John Endecott (also spelled Endicott; 1588 – 15 March 1665), regarded as one of the Fathers of New England,John B. Moore. Memoirs of American Governors. New York: Gates and Stedman. 136 Nassau Street. 1846. p. 362 was the longest-serving governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which became the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He served a total of 16 years, including most of the last 15 years of his life. When not serving as governor, he was involved in other elected and appointed positions from 1628 to 1665 except for the single year of 1634.
Endecott was a zealous and somewhat hotheaded Puritan, with Separatist attitudes toward the Anglican Church. This sometimes put him at odds with Nonconformist views that were dominant among the colony's early leaders, which became apparent when he gave shelter to the vocally Separatist Roger Williams. Endecott also argued that women should dress modestly and that men should keep their hair short, and issued judicial decisions banishing individuals who held religious views that did not accord well with those of the Puritans. He notoriously defaced the English flag because he saw Saint George's Cross as a symbol of the papacy, and had four Quakers put to death for returning to the colony after their banishment. An expedition he led in 1636 is considered the opening offensive in the Pequot War, which practically destroyed the Pequot tribe as an entity.
Endecott used some of his properties to propagate fruit trees; a pear tree he planted still lives in Danvers, Massachusetts. He also engaged in one of the earliest attempts to develop a mining industry in the colonies when copper ore was found on his land. His name is found on a rock in Lake Winnipesaukee, carved by surveyors sent to identify the Massachusetts colony's northern border in 1652. Places and institutions are named for him, and (like many early colonists) he has several notable descendants.
Life
Little is known of Endecott's origins. 19th century biographers believed he hailed from Dorchester, Dorset, due to his significant later association with people from that area.Endicott, pg. 11 In the early 20th century, historian Roper Lethbridge proposed that Endecott was born circa 1588 in or near Chagford in Devon. In the 16th century the prominent Endecott family, together with the Whiddons, Knapmans and Lethbridges, owned most of the mines around the stannary town of Chagford, which might—if he is indeed from this family—explain his interest in developing copper mining. (Based on this evidence, Chagford now has a house from the period named in Endecott's honour.)
However, more recent research by the New England Historic Genealogical Society has identified problems with Lethbridge's claims, which they dispute.Anderson, pg. 2:644 According to their research, Endecott may have been born in or near Chagford, but there is no firm evidence for this, nor is there evidence that identifies his parents. They conclude, based on available evidence, that he was probably born no later than 1600. A John Endecott was active in Devon early in the 17th century, but there is no firm evidence connecting him to this Endecott.Mayo, pp. 6–7
Very little is known of Endecott's life before his association with colonisation efforts in the 1620s. He was known to Sir Edward Coke, and may have come to know Roger Williams through this connection.Mayo, pg. 4 He was highly literate, and spoke French. Some early colonial documents refer to him as "Captain Endecott", indicating some military experience, and other records suggest he had some medical training.Endicott, pg. 12
Settlement in the New World In March 1627/28,In the calendar then in use, the new year began on 25 March. To avoid confusion with calendars that began the new year on January 1, dates between January and March were often written with both years. All dates in this article are in the Julian calendar unless otherwise noted. Endecott was one of seven signatories to a land grant given to "The New England Company for a Plantation in Massachusetts" (or the New England Company) by the Earl of Warwick on behalf of the Plymouth Council for New England;Mayo, pp. 7–12 the council was at the time the umbrella organisation overseeing English colonisation efforts in North America between 40 and 48 degrees latitude.Bremer, pg. 151
Endecott was chosen to lead the first expedition, and sailed for the New World aboard the Abigail with fifty or so "planters and servants" on 20 June 1628.Mayo, p. 12 The settlement they organized was first called Naumkeag, after the local Indian tribe, but was eventually renamed Salem in 1629.Mayo, p. 15 The area was already occupied by settlers of the failed Dorchester Company, some of whose backers also participated in the New England Company. This group of earlier settlers, led by Roger Conant, had migrated from a settlement on Cape Ann (near present-day Gloucester, Massachusetts) after it was abandoned.Mayo, pp. 13–15 Endecott was not formally named governor of the new colony until it was issued a royal charter in 1629. At that time, he was appointed governor by the Company's council in London, and Matthew Craddock was named the Company's governor in London.Mayo, p. 22
Endecott's responsibility was to establish the colony and to prepare it for the arrival of additional settlers.Endicott, p. 28 The winters of 1629 and 1630 were difficult compared to those in England, and he called on the Plymouth Colony for medical assistance.Mayo, pg. 49 His wife, who had been ill on the voyage over, died that winter.Endicott, pg. 26 Other difficulties he encountered included early signs of religious friction among the colony's settlers (dividing between Nonconformists and Separatists), and poor relations with Thomas Morton, whose failed Wessagusset Colony and libertine practices (which included a maypole and dancing) were anathema to the conservative Puritanism practiced by most settlers in the Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies. Early in his term as governor he visited the abandoned site of Morton's colony and had the maypole taken down.Bremer, pg. 166 When one group of early settlers wanted to establish a church independent of that established by the colonial leadership, he had their leaders summarily sent back to England.Moore, pp. 350–351
