Governor Pownall was not a governor who constantly reminded the people of his status above them, instead he tried very hard to be one of them.  At the end of the day he would come down from his governor’s chair and pretend he was just any other man.  Even sometimes going on mini vacations where he would disguise himself, pretend he wasn’t governor, and go to the western frontiers where he would stay over at the home of a settler.  During the course of his vacations the inevitable topic of politics would come up and this would allow him to gain valuable feedback about how the people in the western frontier felt that his administration was going.  When returning to Boston, Pownall could use that valuable feedback to improve his administration.

Due to the fact that Pownall had started his career in the colonies as more of an explorer and adventurer, he also was a politician who was willing to “get in the trenches” with the men who were fighting a major war effort against the French in support of their mother country in the French and Indian War.  Although his superiors would not allow Pownall to participate in any of the major battles of the war, they did allow him to lead an expedition to Maine where he built a fort on the western frontier to protect the area from French and Native American raids.  While there, he also marked the northern most boundary of British territory with a lead plate before returning to Boston.

Back in Boston, Pownall also helped the rather large merchant and seafaring community by protecting the crews of merchants’ ships from impressment into British naval service, and when a fire broke out in the town that left a third of the adult male population destitute, Pownall opened up his office as a center of relief for those who had  lost their businesses and homes.  He also was someone who was willing to entertain the people by throwing lavish dinner and dance parties at the governor’s house.  Despite the parties and socialization, Pownall still considered himself a lonely governor, being in his thirties and still a bachelor.  This led to some criticisms of him from his political enemies who disliked his informal style of allowing women into the governor’s office (which was supposed to be exclusive only to the governor and his advisors).  It would not be until after Pownall resigned his position as governor, and returned to England in 1760, that he would find a wife.

As Pownall left Massachusetts, he promised the colonists that he would always serve the colony no matter how far away he was.  This was a promise that he planned to hold to.  In 1767, Pownall entered Parliament at the same time that the Townshend Acts went into effect in the colonies.  These acts, taxing a variety of items, caused merchant boycotts in Boston called the non-importation agreements against importing taxed goods, and also caused the riots and political unrest that we normally associate with the American Revolution today.  In response to the colonists’ dismay, Pownall argued to Parliament that they should repeal the taxes or allow their thirteen North American colonies to have their independence peacefully.  This argument caused Pownall to become the leading advocate in Parliament for American Independence.  He wrote to the Patriots of Massachusetts encouraging their cause but discouraging violent actions which would only hurt their arguments.  He also wrote to the royal governors who succeeded him offering them advice which was not well received.  After the Revolution, Pownall asked for an honorary commission in the Massachusetts militia so that he might go to other countries and advertise the new country of the United States.  He even entertained hopes of returning to the colonies one day, and continued his work encouraging the support of independence for the Spanish colonies in Central America after the thirteen North American colonies were successful in winning their own.

As Pownall grew older, however, his health began to decline and he developed rather painful episodes of gout which prevented him from being able to travel or walk.  During these times, he would retire to Bath where he would seek the long legendary curative properties of the area’s water.  Pownall was on one of his vacations to Bath where he was rewriting one of his essays on English antiquities when he died.  He was buried at Walcott Church in a plain coffin carried by 8 men who, according to Pownall’s instructions, were each gifted with a new set of clothes.

Pownall’s governorship had gained him respect and honor amongst the people of Massachusetts which is important to note.  As the next two royal governors came into the colony, the colonists now had an expectation of what values and ideals a royal governor should embody.  Pownall exhibited all those values and ideals, and in the process, became a role model governor that was a very tough act to follow.  Pownall left behind some pretty big shoes, and the governors after him would be hard pressed to fill them.  

When Francis Bernard first became Governor of Massachusetts following Pownall, he witnessed the harmony in which Pownall had left the colony and called the colony within his own private journals, “Pownall’s Paradise,” in honor of everything that Pownall had done for the colony and the state in which he had left it.  Pownall’s Paradise would not last long, however, because unpopular taxes from Parliament following the French and Indian War were soon to arrive causing upheaval and resentment.  As representatives of King George III and Parliament, it was up to Francis Bernard and the other royal governors after him to enforce the new and unpopular taxes regardless of their own personal beliefs and opinions of them, setting the stage for a long and difficult struggle.

The foundation of Fort Pownall built by Governor Pownall during the French and Indian War and during his expedition to the western frontier of Maine to oversee and better protect frontier land and to mark the northern most boundary of British territory. 

The foundation of Fort Pownall built by Governor Pownall during the French and Indian War and during his expedition to the western frontier of Maine to oversee and better protect frontier land and to mark the northern most boundary of British territory. 

