Background
He was born in Edwardston, Suffolk, on the 12th of January (O. S. ) 1588, the son of Adam Winthrop of Groton Manor, and Anne (Browne) Winthrop.
(Excerpt from Winthrop's Journal, Vol. 2: History of New E...)
Excerpt from Winthrop's Journal, Vol. 2: History of New England, 1630-1649 For the opportunity to reproduce the title-page of the "Bay Psalm-Book" we are indebted to Mr. Wilberforce Eames of the Lenox Library. This book of psalms, translated by various of the Massachusetts clergy, chiefly by Richard Mather, Thomas Welde and John Eliot, was the first book issued from the Cambridge Press set up by Stephen Daye in 1639; indeed, it was the first book printed in America north of Mexico. It superseded the version of Sternhold and Hopkins hitherto used at the Bay. Plymouth continued as before to use the psalm-book of Henry Ainsworth. The "Bay Psalm-Book" is exceedingly rare; only four perfect copies are known, only ten copies in all. The second illustration is a facsimile of the first page of the memorable New England Confederation of 1643. It seems not to have been photographed before. Two manuscripts are in existence: one in the Connecticut State Library, the other in the office of the Register of Deeds for Plymouth County, at Plymouth. It is the former which, by the kind consent of the State Librarian, Mr. GeorgeS. Godard, is reproduced in this volume. The document, which is in a fine state of preservation, is a manuscript of four pages, each of about 16 by 13 inches in size, and bears date Plymouth, September 5, 1672. The last facsimile is of two pages from An Almanack for 1649, by Samuel Danforth, printed at Cambridge in 1649. The first almanac printed in the colonies was that for 1639, printed in that year by Stephen Daye, the second product of the Cambridge Press (the first was the freemen soath). No copy is known to be extant of any issue before 1646. All the earlier issues exist in single copies only; that here reproduced is preserved in the Lenox Library. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
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( there does not remain a document upon the beginnings in...)
there does not remain a document upon the beginnings in any part of the world, of such immense importance The New England Historical Register On April 8th, 1630, John Winthrop and his seven hundred fellow travelers began their voyage to start a new life in the wilderness of North America. Arriving on the eastern seaboard in June they eventually decided to base their Massachusetts Bay Colony around Boston, where Winthrop would build his house and aid in the building of their settlement. Over the course of the next ten years a further twenty-thousand immigrants arrived in New England and established themselves under the leadership of the colony. Despite the fact that these Puritans had escaped the religious persecution they had suffered in England, their lives in the Americas were frequently plagued with disease, crop failures and conflicts with the natives. Yet, the Massachusetts Bay Colony survived and thrived through the early seventeenth century. Winthrop, who became governor of the colony three times, records fascinating details of colonial life, from minor everyday moments through to the wider religious and political events that shaped their new world in the Americas. Winthrops Journal is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of New England and how the early settlers of America survived their first trials and tribulations. John Winthrop (12 January 1587 26 March 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and one of the leading figures in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England, following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the first large wave of immigrants from England in 1630 and served as governor for 12 of the colony's first 20 years. Winthrop kept a journal of his life and experiences, starting with the voyage across the Atlantic and continuing through his time in Massachusetts, originally written in three notebooks. The first two notebooks were published in 1790 by Noah Webster. The third notebook was long thought lost but was rediscovered in 1816, and the complete journals were published in 1825 and 1826 by James Savage as The History of New England from 16301649. By John Winthrop, Esq. First Governor of the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay.
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(The court of electioB swas at Boston, and Thomas Dudley, ...)
The court of electioB swas at Boston, and Thomas Dudley, Esq. was chosen governour. Soma trouble there had been in making way for his election, and it was obtained with some difficulty; for many of the elders laboured much in it, fearing lest the long continuance of one man in the place should bring it to be for life, and, in time, hereditary. Beside, this gentleman was a man of approved wisdom and godU ness, and of much good service to the country, and therefore it was his due to ||8hare|| in such honour and benefit as the country had to bestow, ilie elders, being met at Boston about this matter, sent some of their company to acquaint the old governour with their desire, and the reasons moving them, clearing themselves of all dislike of his government, and seriously professing their sincere affections and respect towards him, which he kindly and thankfully accepted, concurring with them in their motion, and expressing his unfeigned desire of more freedom, that he might a little intend his private occasions, wherein (they weU knew) how much he had lately suffered (for his bailiff, whom he trusted with managing his farm, had engaged him 2500 without his privity) in his outward estate. This they had heard of, and were much affected therewith, and all the country in general, and took course, (the elders agreeing upon it at that meeting,) that supply should be sent in from tiie several towns, by a voluntary contribution, for freeing of those engagements; and the court (having no money to bestow, and ||serve|| 1S ee A ppendix, I. 2. for a notice of this misfortune by the aathor inre oking his will. (Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.) About the Publisher Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology. Forgotten Books' Classic Reprint Series utilizes the
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(Excerpt from Winthrop's Journal, Vol. 1: "History of New ...)
