Waitstill Winthrop (27 February 1642 – 7 November 1717)[1] was a colonial magistrate, military officer, and politician of New England.
Early life
Winthrop was born on 27 February 1642 in Boston, the capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was named Waitstill at birth, but preferred the shortened name "Wait" during his lifetime. He was the second son born to Elizabeth (née Reade) Winthrop (1615–1672) and John Winthrop the Younger, an early governor of the Connecticut Colony. His elder brother was Fitz-John Winthrop, who served as major-general in the army. He was appointed as governor of Connecticut, serving from 1696 until his death in 1707.[2]
Winthrop was the grandson of John Winthrop, a founding governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.[2]
During King Philip's War in the 1670s and King William's War in the 1690s, he led the Massachusetts provincial militia. Politically populist, he worked against royal governors, especially Joseph Dudley, and sought the restoration of the first Massachusetts charter.
When the provincial courts were organized under the new charter of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, Winthrop was one of the initial appointees as an associate justice of the Superior Court of Judicature, as the province's highest court was known.
He held this position until the death of chief justice and acting governor William Stoughton, at which time the Governor's Council appointed him to be chief justice. Political forces allied to him were preparing to travel to London to lobby on his behalf for the position of governor when it was learned that Joseph Dudley had received the appointment. Winthrop then tendered his resignation as chief justice. In 1708, Dudley reappointed him to be chief justice, a position he held until his death in 1717.
Winthrop was also active in other pursuits. When not working at his public duties, he devoted himself to agriculture and the study of medicine, often providing assistance in these arts to his neighbors.
Personal life
Winthrop was twice married. His first marriage was to Mary Browne (1656–1690), the daughter of William Browne.[1] Before her death at the age of thirty-four in 1690, they were the parents of:[3]
John Winthrop (1681–1747), who married Ann Dudley, daughter of Joseph Dudley and granddaughter of Thomas Dudley, both governors of Massachusetts. John graduated from Harvard in 1700, served for some time as a magistrate of Connecticut, and was afterward a fellow of the Royal Society of London, to whose Transactions he was a contributor, and one of whose volumes was dedicated to him.[1]
Elizabeth Winthrop (1683–1683), who died in infancy.[3]
Ann Winthrop (1686–1746), who married Thomas Lechmere.[3][4]
Joseph Winthrop (1689–1693), who died in childhood.[3]
On 13 November 1707, Winthrop married for the second time to Katherine (née Brattle) Eyre (1664–1725), the widow of John Eyre and daughter of Captain Thomas Brattle.[5] Her brother was Thomas Brattle, a merchant who served as treasurer of Harvard College and is known for his involvement in the Salem Witch Trials.[1]