John Winthrop (12 January 1587/8 – 26 March 1649 obtained a royal charter, along with other wealthy Puritans, from King Charles for the Massachusetts Bay Companyand led a group of English Puritans to the New World in 1630. . He was elected the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony the year before. Between 1639 and 1648, he was voted out of the governorship and then re-elected a total of 12 times. Although Winthrop was a respected political fig...
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John Winthrop (12 January 1587/8 – 26 March 1649 obtained a royal charter, along with other wealthy Puritans, from King Charles for the Massachusetts Bay Companyand led a group of English Puritans to the New World in 1630. . He was elected the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony the year before. Between 1639 and 1648, he was voted out of the governorship and then re-elected a total of 12 times. Although Winthrop was a respected political figure, he was criticized for his obstinacy regarding the formation of a general assembly in 1634, and he clashed repeatedly with other Puritan leaders like Thomas Dudley, Rev. Peter Hobart and others.
Winthrop married his first wife, Mary Forth, on 16 April 1605 at Great Stambridge, Essex, England. Mary bore him six children; the oldest son of that marriage was Winthrop, the Younger, a future governor/magistrate of Connecticut. Mary died in June 1615. Winthrop (elder) married his second wife, Thomasine Clopton, on 6 December 1615 at Groton,...
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