Excerpt from Winthrop's Journal, Vol. 1: "History of New England," 1630-1649 While in this edition of Winthrop's Journal we have followed, as Dr. Hosmer explains in his Introduction, the text prepared by Savage, it has been thought Wise to add devices which will make the dates easier for the reader to follow; but these have, it is hoped, been given such a form that the reader will have no difficulty in distinguishing added words or figures from those belonging to the original text. Winthrop makes no division into chapters. In this edition the text has, for the reader's convenience, been broken by headings repre senting the years. These, however, in accordance with modern usage, have been set at the beginning of January, not at the date with which Winthrop began his year, the first of March. The dates set in the inner margins of the headlines to our pages have been arranged on the same plan. Early in 1635 Winthrop abandons in his text the Roman names of the months, substituting, in accordance with Puritan sentiment, a system of numbering, beginning with March as the first month. In this edition the more; familiar names of the months are inserted in italics. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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(The History of New England from 1630 to 1649 By John Win...)
The History of New England from 1630 to 1649 By John Winthrop Volume I Preface Early in the spring of 1816 was discovered, in the tower of the Old South church in Boston, the third volume of the History of New England, in the original of the Massachusetts Bay. When the precious book was presented to the Massachusetts Historical Society, at their next meeting, 25 April, the difficulty of transcribing it for the press seemed to appall several of the most competent members, whose engagement in more important duties afforded also a sufficient excuse for leaving such labour to be undertaken by any one, at any time, who could devote to it many weeks of leisure. The task appeared inviting to me. On the same evening the MS was taken, and the study of its chirography was begun, the next day, by the aid of one of the former MSS collated with the printed volume, usually called Winthrop's Journal. Of all the three MSS and of the published Journal, a sufficient account may be seen in 2 Hist. Coll. IV. 200. Before the collation of the former MS with the volume printed in 1790 had proceeded through many pages, the discovery of numerous important errours seemed to make a new edition of the earlier part of the History very desirable; and when a transcript of the newfound volume was completed, my resolution was fixed, that it should not be printed without a perfect revision in the Journal. Notes, explanatory, in some instances, of the text, illustrating, in some degree, the biography of many persons named in it, and referring to better accounts of others than I could furnish, were though necessary. Several hundred notes were prepared, and a careful collation of the whole printed volume, for the second time, with the original volumes of MS was finished on 2 June, 1819. Being then required to visit a foreign country, all my preparations were suspended until I returned. care, however, was taken to leave the corrected copy of the printed volume, with my copy of the third part, to be kept safely. Again called abroad in 1822, I so carefully disposed o my copy of the third volume, as to leave it in a forgotten place, which afforded me the gratification of making a new one, begun 8 December, 1823, and finished 30 March, 1824. This circumstance admonished me of the propriety of adopting early measures for guarding against farther accidents of that kind. Application was made, at the next session of the General court of this commonwealth, by the Historical society, for encouragement of the publication. In consequence of the liberal aid of the Legislature, the volume comes thus early before the publick. br>------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Windham Press is committed to bringing the lost cultural heritage of ages past into the 21st century through high-quality reproductions of original, classic printed works at affordable prices. This book has been carefully crafted to utilize the original images of antique books rather than error-prone OCR text. This also preserves the work of the original typesetters of these classics, unknown craftsmen who laid out the text, often by hand, of each and every page you will read. Their subtle art involving judgment and interaction with the text is in many ways superior and more human than the mechanical methods utilized today, and gave each book a unique, hand-crafted feel in its text that connected the reader organically to the art of bindery and book-making. We think these benefits are worth the occasional imperfection resulting from the age of these books at the time of scanning, and their vintage feel provides a connection to the past that goes beyond the mere words of the text.
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(This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)
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(This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 19...)
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1908 edition by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.
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(A classic statement of the Puritan dilemma.)
A classic statement of the Puritan dilemma.
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He was born in Edwardston, Suffolk, on the 12th of January (O. S. ) 1588, the son of Adam Winthrop of Groton Manor, and Anne (Browne) Winthrop.
In December 1602 he matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge, but he did not graduate.
The years after his brief course at the university were devoted to the practice of law, in which he achieved considerable success, being appointed, about 1623, an attorney in the Court of Wards and Liveries, and also being engaged in the drafting of parliamentary bills. Though his residence was at Groton Manor, much of his time was spent in London.
Meanwhile he passed through the deep spiritual experiences characteristic of Puritanism, and made wide acquaintance among the leaders of the Puritan party.
On the 26th of August 1629 he joined in the "Cambridge Agreement, " by which he, and his associates, pledged themselves to remove to New England, provided the government and patent of the Massachusetts colony should be removed thither.
On the 20th of October following he was chosen governor of the "Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, " and sailed in the "Arbella".
In March 1630, reaching Salem (Massachussets) on the 12th of June (O. S. ), accompanied by a large party of Puritan immigrants. After a brief sojourn in Charlestown, Winthrop and many of his immediate associates settled in Boston in the autumn of 1630.
He shared in the formation of a church at Charlestown (afterwards the First Church in Boston) on the 30th of July 1630, of which he was thenceforth a member. At Boston he erected a large house, and there he lived till his death on the 26th of March (O. S. ) 1649.
