Jonathan Belcher

Jonathan Belcher (born Jan. 8, 1681/82, Cambridge, Mass. [now in U.S.]—died Aug. 31, 1757, Elizabethtown, N.J.) was a colonial governor and merchant who was an early patron of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University).

After graduating from Harvard College in 1699, Belcher traveled in Europe before returning to Boston, where he became a prosperous merchant. He formally entered Massachusetts politics in 1718, when he was elected to the Governor’s Council, and he was reelected seven times during the next decade.

In 1730 Belcher was commissioned governor of both New Hampshire and Massachusetts. His tenure as chief executive of these two royal colonies was marked by several contentious issues. They included the continuous conflict with the legislative lower house over the governor’s salary, the question of the extent of royal prerogative, land speculation in the eastern counties (Maine), attempts to establish an inflationary “land bank” scheme in Massachusetts, and a serious boundary dispute involving Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The boundary dispute ultimately brought his opponents success in obtaining his removal from both governorships in May 1741.

A few years later Belcher sailed to England. He successfully reingratiated himself with the British government and was appointed governor of New Jersey. He assumed his duties in the royal colony in August 1747. His term as New Jersey’s governor was more tranquil than his administration in New England and was perhaps most notable for his assistance to the College of New Jersey, founded in 1746.