Peleg Sanford (10 May 1639 – 1701) was an early governor of the

Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was an English colony on the eastern coast of America, founded in 1636 by Puritan minister Roger Williams after his exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It became a haven for religious d ...

, serving three consecutive terms from 1680 to 1683.

Biography

Family

Sanford was the son of John Sanford by his second wife, Bridget Hutchinson. His father had been the

cannoneer "Cannoneer" as a term for an artilleryman dates from the 16th century. the United States Army uses as titles for such a soldier: "13B" (thirteen bravo) M.O.S. (military occupational specialty code), a "cannon crewmember" or "cannoneer" for short ...

at the fort in

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 ...

in the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...

, but was forced to leave Boston in 1637 when Peleg's grandmother, the famed

Anne Hutchinson Anne Hutchinson (; July 1591 – August 1643) was an English-born religious figure who was an important participant in the Antinomian Controversy which shook the infant Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1636 to 1638. Her strong religious formal d ...

, was evicted for her religious views, having, in the words of

John Winthrop John Winthrop (January 12, 1588 – March 26, 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and a leading figure in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the fir ...

, "seduced and led into dangerous errors many of the people...in New England." With Anne Hutchinson and her followers, the Sanfords established themselves in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

in the

Rhode Island colony The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was an English colony on the eastern coast of America, founded in 1636 by Puritan minister Roger Williams after his exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It became a haven for religious ...

, and Peleg's father, John, was briefly the governor of the two towns of

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay * Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...

and Portsmouth, which were separated from

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in some religions * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

and

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

for a short time.

Militia service

Sanford grew up in Newport, and as a young man was appointed as the captain of the troop of horse there. Following the events of

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 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...

, he and Captain Goulding informed Captain Church of the hiding location of the Indian warrior

King Phillip King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by fi ...

, and the following day the Indian was found and killed. In 1677 he and Richard Bailey were chosen as agents to go to England to deal with incursions made by the neighboring colony of

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. In 1679, he was promoted to major in command of the Rhode Island Militia, and in 1687 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Political career

In 1667, at the age of 28, Sanford began his political life and became an assistant, serving for three years, then was deputy for seven years, after which he once again served as assistant for another two years, ending in 1679. He served as the major in command of the colony's militia from May 1679 to May 1680. In May 1680 he was elected governor of the colony to succeed Governor John Cranston who died in office in March, and served three consecutive terms, ending in 1683. During the period from 1686 to 1689 when the New England colonies had their charters revoked, and their governments fell under the

Dominion of New England The Dominion of New England in America (1686–1689) was a short-lived administrative union of English colonies covering all of New England and the Mid-Atlantic Colonies, with the exception of the Delaware Colony and the Province of Pennsylvani ...

, Sanford served as a member on the council of Sir

Edmund Andros Sir Edmund Andros (6 December 1637 – 24 February 1714; also spelled ''Edmond'') was an English colonial administrator in British America. He was the governor of the Dominion of New England during most of its three-year existence. At other ...

, the governor of the dominion. Sanford wrote his will in 1701, and it was proved on 1 September of that year.

Personal life

With his first wife, Mary Brenton, Sanford had one child who died in infancy. In 1674, Sanford married Mary Coddington (1654–1693), with whom he had six children. Mary was the daughter of governor

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 in that colony, govern ...

. His granddaughter, Margaret Sanford, married

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Governor Thomas Hutchinson, a great-great-grandson of

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

and

. Sanford was succeeded as governor by his brother-in-law, William Coddington Jr.

References

Bibliography

External links

Chronological list of Rhode Island leaders
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanford, Peleg 1639 births 1701 deaths Colonial governors of Rhode Island Politicians from Newport, Rhode Island