John Leverett
Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
In office 1673 – 1679
Preceded by	Richard Bellingham
Succeeded by	Simon Bradstreet
Born	1616 Boston, Lincolnshire, England
Died	March 16, 1679

John Leverett (1616 – March 16, 1679) was a colonial magistrate, merchant, soldier and governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Political career 3 Death and legacy 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Early life

John Leverett was born, perhaps, in Boston, Lincolnshire where he is thought to have been educated at Boston Grammar School before emigrating to Boston, Massachusetts with his father in 1633, where he was educated at the Boston Latin School.

Leverett married Hannah Hudson in 1639, but she died in 1643.^[1] In 1640 he was admitted as freeman to the Massachusetts colony and joined the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company that same year.

Though he was enjoying considerable commercial success in the colonies, he returned to England in 1644 to fight for Cromwell in the English Civil War. He evidently earned great distinction in the future Lord Protector's service, and it is said that he even befriended him. He married in 1645 to Sarah Sedgwick, daughter of Major General Robert Sedgwick, an early organizer of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, and the couple eventually had 12 children.

[edit] Political career

In 1648, Leverett returned to Massachusetts, where he became one of the leading men of the colony. In 1651 he was chosen to the Boston Board of Selectmen. From 1660 to 1665 he served as deligate to the Massachusetts General Court, during which time he was speaker of the house for two years. He served as deputy governor under governor Richard Bellingham in 1671-1673, and succeeded to his position after the governor's death. Leverett's tenure as governor is chiefly notable because of the occurrence of King Philip's War. From 1663 to 1673 he held the rank of major-general of the Massachusetts militia.

[edit] Death and legacy

John Leverett died in office on March 16, 1679, and was interred at the Granary Burying Grounds in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the grandfather John Leverett of the President of Harvard College of the same name.

[edit] References

1. ^ Bridgeman, Thomas (1856). The Pilgrims of Boston and their Descendants. New York: D. Appleton and Company. pp. 43-44. http://books.google.com/books?id=oPQWAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+pilgrims+of+boston. Retrieved 29 April, 2009. 

[edit] External links

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• official Massachusetts Governor biography

Preceded by Richard Bellingham

Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony 1673–1678

Succeeded by Simon Bradstreet