Robert Quary (1644–1712) was a governor of the English proprietary

Province of Carolina The Province of Carolina was a colony of the Kingdom of England (1663–1707) and later the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1712) that existed in North America and the Caribbean from 1663 until the Carolinas were partitioned into North and Sou ...

during 1685. He would later serve on the provincial councils of several other colonies.

Career

In 1685, the

Lords proprietors A lord proprietor is a person granted a royal charter for the establishment and government of an English colony in the 17th century. The plural of the term is "lords proprietors" or "lords proprietary". Origin In the beginning of the Europe ...

commissioned Quary as Provincial Secretary, and on July 12 he was appointed Governor of Carolina, replacing Joseph West. In October Quary was replaced by former Governor Joseph Morton. Suspecting that Quary was using his position to encourage

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

, the proprietors removed him from all remaining positions in February 1688. Seeking a political comeback, Quary supported

Seth Sothel Seth Sothel (also spelled Sothell and Southwell, died 1694) was a colonial fraudulent American proprietor and governor of the Province of Carolina. He claimed he ruled the northern portion, Albemarle Sound (future North Carolina), in 1678 and the ...

's takeover of the Governor's office in 1690, and was appointed Chief Justice. In 1692, Sothel was forced from office, and Quary fled South Carolina for

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, where he came under the protection of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

Gov.

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, ...

. The Navigation Act of 1696 created

admiralty court Admiralty courts, also known as maritime courts, are courts exercising jurisdiction over all admiralty law, maritime contracts, torts, injuries, and offenses. United Kingdom England and Wales Scotland The Scottish court's earliest records, ...

s, and Quary was appointed Judge of the Admiralty for the southern colonies, from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

southward. In 1701, Robert Quary was commissioned as Surveyor General of the Customs for

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

and Pennsylvania; in 1703 this appointment was expanded to include all of

British America British America collectively refers to various British colonization of the Americas, colonies of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and its predecessors states in the Americas prior to the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War in 1 ...

. In this position he served simultaneously on the Provincial Councils of five colonies:

, New Jersey,

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

, Pennsylvania, and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. Robert Quary died in Virginia in October 1712.Preservation Society of Charleston, Alfred O. Halsey Map Preservation Project
''Robert Quary''
/ref>

References

External links

* Winfred Trexler Root
''The Relations of Pennsylvania with the British Government, 1696-1765''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quary, Robert 1644 births 1712 deaths Colonial governors of South Carolina Members of the New Jersey Provincial Council English emigrants