Sir Charles Hobby (1665–1715) was a

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

merchant and militia colonel, commanding a provincial regiment during the siege of Port Royal 1710, and serving as its acting governor in 1711. He was knighted in 1705.

Biography

Hobby was the son of a wealthy Boston merchant. He lived in Jamaica from before 1692 until 1700, when he returned to Boston beginning a commercial career. In 1705 he was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

ed for bravery during an

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

on the island. The real reason was, according to Thomas Hutchinson, a consideration of £800. Hobby's wealth and connections made him a captain of the

Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts is the oldest chartered military organization in North America and the third oldest chartered military organization in the world. A volunteer militia of the Commonwealth of Massachusett ...

and a colonel of a regiment of

Massachusetts militia This is a list of militia units of the Colony and later Commonwealth of Massachusetts. * Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts (1638) * Cogswell's Regiment of Militia (April 19, 1775) * Woodbridge's Regiment of Militia (April ...

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

in religion, Hobby was a

vestryman A vestryman is a member of his local church's vestry, or leading body.Anstice, Henry (1914). ''What Every Warden and Vestryman Should Know.'' Church literature press He is not a member of the clergy.Potter, Henry Codman (1890). ''The Offices of W ...

of the

King's Chapel King's Chapel is an American independent Christian unitarian congregation affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association that is "unitarian Christian in theology, Anglican in worship, and congregational in governance." It is housed in ...

, together with Governor

Joseph Dudley Joseph Dudley (September 23, 1647 – April 2, 1720) was a colonial administrator, a native of Roxbury in Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the son of one of its founders. He had a leading role in the administration of the Dominion of New England ...

and Captain Cyprian Southack. He was

churchwarden A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion, Lutheran Churches or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' mem ...

in 1713 and 1714. Hobby was nevertheless known as a

rake Rake may refer to: Common meanings * Rake (tool), a horticultural implement, a long-handled tool with tines * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (poker), the commission taken by the house when hosting a poker game ...

, and of a living that not recommended itself to the

puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

minds of Boston. At his death, he owned six

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

s. In Boston, Hobby was involved in a dispute with Governor Dudley. Taking his complaint to the authorities in London, he became the spokesman of different groups wishing to remove to governor from office. In spite of his high living, he was recommended both by

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and

Cotton Mather Cotton Mather (; February 12, 1663 – February 13, 1728) was a Puritan clergyman and author in colonial New England, who wrote extensively on theological, historical, and scientific subjects. After being educated at Harvard College, he join ...

. Staying in London until 1708, he made connections with

Francis Nicholson Lieutenant-General Francis Nicholson (12 November 1655 – ) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of South Carolina from 1721 to 1725. He previously was the Governor of Nova Scotia from 1712 to 1715, ...

and his former antagonist

Samuel Vetch Samuel Vetch (9 December 1668 – 30 April 1732) was a Scottish military officer and colonial administrator who thrice served as the governor of Nova Scotia between 1710 and 1717. He was a leading figure in the Darien scheme, a failed Scottish ...

. Dropping his case against Dudley, he returned to Boston. During the expedition to Port Royal in 1710, Hobby commanded Hobby's Regiment, a Massachusetts provincial regiment raised in Boston. During the absence of the governor, Samuel Vetch, during the Quebec Expedition 1711, Hobby was acting governor of Annapolis Royal. Returning to Boston the same year, Hobby continued his mercantile activities, investing in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

property and trade. He tried to wrest the governorship of that colony from Vetch; again proceeding to London, and yet again making peace with his antagonist, and was recommended as

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

. Hobby died in London in 1715, leaving a bankrupt estate.Olson 1969, pp. 289-270.

Notes

References

*Baylies, Francis (1830). ''An Historical Memoir of the Colony of New Plymouth.'' Boston. * Bouton, Nathaniel (1869). ''Documents and papers relating to the Province of New Hampshire. Vol. III.'' Manchester. * Dalton, Charles (1904). ''English Army Lists and Commissions Registers, 1661-1714. Vol. VI. 1707-1714.'' London: Eyre and Spotswoode. *Hutchinson, Thomas (1795). ''The History of Massachusetts.'' 3rd edition. London. * * Parry, William Stevens (1873). ''Papers Relating to the History of the Church in Massachusetts, 1676–1785.'' Boston. * Whitman, Zachariah G. (1842). ''The History of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company.'' Boston. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hobby, Charles 1665 births 1715 deaths Politicians from Boston Merchants from colonial Massachusetts Military personnel from colonial Massachusetts Military history of New England People of Queen Anne's War Governors of the Colony of Nova Scotia