Nathaniel Gorham

Nathaniel Gorham
Nathaniel Gorham by Charles Wilson Peale, circa 1793
8th President of the United States in Congress Assembled
In office June 6, 1786 – November 5, 1786
Preceded by	John Hancock
Succeeded by	Arthur St. Clair
2nd Acting President of the United States in Congress Assembled
In office May 15, 1786 – June 5, 1786
President	John Hancock
Preceded by	David Ramsay
Succeeded by	Himself as 8th President of the United States in Congress Assembled
Born	May 27, 1738 Charlestown, Massachusetts
Died	June 11, 1796 (aged 58) Charlestown, Massachusetts
Spouse(s)	Rebecca Call
Profession	Politician, Merchant
Religion	Congregationalist
Signature

Nathaniel Gorham (May 27, 1738 – June 11, 1796, his first name is sometimes spelt Nathanial was the fourteenth President of the United States in Congress assembled, under the Articles of Confederation. He also attended the Constitutional Convention and was one of the signers of the United States Constitution on September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Biography

Early life and family

Gorham was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, the son of Captain Nathaniel Gorham and Mary Soley.^[1] He was a descendant of John Howland, (c. 1599 – 1673) who was one of the Pilgrims who traveled from England to North America on the Mayflower, signed the Mayflower Compact, and helped found the Plymouth Colony.^[2][3]

His sister, Elizabeth Gorham, who married John Leighton, was the ancestor of Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt the second wife of Theodore Roosevelt and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1901 to 1909.^[4]

Marriage

He married Rebecca Call^[5] on September 6, 1763 in Charlestown, Massachusetts. She was born on May 14, 1744 in Charlestown, Massachusetts and died on November 18, 1812 in Charlestown, Massachusetts. She was the daughter of Caleb Call and Rebecca Stimson.^[6] Nathaniel and Rebecca were the parents of nine children.^[1]

Career

He took part in public affairs at the beginning of the American Revolution, was a member of the Massachusetts General Court (Legislature) from 1771 until 1775, a delegate to the Provincial congress from 1774 until 1775, and a member of the Board of War from 1778 until its dissolution in 1781. In 1779 he served in the State constitutional convention. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1782 until 1783, and also from 1785 until 1787. Gorham also served a term as judge of the Middlesex County, Massachusetts Court of Common Pleas.^[7]

For several months in 1787, Gorham served as one of the Massachusetts delegates to the United States Constitutional Convention.^[7] Gorham frequently served as Chairman of the Convention's Committee of the Whole, meaning that he (rather than the President of the Convention, George Washington) presided over convention sessions during the delegates' first deliberations on the structure of the new government in late May and June of 1787. After the convention, he worked hard to see that the Constitution was approved in his home state.

In connection with Oliver Phelps, he purchased from the state of Massachusetts in 1788 pre-emption rights to an immense tract of land in western New York State which straddled the Genesee River, all for the sum of $1,000,000 (the Phelps and Gorham Purchase).^[8][9] The land in question had been previously ceded to Massachusetts from the state of New York under the 1786 Treaty of Hartford. The pre-emption right gave them the first or preemptive right to obtain clear title to this land from the Indians. They soon extinguished the Indian title to the portion of the land east of the Genesee River, as well as a 185,000 acre (749 km²) tract west of the Genesee The Mill Yard Tract), surveyed all of it, laid out townships, and sold large parts to speculators and settlers. In 1790, after they defaulted in payment, they sold nearly all of their unsold lands east of the Genesee to Robert Morris, who eventually resold those lands to The Pulteney Association. Phelps and Gorham were unable to fulfill their contract in full to Massachusetts, so in 1790, they surrendered back to Massachusetts that portion of the lands which remained under the Indian title, namely, the land west of the Genesee. It also was eventually acquired by Robert Morris, who resold most of it to The Holland Land Company. Morris did keep 500,000 acres (2,000 km²) for himself, and that land became known as The Morris Reserve.

Death

Gorham died in Charlestown, Massachusetts in 1796. A eulogy was delivered in his memory by Dr. Thomas Welch of Charlestown.^[10] He is buried in the Phipps Street Cemetery in Charlestown, Massachusetts.^[11][8]

Descendants

Nathaniel Gorham's descendants number in the thousands today.^[12] Some of his notable descendants include:

• Bishop Phillips Brooks, was an American clergyman and author, who briefly served as Bishop of Massachusetts in the Episcopal Church during the early 1890s. He is best known for authoring the Christmas carol "O Little Town of Bethlehem".
• Charles Francis Adams, Jr., was a member of the prominent Adams family, and son of Charles Francis Adams, Sr.. He served as a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War and was a railroad executive following the war.
• John Quincy Adams II, was an American lawyer and politician, the son of Charles Francis Adams and the grandson and namesake of president John Quincy Adams.
• Charles Francis Adams III, was the United States Secretary of the Navy under President Herbert Hoover and a well-known yachtsman.
• Charles Francis Adams IV, was a U.S. electronics industrialist. He served as the first president of the Raytheon Company.
• Benjamin Gorham, was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts.
• Brooks Adams, was an American historian and a critic of capitalism.
• Henry Adams, was an American journalist, historian, academic and novelist. He is best-known for his autobiographical book, The Education of Henry Adams.
• William Everett, was the son of Charlotte Gray Brooks and orator Edward Everett who spoke at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
• Octavius Brooks Frothingham, was an American clergyman and author.
• Catherine Lovering Adams married Henry Stugis Morgan, who was an American banker. He was the son of John Pierpont ("Jack") Morgan Jr. and the grandson of renowned banker John Pierpont Morgan, Sr., founder of J.P. Morgan & Co..
• Catherine Bartlett. She was the wife of James Walker, who was the President of Harvard College from 1853 to 1860. Walker was also a Unitarian minister and religious philosopher.
• Charlotte Gray Brooks. She was the wife of Edward Everett an American politician and educator from Massachusetts. He served as president of Harvard College.
• Peter Bulkeley Greenough, an American journalist and editor. He was the husband of opera singer Beverly Sills.
• Gorham Parks, was a U.S. Representative from Maine, and a Democratic Party candidate for Maine Governor.

Notes

References

• Haxtun, Annie Arnoux. Signers of the Mayflower Compact . Publisher: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1998. ISBN 0806301732.
• MMOA.The bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Volume 17. Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1922.
• Morton, Joseph C. Shapers of the great debate at the Constitutional Convention of 1787: a biographical dictionary Volume 8 of Shapers of the great American debates. Publisher: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006 ISBN 0313330212.
• Waters, Henry Fitz-Gilbert The New England historical and genealogical register, Volume 59. Publisher: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1905.

External links

• Phelps & Gorham Treaty of July 4-8, l788, Historical Aspects of the, Rochester History magazine, by Blake McKelvey Vol 1 No(s)1 (January 1939) (PDF format)
• The Field Notes of Col. Hugh Maxwell's Pre-emption Line Survey in the Phelps and Gorham Purchase transcribed by John M. Robortella
• For Animations of these Land Acquisitions click Map Scene 5 Map animation by Dr. Robert Spiegelman
• Presidential Biography by Stanley L. Klos
• Nathaniel Gorham at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

Political offices
Preceded by John Hancock	President of the Continental Congress June 6, 1786–November 5, 1786	Succeeded by Arthur St. Clair