- Joseph Dudley
Infobox Governor
name = Joseph Dudley
order =
office = Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay
term_start =June 11 1702
term_end =February 4 1715 March 21 1715 –November 9 1715
lieutenant =
predecessor =Massachusetts Governor's Council (1702 & 1715)
successor =Massachusetts Governor's Council (February 4 1715 )William Tailer (November 9 1715 )
birth_date =September 23 1647
birth_place =Roxbury, Massachusetts
death_date =April 2 1720
death_place =Roxbury, Massachusetts
party =
spouse =
profession =
religion =
order2=President of the Dominion of New England
term_start2=May 25 1686
term_end2=December 20 1686
predecessor2=Simon Bradstreet (Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony)Thomas Hinckley (Governor of the Plymouth Colony)
successor2=Edmund Andros Joseph Dudley (
September 23 1647 -April 2 1720 ), colonial governor of Massachusetts from 1702 to 1715, was born and died inRoxbury, Massachusetts . He was the son of the second governor of Massachusetts,Thomas Dudley .He graduated from
Harvard College in 1665, became a member of the general court, and in 1682 was sent by Massachusetts to London to prevent the threatened revocation of her charter by Charles II. There, with an eye to his personal advancement, he secretly advised the king to annul the charter; this was done, and Dudley, by royal appointment, became president of the provisional council.With the advent of the new governor, Sir Edmund Andros, Dudley became a judge of the superior court and censor of the press. Upon the deposition of Andros, Dudley was imprisoned and sent with him to England, but was soon set free. In 1691-1692, he was chief-justice of
New York , presiding over the court that condemned Leisler and Milborne.Returning to England in 1693, he was lieutenant-governor of the
Isle of Wight and a member of parliament, and in 1702, after a long intrigue, secured from Queen Anne a commission as governor of Massachusetts, serving until 1715. His administration was marked, particularly in the earlier years, by ceaseless conflict with the general court, from which he demanded a regular fixed salary instead of an annual grant.He was active in raising volunteers for the so-called
Queen Anne's War , and in 1707 sent a fruitless expedition against Port Royal. He was accused by the Boston merchants, who petitioned for his removal, of being in league with smugglers and illicit traders, and in 1708 a bitter attack on his administration was published in London, entitled "The Deplorable State of New England by reason of a Covetous and Treacherous Governor and Pusillanimous Counsellors".His character may be best summed up in the words of one of his successors, Thomas Hutchinson, that he had as many virtues as can consist with so great a thirst for honour and power. His son
Paul Dudley was attorney-general of Massachusetts.Family
In 1668, Dudley married Rebecca Tyng (d.
September 21 1722 ). They had a dozen children: Thomas, Edward, Paul, Samuel, John, Rebecca, Catharine, Anne, William, Daniel, Catharine, and Mary. Edward died at the age of eleven, and the first Catharine died young as well.ee also
Dudley-Winthrop Family External links
* [http://www.mass.gov/statehouse/massgovs/jdudley.htm official Massachusetts Governor biography]
*worldcat id|id=lccn-n85-9025
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