DUDLEY, Joseph.

[Manuscript Document Signed]. Appointment of Francis Wainwright

Item #81951

(QUEEN ANNE'S WAR). DUDLEY, Joseph. [Manuscript Document Signed]. Appointment of Francis Wainwright as a Justice in Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony. Boston, 9 July, 1703. Seal of William III and Mary for the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the upper corner. 13.5" x 9." Document in the hand of secretary Isaac Addington and signed by Joseph Dudley. Early folds. Light toning at the folds and edges, but in remarkably nice condition. Very good or better. An early and interesting manuscript document by Joseph Dudley, governor of Massachusetts from 1702 to 1715, appointing Francis Wainwright into office during the early days of Queen Anne's War. The tremendous unrest New-Englanders felt under the rule of Andros continued into the early stages of Queen Anne's War in Boston. Dudley, who reported to Andros during the Boston riots of 1689, was the newly elected governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and was appointing general court officials for the colony. Francis Wainwright's family was prominent and respected in colonial Massachusetts, in no small part because of his father's military record during the Pequot War of 1636. It can be assumed that Dudley sought to appease the general public by appointing someone from such a family to council in order to help settle the colonists' anxious minds. In this appointment, Dudley explains that any individual who refuses to uphold the peace in the colony will be imprisoned according the laws and ordinances bestowed upon him by Queen Anne. Further, he reminds the colonists that there shall be no unlawful assemblies, riots, thefts, or general unrest during these times. In enumerating the duties of Wainwright's new office, one gets a sense of the civil strife as he was commissioned "to cause to come before him the said Francis Wainwright all those who shall break the peace or attempt anything against the same, or shall threaten any of our People in their person or in burning their houses, to find sufficient security for the peace." As well to investigate "all manner of thefts, trespasses, riots, routs and unlawful assembly.." An evocative picture of the turmoil of the time. Isaac Addington, in whose hand this document was written, was appointed by Dudley as Chief Justice of the Superior Court and additionally was secretary to the governor, which was the positio.

Price: $4,500.00