Winthrop's history in New England was very largely that of the Massachusetts colony, of which he was twelve times chosen governor by annual election, serving in 1629-1634, 1637-1640, in 1642-1644, and in 1646-1649, and dying in office.
To the service of the colony he gave not merely unwearied devotion; but in its interests consumed strength and fortune. His own temper of mind was conservative and somewhat aristocratic, but he guided political development, often under circumstances of great difficulty, with singular fairness and conspicuous magnanimity.
He opposed the majority of his fellow-townsmen in the so-called "Antinomian controversy" of 1636- 1637, taking a strongly conservative attitude towards the questions in dispute.
He defended Massachusetts against threatened parliamentary interference once more in 1645-1646. That the colony successfully weathered its early perils was due more to Winthrop's skill and wisdom than to the services of any other of its citizens.
Winthrop's Journal, an invaluable record of early Massachusetts history, was printed in part in Hartford in 1790; the whole in Boston, edited by James Savage, as The History of New England from idjo to 1649, in 1825-1826, and again in 1853; and in New York, edited by James K. Hosmer, in 1908.
Between 1629 and his death in 1649, he served 19 annual terms as governor or lieutenant-governor and was a force of comparative moderation in the religiously conservative colony, clashing with the more conservative Thomas Dudley and the more liberal Roger Williams and Henry Vane. In 1634-1635 he was a leader in putting the colony in a state of defence against possible coercion by the English government. He was the first president of the Commissioners of the United Colonies of New England, organized in 1643.
( there does not remain a document upon the beginnings in...)
(The History of New England from 1630 to 1649 By John Win...)
(This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 19...)
(This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)
(The court of electioB swas at Boston, and Thomas Dudley, ...)
(A classic statement of the Puritan dilemma.)
(Excerpt from Winthrop's Journal, Vol. 2: History of New E...)
(Excerpt from Winthrop's Journal, Vol. 1: "History of New ...)
In March 1630, reaching Salem (Massachussets) on the 12th of June (O. S. ), accompanied by a large party of Puritan immigrants.
Winthrop documented his religious life, keeping a journal beginning 1605 in which he described his religious experiences and feelings. He was more intensely religious than his father, whose diaries dealt almost exclusively with secular matters.
John Winthrop wrote and delivered the lay sermon that became A Model of Christian Charity either before the 1630 crossing to North America or while en route. It described the ideas and plans to keep the Puritan society strong in faith, as well as the struggles that they would have to overcome in the New World.
Winthrop was a respected political figure, and his attitude toward governance seems authoritarian to modern sensibilities. He resisted attempts to widen voting and other civil rights beyond a narrow class of religiously approved individuals, opposed attempts to codify a body of laws that the colonial magistrates would be bound by, and also opposed unconstrained democracy, calling it "the meanest and worst of all forms of government".
Quotations:
In it, he described his failures to keep "divers vows", and sought to reform his failings by God's grace, praying that God would "give me a new heart, joy in his spirit; that he would dwell with me".
Winthrop's attitude toward the local Indian populations was generally one of civility and diplomacy. He described an early meeting with one local chief: "Chickatabot came with his [chiefs] and squaws, and presented the governor with a hogshead of Indian corn. After they had all dined, and had each a small cup of sack and beer, and the men tobacco, he sent away all his men and women (though the governor would have stayed them in regard of the rain and thunder. ) Himself and one squaw and one [chief] stayed all night; and being in English clothes, the governor set him at his own table, where he behaved himself as soberly . .. as an Englishman. The next day after dinner he returned home, the governor giving him cheese, and pease, and a mug, and other small things. "
He used the phrase "city upon a hill" (derived from the Bible's Sermon on the Mount) to characterize the colonists' endeavour as part of a special pact with God to create a holy community. He encouraged the colonists to "bear one another's burdens" and to view themselves as a "Company of Christ, bound together by Love. " He told the colonists to be stricter in their religious conformance than even the Church of England, and to make it their objective to establish a model state. If they did so, God would "make us a prayse and glory, that man shall say of succeeding plantacions: the lord make it like that of New England. "
His own temper of mind was conservative and somewhat aristocratic, but he guided political development, often under circumstances of great difficulty, with singular fairness and conspicuous magnanimity.
Winthrop was four times married. His first wife, to whom he was united on the 16th of April 1605, was Mary Forth, daughter of John Forth, of Great Stambridge, Essex. She bore him six children, of whom the eldest was John Winthrop, Jr. fo. tt). She was buried in Groton on the 26th of June 1615.
On the 6th of December 1615 he married Thomasine Cloplon, daughter of William Clopton of Castleins, near Groton. She died in childbirth about a year later.
He married, on the 29th of April 1618, Margaret Tyndal, daughter of Sir John Tyndal, of Great Maplested, Essex. She followed him to New England in 1631, bore him eight children, and died on the 14th of June 1647. Late in 1647 or early in 1648 he married Mrs Martha Coytmorc, widow of Thomas Coytmorc, who survived him, and by whom he had one son. His son John was the first governor of the Saybrook Colony, and later generations of his family continued to play an active role in New England politics well into the 19th century.
