Connecticut governor jonathan trumbull

Connecticut governor jonathan trumbull, Jonathan Trumble (he changed it to ‘Trumbull’ in 1765) was born on October 12, 1710 in Lebanon, Connecticut to parents Joseph Trumbull and Hannah Higley. Following his graduation with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College in 1727, Jonathan began a three year theological study under Reverend Solomon Williams. He was later licensed by the Windham Association of Congregations Churches, but was never ordained. In 1731, Trumble began a trading business with his older brother Joseph and then carried on alone when his brother was lost at sea in 1732.

Jonathan’s political career began in 1733 when he was elected to be a delegate to the general assembly from Lebanon. From that point on, Trumbull would spend the next 50 years serving in one or more of Connecticut’s public offices. In 1739, he served a term as Speaker of the House and in 1739 was appointed lieutenant colonel in Connecticut’s militia.

Bachelorhood ended for Trumble on December 9, 1735, when he made Faith Robinson his wife. Marrying into a prominent family, along with the education he had acquired and his work for the government ranked him among Connecticut’s social leaders. Six children composed the couple’s family – four boys and two girls. The first born and oldest son, Joseph became the first commissary general of the Continental Army. Jonathan Jr. followed his father on the roll call of Connecticut governors. Daughter Mary became the wife of Declaration of Independence signer William Williams. Youngest son John was nicknamed “Painter of the American Revolution”.

In 1765, Governor Thomas Fitch made the decision to enforce the British Stamp Act. Doing so lost him the loyalty of the Sons of Liberty who then cast their support for William Pitkin of Hartford for governor and Jonathan Trumbull for deputy governor. During the three years Trumbull served as deputy governor, he was also Chief Justice of the Superior Court. By the end of the 1760s, Trumbull’s support for the Sons of Liberty won him friends and supporters throughout the state

From 1766 until 1769, Trumbull served as deputy-governor for the Colony of Connecticut. Following the death of Governor Pitkin, Trumbull assumed the role of governor and served in that capacity until 1784. Governor Trumbull was only one of two colonial governors to take office before the war and continue in office following independence. Rhode Island’s Nicholas Cooke was the other. Trumbull’s actions during the American Revolution made him one of Connecticut’s best-known governors and also considered to be one of her greatest leaders. Of all the English colony governors, he was the only one to side with the colonists and oppose England’s encroachments.

On May 13, 1774, British General Thomas Gage arrived in Boston, Massachusetts to deal with problems he inherited from Royal Governor Thomas Hutchinson. Following the Battles of Lexington and Concord, Governor Trumbull received a communiqué from Gage requesting Trumbull enter a “readiness to cooperate” agreement with him “for the good of his Majesty’s service.” Trumbull’s reply was not of the style Gage hoped to receive. Instead, Trumbull not only refused to enter the agreement, choosing to cast his allegiance on the side of the patriots; he also informed Gage that his troops would “disgrace even barbarians” and accused the general of “a most unprovoked attack upon the lives and the property of his Majesty’s subjects.”

Connecticut’s General Assembly approved the Declaration of Independence on October 10, 1776; however, resolved to continue the operations of civil government under the already established Charter. One part of the charter, however, was amended while Trumbull was governor. In the past, the charter had all but made the governor merely a figurehead during the colonial period. To Trumbull, however, the Assembly granted an enormous amount of power with respect to the daily work of war, making him the first governor with executive “teeth”.

Named “the first of the patriots” by George Washington, Trumbull threw his allegiance behind the revolutionary efforts and dedicated Connecticut’s resources to the fight. When he found himself desperate for food and manpower, “Brother Jonathan” made things happen for him, supplying approximately 60% of the necessary manpower, clothing, shoes, food and munitions needed by the Continental Army. Washington gave him the nickname “Brother Jonathan” to represent his thoughts regarding the reliability of Trumbull and the people Connecticut towards the Continental Army. His efforts gave Connecticut the unofficial nickname of the “Provisions State”. Trumbull also turned his mercantile store into the War Office where meetings for Connecticut’s Council of Safety took place.

In the spring of 1778, Trumbull served as paymaster for the Continental Army. He later resigned from the post following the death of his mother and at that time, requested that the back pay he was due should be distributed among the soldiers of the Northern Department.

During the course of the Revolution, Trumbull played host to George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, the Marquis de Lafayette, Samuel and John Adams, Rochambeau, Thomas Jefferson, and Generals Knox and Putnam in his home. In addition five hundred French troops under the Duc de Lauzun camped nearby during the winter of 1780-81.

During his tenure as governor, Trumbull held fast on his support regarding Connecticut’s claim of its western territory. In October 1776, the County of Westmoreland was formed in the area now known as Pennsylvania. The portion of the Western Lanes which later became Ohio was sold and the money used to fund Connecticut’s public education.

Though his tenure in office continued, Trumbull’s popularity became to slacken as the years progressed. Part of the reason was due to the fact his political beliefs were becoming less and less in line with the feelings of the majority of his former supporters. In October 1782, he told the members of the General Assembly, “in the State of Nature, all men are born equal, but they cannot continue this equality.” That remark was later followed with “there is danger of running into extreme equality, when each citizen would fain be upon a level with those he has chose to govern him. . .”

In May of 1784, Trumbull decided it was time to resign from public office and announced he would not seek another term. Not only had the trials of the war drained him; he had failed to receive 50%+ of the votes in the last four elections. Trumbull’s retirement would be short lived. He died of a stroke in his Lebanon home on August 17, 1785.

Though Trumbull may have ended his political career on somewhat of a sour note, Connecticut’s love and respect for Jonathan Trumbull’s sacrificial efforts are seen throughout the state. His home in Lebanon and the store he converted into the War Office are both museums now. Lebanon’s public library is named for him, as are streets, schools and the University of Connecticut’s Husky mascot.

In 1896, on the chimney above the fireplace in the old war office at Lebanon, the Connecticut Society Sons of the American Revolution erected a bronze slab with the following inscription.