William Gooch

Background

Sir William Gooch was born on 21 October 1681, at Yarmouth, England. He was the son of Thomas Gooch and his wife, Frances, the daughter of Thomas Lone of Worlingham, Suffolk.

Education

Gooch entered the English army at an early age and served with distinction under Marlborough in Europe, being present at the battle of Blenheim.

Career

Gooch assumed his duties as lieutenant-governor of Virginia on September 8, 1727, following the brief acting-governorship of Robert Carter. He was received with favor by the colonists and before long was awarded£300 by the Council from the quit-rents, and £500 by the House of Burgesses from the provincial revenues.

In 1740, Gooch raised four hundred men in Virginia to assist the British forces in their attack on Carthagena, New Grenada, on the northern coast of South America. Upon the unexpected death of Alexander Spotswood, appointed to the command of the battalions, Gooch assumed the command. He was seriously wounded in the campaign and also contracted the fever.

For the defense of the colonists against Indians on the frontier, he negotiated with the Six Nations the Treaty of Lancaster (July 1744), which insured a protection for colonists on the northern and western borders of the colony.

On November 4, 1746, Gooch was created a baronet and in the following year was promoted majorgeneral in the British army. At his death his brotherThomas, Bishop of Ely, succeeded to the baronetcy, though the Bishop was the elder brother. When the Governor resigned his office in 1749, because of declining health, it was to the regret of the colonists.

He died in Bath, England, and was buried in Yarmouth, survived by his wife.

Achievements

• Gooch was one of Virginia's ablest and most successful chief executives. The most significant legislation Gooch engineered was the Tobacco Inspection Act of 1730, which created a network of warehouses that graded the quality of the harvest and destroyed low-quality product. The program, combined with market forces, helped spur profitable harvests. Gooch's tenure coincided with a period of prosperity and population growth most associated today with large plantation houses. Gooch honored himself with the naming of Goochland County, Virginia in 1727. A residence hall at the College of William and Mary is also named in his honor.

Views

At the outset of his career, Gooch took a sincere interest in colonial affairs. When British merchants opposed the building of a lighthouse at Cape Henry, because of the tax on ships which would be imposed to pay for it, when they petitioned the Board of Trade for a repeal of the law imposing a tax on imported liquors and slaves, and again when they petitioned the same body for a law which would make land in the colonies liable for all debts, Gooch stanchly defended the colonists before the Board of Trade.

He was especially emphatic in urging the repeal of the act of Parliament prohibiting the importation of tobacco stripped from the stalk, since it involved shipping unnecessary but taxable bulk. For the convenience of the colonists, also, he urged the use of inspector’s notes on tobacco in warehouses as a form of currency.

When some of the planters objected to the law of 1730, requiring the inspection of tobacco and the destruction of “trash, ” he wrote A Dialogue Between Thomas Sweet-Scented, William Oronoco, Planters, both men of good Understanding, and Justice Love-Country, who can speak for himself.

It was a homely fable, setting forth in simple terms the economic benefits of a tobacco which would bring better prices and a higher value to inspector’s notes.

Gooch took a great interest in the state of the Church in Virginia. He reported regularly to the Bishop of the Diocese of London, who had jurisdiction of the Church in the American colonies, and urged upon the Assembly the passage of legislation for the promotion of religion and morality.

He gave careful thought to the character of the men whom he recommended to the Bishop for ordination. Though he deplored the prevalence of free-thinking in the colony, he was tolerant toward dissenting denominations.

He accompanied his letters to the Bishop with Barbados sweetmeats, Madeira wine, “much improved by passing through this hott Climate, ” and promises of Virginia “Hamms. ” Throughout his administration he enjoyed the good will and loyalty of the colonists, and was many times the subject of public expressions of regard by the legislature.

Personality

Gooch had been an able and energetic executive, whose force was always tempered by tact.

His only son, William, had died in Virginia. In her will the Lady Rebecca left to the College of William and Mary a large folio Bible, bound in four volumes, and a gilt sacrament cup, subsequently transferred to the Bruton Church.

Connections

Gooch's wife was Rebecca, the daughter of Robert Staunton, of Hampton, Middlesex, whose name, according to tradition, has been perpetuated in the town of Staunton, Virginia, established during her residence in the colony.

Father:

Thomas Gooch

Mother:

Frances Gooch

Brother:

Thomas Gooch

Wife:

Rebecca Staunton

Son:

William Gooch