John Colman was born on January 03, 1670 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. He was the son of William and Elizabeth Colman of London, and the grandson of Matthew and Grace of Satterly, Suffolk, England. The father, William, migrated to the Bay Colony in 1671 in the ship Arabella.
Career
John early engaged in mercantile pursuits and apparently was a merchant of some standing, though not preeminent. In 1698 Colman was one of a group of twenty to whom Thomas Brattle conveyed Brattle’s Close, upon which was built in 1699 the Brattle Street Church. He was also a member of the committee of proprietors who, in the same year, invited his brother, Benjamin Colman, to become their minister. He was active in town affairs, served as selectman, as a member of various town committees, and was justice of the peace.
In the second decade of the century the currency disorder in Massachusetts overshadowed all other public questions, with sharp division of opinion as to methods of reform. Colman identified himself with those who would permit private banks to be organized with power to issue and loan bills on real-estate mortgages. In 1714 he was one of the eight signers of A Vindication of the Bank of Credit Projected in Boston from the Aspersions of Paul Dudley, Esqr. in a Letter by him Directed to John Burril, Esqr. , Late Speaker to the House of Representatives for the Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England.
In 1720 he published The Distressed State of the Town of Boston, etc. Considered In a Letter from a Gentleman in the Town, to his Friend in the Countrey. He recognized the evils of a fluctuating currency, but opposed any severe restriction of credit. He favored a private bank, and if this were not feasible, the emission of bills of public credit for the construction of public works and encouragement of industries. In particular he criticized a recent law giving creditors the right to charge interest on book debts, and designed to break up the practise of trusting debtors for long periods of time. This pamphlet was advertised in the NewsLetter, April 1720. The Council of the province held that the pamphlet reflected upon the government and had a tendency to disturb the public peace. Colman was arrested and gave bonds. On July 5 his recognizance was discharged. This pamphlet provoked several replies.
Colman again entered the controversy in July 1720, with a second brochure, The Distressed State of the Town of Boston Once More Considered—With a Scheme for a Bank Laid Down; and Methods for Bringing in Silver Money Proposed. In it he recommended the establishment of a land bank open to partnership by all in the province who owned land; and that, on pledge of land or mortgage, notes be given equal to two-thirds of the land value, for which six per cent interest in notes be charged. The profits from the loans were to be devoted to the purchase of silver which in turn was to be held as a fund until it equaled the original value of the notes. This would be accomplished, it was estimated, in twenty years. The proposal, however, made no headway. In 1739 the plan of a land bank was revived.
Several hundred persons formed a partnership to issue notes to be loaned to the shareholders at three per cent interest and annual payment of one-twentieth of the principal, either in notes or commodities at fixed prices, and the project received the approval of the provincial legislature. It was quickly suppressed by the English government, but not until 150, 000 or more of notes had been issued. It is not clear how large a part Colman had in the administration of the bank. He was one of the partners, and his name was intimately associated with its brief career.
Achievements
Connections
On July 19, 1694, Colman was married by the Reverend Cotton Mather to Judith Hobbey, daughter of William Hobbey, a merchant, and sister of Sir Charles Hobbey.