Lieutenant Matthew Griswold Political party None Name Jonathan Trumbull | Succeeded by Matthew Griswold Spouse(s) Faith Robinson | |
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Died August 17, 1785(1785-08-17) (aged 74)
Lebanon, Connecticut Children Joseph Trumbull
Jonathan Trumbull, Jr.
Faith Trumbull
Mary Trumbull
David Trumbull
John Trumbull | ||
Treason: The Story of Jonathan Trumbull
Jonathan Trumbull, Sr. (October 12, 1710 – August 17, 1785) (the original spelling, "Trumble", was changed for an unknown reason) was one of the few Americans who served as governor in both a pre-Revolutionary colony and a post-Revolutionary state. He was the only colonial governor at the start of the Revolution to take up the rebel cause.
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Trumbull College at Yale, the town of Trumbull, Connecticut and Trumbull County, Ohio, once part of the Connecticut Western Reserve, are named after him. The mascot of The University of Connecticut is also named "Jonathan" in his honor.
Early life
Trumbull was born in Lebanon, Connecticut, the son of Joseph Trumble (1678–1755) and his wife, Hannah Trumble (nee Higley), the daughter of John Higley and Hannah Drake. The patriarch of the Trumble family was the immigrant John Trumble (1612-1687), from Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, who was Joseph's grandfather. Jonathan graduated from Harvard College with a B.A. in 1727; three years after graduation, during which time he studied theology under the Rev. Solomon Williams at Lebanon, and was licensed to preach at Colchester, Connecticut, this became a Master of Arts degree. He became a merchant with his father in 1731, participating more fully in the business after the death of his brother at sea in 1732. From 1733-1740, he was a delegate to the general assembly, and, in 1739-40, was Speaker of the House. He was appointed lieutenant colonel in Connecticut's militia in 1739.
On December 9, 1735, he married Faith Robinson (1718–1780), daughter of Rev. John Robinson. They were the parents of six children including:
He served as deputy-governor of the Colony of Connecticut from 1766–1769, and, on the death of Governor William Pitkin, became Governor of Connecticut in 1769, serving in that capacity until 1784.
Revolutionary War
British General Thomas Gage arrived in Boston, a city with a history of violent protests against British policies, on May 13, 1774. Given the problems he was inheriting from Royal Governor Thomas Hutchinson, within a week of arriving Gage contacted Trumbull and expressed a "readiness to cooperate" with him "for the good of his Majesty's service." When Gage sent Trumbull a request for assistance after the Battles of Lexington and Concord, Trumbull refused and made clear his choice to side with the Patriots. He replied that Gage's troops would "disgrace even barbarians," and he accused Gage of "a most unprovoked attack upon the lives and the property of his Majesty's subjects."
On July 6, 1775, along with other officers, the governor of Connecticut commissioned Nathan Hale as a first lieutenant in the newly raised Seventh Regiment.
Trumbull was a friend and advisor of General Washington throughout the revolutionary period, dedicating the resources of Connecticut to the fight for independence. Washington declared him "the first of the patriots." When Washington was desperate for men or food during the war, he could turn to "Brother Jonathan." He also served as the Continental Army's Paymaster General (Northern Department) in the spring of 1778, until the untimely death of his mother forced him to resign his post. As part of his resignation, he requested that the remainder of his back pay be distributed to the soldiers of the Northern Department.
Post-war
He was one of only two colonial governors to continue in office after independence (the other was Rhode Island's Nicholas Cooke, who assumed office early in the war).
In 1782, he was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He received an honorary LL.D. from Yale University in 1775 and from the University of Edinburgh in 1787.
Governor Trumbull died in Lebanon, Connecticut and is buried at the Old Cemetery there. His home in Lebanon, the Jonathan Trumbull House, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965.