William Hathorne

1607 (age 74)

In 1630, with his wife Anne, Hathorne emigrated to America in John Winthrop's company, and settled in Dorchester. Six years later he removed to Salem, which was his home for the rest of his life. From 1634, when he first secured admission to the highly select circle of freemen of the Massachusetts Bay Company, to 1679, when he withdrew from active participation in public affairs. Although a merchant, Hathorne had a liking for officeholding, and for the influence and prestige which accompany a political career. In 1634 he was chosen to the board of ten selectmen of Dorchester, and in 1635 he became a deputy in the General Court. The next year he was one of the assessors in Dorchester. After his removal to Salem, he again became, 1637, a member of the General Court. In 1644, when for the first time the deputies met separately, Hathorne became speaker, a place which he held for six years. In spite of his active political life, he found time to acquire a military record. In May 1646 he became the captain of a militia company in Salem, and ten years later a major; he saw active service in King Philip's War. From 1662 to 1679 he was a member of the Board of Assistants, or Council. For four years, 1650-1653, he was one of the eight commissioners of the Confederacy of New England. On various occasions he was selected to serve on important commissions with other equally conspicuous political leaders of the colony. In 1646, he went with Governor Thomas Dudley and Daniel Denison to treat with D'Aulnay at St. Croix. In 1657 the General Court sent Denison, Bradstreet, and Hathorne to the eastern settlements - Kittery, York, and other places - for the purpose of bringing these communities under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. In 1666 Hathorne was one of the five principal citizens of Massachusetts ordered to England by Charles II for refusing to submit to the authority of the royal commissioners. In 1641, he, with some other members of the General Court, "were very earnest to have some certain penalty set upon lying, swearing, etc. ", and he sometimes made himself objectionable to his associates by his determined insistence upon his own interpretation of the colony's charter. Winthrop records a dispute in 1644, over the powers of the Board of Assistants when the General Court was not in session. Hathorne, so Winthrop declared, was "the principal man in all these agitations". Even so, in spite of a tendency to bigotry and arbitrariness, he was a man of superior ability. Hathorne was the progenitor of a notable family, which in the sixth generation produced Nathaniel Hawthorne.

William Hathorne

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Background

William Hathorne was born c. 1607 in Bray, England. He was the oldest son of William, a plain English yeoman, and Sara Hathorne.

Career

In 1630, with his wife Anne, Hathorne emigrated to America in John Winthrop's company, and settled in Dorchester. Six years later he removed to Salem, which was his home for the rest of his life.

From 1634, when he first secured admission to the highly select circle of freemen of the Massachusetts Bay Company, to 1679, when he withdrew from active participation in public affairs.

Although a merchant, Hathorne had a liking for officeholding, and for the influence and prestige which accompany a political career. In 1634 he was chosen to the board of ten selectmen of Dorchester, and in 1635 he became a deputy in the General Court. The next year he was one of the assessors in Dorchester.

After his removal to Salem, he again became, 1637, a member of the General Court. In 1644, when for the first time the deputies met separately, Hathorne became speaker, a place which he held for six years.

In spite of his active political life, he found time to acquire a military record. In May 1646 he became the captain of a militia company in Salem, and ten years later a major; he saw active service in King Philip's War. From 1662 to 1679 he was a member of the Board of Assistants, or Council. For four years, 1650-1653, he was one of the eight commissioners of the Confederacy of New England. On various occasions he was selected to serve on important commissions with other equally conspicuous political leaders of the colony.

In 1646, he went with Governor Thomas Dudley and Daniel Denison to treat with D'Aulnay at St. Croix. In 1657 the General Court sent Denison, Bradstreet, and Hathorne to the eastern settlements - Kittery, York, and other places - for the purpose of bringing these communities under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts.

In 1666 Hathorne was one of the five principal citizens of Massachusetts ordered to England by Charles II for refusing to submit to the authority of the royal commissioners.

In 1641, he, with some other members of the General Court, "were very earnest to have some certain penalty set upon lying, swearing, etc. ", and he sometimes made himself objectionable to his associates by his determined insistence upon his own interpretation of the colony's charter.

Winthrop records a dispute in 1644, over the powers of the Board of Assistants when the General Court was not in session. Hathorne, so Winthrop declared, was "the principal man in all these agitations". Even so, in spite of a tendency to bigotry and arbitrariness, he was a man of superior ability.

Hathorne was the progenitor of a notable family, which in the sixth generation produced Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Achievements

William Hathorne was one of the most able, energetic and widely influential men in early New England, and held a prominent place in the colony. One writer ranked him, next to Endicott, the most important person in the early history of Salem.

Religion

Hathorne was a reflection of the Puritan society in which he lived. Puritans came to Massachusetts to obtain religious freedom for themselves, but had no particular interest in becoming a haven for other faiths. The laws were harsh, with punishments that included fines, deprivation of property, banishment or imprisonment. For example, Hathorne had Quakers whipped in the streets of Salem.

Politics

Hathorne was a zealous advocate of the personal rights of freemen against royal emissaries and agents.

Personality

Like some of his associates, Hathorne seems to have been a severe moralist.

Quotes from others about the person

Johnson, in his Wonder-Working Providence, described him as "the godly Captaine William Hathorne, whom the Lord hath indued with a quick apprehension, strong memory, and rhetorick, volubillity of speech, which hath caused the people to make use of him often in publick service, especially when they have had to do with any foreign Government. "

Connections

Hathorne was married to Anne Smith and had at least eight children, one of which, Elizabeth, married Israel Porter and was the grandmother of Israel Putnam.

Hathorne was also the progenitor of a notable family, which in the sixth generation produced Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Father:: William Hathorne
Mother:: Sara Hathorne
Spouse:: Anne (Smith) Hathorne
Brother:: Robert Hathorne
Brother:: Edmund Hathorne
Brother:: Nathaniel Hathorne
Brother:: Gilbert Hathorne
Brother:: Robert Hawthorne
Brother:: John Hathorne
Sister:: Anne (Hathorne) Smith
Sister:: Joane (Hathorne) Lee
Sister:: Elizabeth (Hathorne) Davenport
Daughter:: Anna (Hathorne) Porter
Daughter:: Mary Hathorne
Daughter:: Elizabeth (Hathorne) Porter
Daughter:: Sarah (Hathorne) Coker
Son:: Nathaniel Hathorne
Son:: John Hathorne
Son:: Eleazer Hathorne
Son:: William Hathorne

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William Hathorne

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