Jeremiah Basse (died 1725) was a
governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of both
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 ...
and
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. ...
. He became governor of West Jersey in 1697, and became governor of East Jersey in 1697.
Basse was not an effective governor, however, after
Andrew Hamilton returned to England in 1698, following an act of parliament which provided that "no other than a natural-born subject of England could serve in any public post of trust or profit." Basse was unable to effectively maintain a good administration during his term of governorship, so finally Hamilton was reappointed as the governor on 19 August 1699.
After being province secretary for
Edward Hyde, Lord Cornbury and entering the
Cornbury ring, he was convicted during the governorship of
John Lovelace for perjury.
Family history
Jeremiah Basse's mother was Mary Basse. Prior to her marriage to Jeremiah's father she was married to
John Barkstead
John Barkstead (died 1662) was an English major general and regicide.
Barkstead was a goldsmith in London; captain of parliamentary infantry under Colonel Venn; governor of Reading, 1645: commanded regiment at siege of Colchester; one of the kin ...
.
Jeremiah Basse was the half brother of John, Francis and Joshua Barkstead,
John Barkstead, the Barkstead's father was executed 1662, in london for regicide.
Jeremiah Basse also had a sister called Hester Basse. Hester married John Lofting 1659-1742 a merchant and manufacturer of engines.
Lofting, John (c.1659–1742), merchant and manufacturer of engines, was a native of the Netherlands, one of at least two brothers. He later recorded that he 'lived seven years at Amsterdam with one of the masters of the fire engines there, and is thoroughly acquainted with the methods practised in those parts in quenching of fires' (DNB). He came to England, obtaining grants of free denization in July 1686 and August 1688. At the time of his marriage, at St Nicholas Cole Abbey, London, on 3 May 1689, Lofting was described as a merchant, aged about thirty, and resident in the parish of St Thomas Apostle, London. His wife was Hester Bass of St Michael Queenhithe, London, aged nineteen, sister of Jeremiah Basse, future governor of New Jersey. In June 1689 Lofting enrolled in the Company of Free Shipwrights, paying quarterage until January 1699, thereby becoming a citizen of London.
In 1698 Lofting and Jeremiah Basse shipped goods to Perth Amboy, East New Jersey, in the Hester, a sloop owned by Basse. It discharged without calling at or paying New York customs dues, and the governor of New York seized the ship and sold it. Lofting and Basse appealed to parliament and took legal action, eventually receiving damages and costs of £1890, but not before Lofting was declared bankrupt in March 1700.
[Governor Bass v. The Earl of Bellomont, Governor of New York, JEREMIAH BASSE AND JOHN LOFTING Plts. RICHARD EARLE OF BELLAMONT Deft.2 In Banco Regis. Midds 10 May 1700.]
See also
*
List of governors of New Jersey
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basse, Jeremiah
Colonial governors of New Jersey
New Jersey Attorneys General
Governors of East New Jersey
Governors of West New Jersey
17th-century American people
Year of birth missing
1725 deaths