William Cosby was an Irish-born American soldier and statesman. He was the royal governor of Province of New York and New Jersey from 1732 to 1736.
Background
William Cosby was born about 1690 in Stradbally, Queen's County, known now as County Laois, Ireland. He was a member of an influential Irish family. His father was Alexander Cosby of Stradbally Hall and his mother, Elizabeth, who died in 1692, was a daughter of Henry L’Estrange.
Career
William Cosby became an officer in the British army.
He was one of the placemen who surrounded the Duke of Newcastle. In 1717, he was promoted to Colonel of the Royal Regiment of Ireland. Before coming to America he had served as governor of the Island of Minorca, but had incurred charges of extortion. Nevertheless, upon the death of Montgomerie in 1731, Cosby secured commissions as governor of New York and the Jerseys. Delaying, however, in order to lobby against the Sugar Act which was hurtful to his colonies, he did not arrive in New York until August 1, 1732.
Among his first acts were to appoint his son, “Billy, ” to a sinecure as secretary of the Jerseys and to send a live beaver to the Duchess of Newcastle. With the Assembly of New York he got on fairly well, securing an act for support for five years with additional reward for his services against the Sugar Act. He came into collision, however, with a group of provincial aristocrats of whom the leaders were Chief Justice Lewis Morris and James Alexander. These men foiled Cosby’s efforts to wrench from Rip Van Dam, president of the Council, one-half of the emoluments received for conducting the administration before his arrival, and they supported John Peter Zenger in establishing the New York Weekly Journal to assail Cosby. The Governor struck back in the famous libel suit but met humiliating defeat when Zenger was acquitted. About a year later Cosby died after a long illness.
As governor of the Jerseys he avoided serious trouble. He was the last governor of the united provinces, as after his death New Jersey was given a separate executive. Cosby’s correspondence shows him to have been devoid of statesmanship, seeking money and preferment. He was accused of violence and profanity, and ranks with Fletcher and Cornbury, among New York’s most unenlightened royal governors. His point of view appears in his letter to Newcastle: “I am sorry to inform your Grace, that ye example and spirit of the Boston people begins to spread among these colonys in a most prodigious manner. I had more trouble to manage these people than I could have imagined. "
Cosby was promoted to vice admiral on 29 September 1735, and to brigadier general on 30 November 1735, while serving as royal governor.
Cosby died of tuberculosis on 10 March 1736.
Achievements
Connections
In 1711, Cosby married Grace Montagu, a sister of the second earl of Halifax. They had five children. During Cosby’s regime in New York his daughter was wedded to Lord Augustus, son of the Duke of Grafton.