A sketch of the original layout of Fort Pownall.

Governor Hutchinson's Passion

On this day in history, in 1754, Governor Thomas Hutchinson's youngest child was born. The child was a daughter. She was one of five children out of twelve to survive into adulthood. She was named after her mother, Governor Thomas Hutchinson's wife, Margaret Sanford Hutchinson. Margaret Sanford and Thomas Hutchinson had been more than just a political match, they also were a love match. Therefore, when Margaret entered into complications from childbirth, Hutchinson was thrown into a state of despair. Margaret would die a couple weeks after the birth of her namesake. Margaret and Thomas Hutchinson had been married for 20 years, and Hutchinson was so distressed that he would never even think of marrying another woman again. This was rare for the time period, as usually the custom was to try and remarry. Hutchinson would choose to remain a widower for the rest of his life. Hutchinson would also continue honoring and remembering his wife through annual dinners every year on the anniversary of his wedding to her, inviting his family and her relatives to dine with him commenting that he was honoring what was the happiest day of his life.

From that point forward, Hutchinson began to throw himself into his work serving Massachusetts as a politician most devotedly in an attempt to distract himself from his distress. He also preoccupied his time with his passion for gardening and with taking care of his family. It soon became clear that the young Margaret, or Peggy as she was called for short, was Hutchinson's favorite child, being his wife's namesake, and as she reminded him of the wife he had lost. Despite this he never lost sight of remaining an affectionate father to all his children. For example, his ledgers recording all his economic transactions, weekly recorded the ordering of cakes for his eldest daughter Sarah, who he called Sallie as a pet name, and would make efforts to remove his entire family to safety whenever there was political upheaval in Boston that might threaten their safety. He often mentioned, in letters, his fears, and hopes for his family during times of political crises, and actions he had taken to protect them.

It is partially due to this love and protection of his family, that Governor Hutchinson at 62-years-old would finally decide that the political turmoil in Boston had made things too dangerous. Dangerous enough to feed into his decision to move his family to Great Britain, despite the fact that the idea distressed him to death. While in exile in England, he found himself entirely homesick for Massachusetts, which had been his home since birth. He could not grow accustomed to the culture of the mother country and also was disgusted by the corruption of the British aristocracy which he finally was able to see first hand. He spent his days in England at home, pretending to be living in a New England run culture and society.

In 1779, matters were made worse when the Province of Massachusetts declared that Governor Hutchinson was never allowed to set foot on Massachusetts soil again. Hutchinson had spent his life not only serving Massachusetts most passionately as a politician, but on a personal level as well. He not only was a born and raised Bostonian, but also a fifth generation Bostonian who descended directly from Anne Hutchinson. Anne is best known for being excommunicated by the colony, and sent to Rhode Island where she was fundamental in the founding of part of the Aquidneck. As a result of his love and passion for his homeland, Hutchinson had undertaken the task of making himself a historian of it. Even writing a three volume history of the colony itself. To suddenly now be permanently exiled with no hope of returning, at a time of feeling homesick, would undoubtedly have served as an emotional blow to a man who was already in low spirits.

In addition to this in 1777, Thomas Hutchinson's favorite daughter, his wife's namesake, died of tuberculosis. This devastated Hutchinson, much like the loss of his wife had only 23 years before. As Hutchinson's favorite daughter, Peggy had become Hutchinson's travel companion and he had trouble coping with the loss.

In 1780, Hutchinson's youngest son, William (nick named Billy), died of a similar affliction as well. Even though both father and son were living in the same household, the servants decided to delay informing the father of Billy's death until the father had at least finished his morning breakfast. At some point during the morning, however, Hutchinson realized something was amiss and decided to see his son. He found the servants guarding the door to his son's room, and upon entering, discovered his son's death. Only a couple months later, all of this emotional stress caused Hutchinson's own state of mind and health to begin to decline, and in June of 1780 he would suffer a stroke and die.

Hutchinson was a governor whose only crime was that he cared too much. He harbored an extreme love and passion for his home colony, for his wife, and for his children. Everything he did for Massachusetts, even if it went against the people's wishes, was in his own mind, what was best for the continual health of the people and colony that he so loved. It is because of his passion that he took his job serving Massachusetts to heart. So on this Valentine's Day we remember that love and passion come in many, and sometimes surprising, forms.

                               Sarah Hutchinson who was nick named Sallie by her father.

Cover page of Thomas Hutchinson's "History of the Province of Massachusetts-Bay." His three volume history of the province serves as an example of his love and devotion to the colony of Massachusetts.

                              Thomas Hutchinson, last civilian royal governor of Massachusetts