Colonel John Montgomerie (died 1731) was colonial governor of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

from 1728 to 1731.

Life

Montgomerie was born in the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

Beith Beith is a small town in the Garnock Valley, North Ayrshire, Scotland approximately south-west of Glasgow. The town is situated on the crest of a hill and was known originally as the "''Hill o' Beith''" (hill of the birches) after its ''Court ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. His father,

Francis Montgomerie Francis Montgomerie (1645–c.1728) of Giffen Castle, Giffen, Ayr was a Scottish politician who sat in the Parliament of Scotland from 1689 to 1707 and in the British House of Commons from 1707 to 1710 . Life Montgomerie was the second son ...

, was a member of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...

under William III and

Mary II Mary II (30 April 166228 December 1694) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, co-reigning with her husband, William III & II, from 1689 until her death in 1694. Mary was the eldest daughter of James, Duke of York, and his first wife A ...

and Queen Anne, and lord of Castle Giffen in Beith. When John Montgomerie married, his father gave him the estate at

Hessilhead Hessilhead is in Beith, North Ayrshire, Scotland. Hessilhead used to be called Hazlehead or Hasslehead. The lands were part of the Lordship of Giffen, and the Barony of Hessilhead, within the Baillerie of Cunninghame and the Parish of Beith. ...

, which was auctioned off in 1722 to pay off accumulated debts. Montgomerie served in the

3rd Foot Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

, and was elected to Parliament for

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of ...

between 1710 and 1722. When George II ascended the throne in 1727 he rewarded Montgomerie for his service with the governorship of

and

, a position Montgomerie may have sought on account of his financial difficulties. During Montgomerie's term in New York he presided over the issuance of what became known as the Montgomerie Charter for

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. This served as the city's governing charter for more than a century, even though it was never formally approved by the crown. The city appropriated a sum of £1,000 at the times which may have served as a bribe to various colonial officials, including Montgomerie. His tenure in office saw the city's export exceed those 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 ...

and

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, which had until then been the major trade centers in the North American colonies. He also oversaw the final agreement of the borders between New York and the neighboring

Connecticut Colony The ''Connecticut Colony'' or ''Colony of Connecticut'', originally known as the Connecticut River Colony or simply the River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636 as a settl ...

. Montgomerie served as governor until 1 July 1731, when he died of an

epileptic seizure An epileptic seizure, informally known as a seizure, is a period of symptoms due to abnormally excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Outward effects vary from uncontrolled shaking movements involving much of the body with los ...

.New York Burning,

Jill Lepore Jill Lepore is an American historian and journalist. She is the David Woods Kemper '41 Professor of American History at Harvard University and a staff writer at '' The New Yorker'', where she has contributed since 2005. She writes about America ...

, p. 25 He was replaced on an acting basis by

Rip Van Dam Rip Van Dam ( – 10 June 1749) was the acting governor of the Province of New York from 1731 to 1732. As one of the leaders of the republican liberal (or "country") party, Van Dam confronted the subsequent royal governor William Cosby. Early l ...

in New York and

Lewis Morris Lewis Morris (April 8, 1726 – January 22, 1798) was an American Founding Father, landowner, and developer from Morrisania, New York, presently part of Bronx County. He signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Contin ...

in New Jersey, who served until his official replacement,

William Cosby Brigadier-General William Cosby (1690–1736) was an Irish soldier who served as the British colonial governor of New York from 1732 to 1736. During his short term, Cosby was portrayed as one of the most oppressive governors in the Thirteen Col ...

, arrived to assume the office.

Notes

References

* James Paterson
''History of the Counties of Ayr and Wigton'', Parts 1-2''New York: A Short History''''New York as an Eighteenth Century Municipality''''The Scottish Nation'', Volume 2

External links

Biography of William Burnet

New Jersey State Library The New Jersey State Library, based in Trenton, New Jersey, was established in 1796 to serve the information needs of New Jersey's Governor, Legislature and Judiciary. The State Library is also responsible to assist in the provision of library and ...

Usgennet.org The History of New York State, Book II, Chapter III, Part III.
Accessed 18 February 2006.
The Statistical Accounts of Scotland, Account of 1834-45 vol.5 p.583 : Beith, Ayrshire
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomerie, John Year of birth missing 1731 deaths Scots Guards officers Governors of the Province of New York Colonial governors of New Jersey Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 People from Beith

Life

See also

Notes

References

External links