Early 1630s Endecott's first tenure as governor came to an end in 1630, with the arrival of John Winthrop and the colonial charter. The company had reorganised itself, relocating its seat to the colony itself, with Winthrop as its sole governor.Mayo, pp. 51–52 After seeing the conditions at Salem, Winthrop decided to relocate the colony's seat at the mouth of the Charles River, where he founded what is now the city of Boston.Mayo, pp. 54–58 Endecott, who was chosen as one of the governor's Assistants (a precursor to the later notion of a Governor's Council), chose to remain in Salem, where he was one of its leading citizens for the rest of his life, serving in roles as town councilor and militia leader, in addition to statewide roles as militia leader, magistrate, deputy governor, and governor. He established a plantation called "Orchard" in Salem Village (now known as Danvers), where he cultivated seedlings of fruit trees. One particular pear tree, brought over as a sapling on one of the early settlement convoys, still lives and bears fruit; it is known as the Endicott Pear Tree.Mayo, pp. 72–76
In the early 1630s the religious conflict between the Nonconformists and the Separatists was the primary source of political disagreement in the colony, and it was embodied by the churches established in Boston and Salem. The Salem church adhered to Separatist teachings, which sought a complete break with the Church of England, while Nonconformist teachings, which were held by Winthrop and most of the colonial leadership in Boston, sought to reform the Anglican church from within.Mayo, pp. 63–64
The arrival in Boston in 1631 of Roger Williams, an avowed Separatist, heightened this conflict. Authorities there banished him, and he first went to Salem, where, due to Endecott's intervention, he was offered a position as a teacher in the local church. When word of this reached Boston, Endecott was criticised for supporting Williams, who was banished from the colony.Mayo, pp. 65–67 Williams went to Plymouth, but returned to Salem a few years later, becoming the church's unofficial pastor following the death of Samuel Skelton in 1634. Boston authorities called for his arrest after he made what they viewed as treasonous and heretical statements; he fled, eventually establishing Providence, Rhode Island.Mayo, pg. 92
During this time Endecott argued that women should be veiled in church,Mayo, pg. 83 and controversially defaced the local militia's flag, because it bore St George's Cross, which Williams claimed was a symbol of the papacy.Mayo, pp. 84–85 This action is celebrated in Nathaniel Hawthorne's story, "Endicott and the Red Cross", where the writer presents the "tension between Endecott as a symbol of religious intolerance and as emblem of heroic resistance to foreign domination of New England."Wright, pg. 80 Endecott did this at a time when the Privy Council of King Charles I was examining affairs in Massachusetts, and the colonial administration was concerned that a strong response was needed to prevent the loss of the colonial charter.Bremer, pp. 238–239 Endecott was censured for the rashness of his action (and not for the act itself), and deprived of holding any offices for one year; 1635 was the only year in which he held no office.Mayo, pp. 87, 90 The committee managing the colonial militia voted that year to stop using the English flag as its standard.Bremer, pg. 239
Following the incident, and the refusal of the colonial assembly to grant Salem additional land on the Marblehead Neck because of Williams' presence in Salem, the Salem church circulated a letter to other churches in the colony, calling the legislative act a heinous sin.Mayo, pg. 90 Although the authorship of the letter is uncertain, Endecott defended the letter when summoned to Boston, and was consequently jailed for a day; after "he came and acknowledged his fault, he was discharged."Mayo, pg. 91
Pequot War
In 1636 the boat of Massachusetts trader John Oldham was seen anchored off Block Island, swarming with Indians. The Indians fled at the approach of the investigating colonists, and Oldham's body was found below the main deck.Cave, pg. 104 The attackers were at the time believed to be from tribes affiliated with the Narragansetts, but Narragansett leaders claimed that those responsible had fled to the protection of the Pequots.Bremer, pg. 267Cave, pp. 105–107 At the time the Pequots were aggressively expansionist in their dealings with the surrounding native tribes (including the Narragansett), but had generally kept the peace with the English colonists of present-day southern New England. The accusation of the Narraganssetts angered Massachusetts authorities (then under governor Henry Vane), who were already upset that the Pequots had earlier failed to turn over men implicated in killing another trader on the Connecticut River. This second perceived affront produced calls in Massachusetts for action against the Pequots.Cave, pp. 100, 107–109 In August 1636 Governor Vane placed Endecott at the head of a 90-man force to extract justice from the Pequots.Cave, pg. 109
Endecott's instructions were to go to Block Island, where he was to kill all of the Indian men and take captive the women and children. He was then to go to the Pequots on the mainland, where he was to make three demands: first, that the killers of Oldham and the other trader be surrendered; second, that a payment of one thousand fathoms of wampum be made; and third, that some Pequot children be delivered to serve as hostages.