Winthrop Sargent | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Portrait byGilbert Stuart | |
| Governor of Mississippi Territory | |
| In office May 7, 1798 – May 25, 1801 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | William C. C. Claiborne |
| Secretary of Northwest Territory | |
| In office July 9, 1788 – May 31, 1798 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | William Henry Harrison |
| Adjutant General of the U. S. Army (Acting) | |
| In office September 4, 1791 – November 4, 1791 | |
| Preceded by | John Pratt(Acting) |
| Succeeded by | Ebenezer Denny(Acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1753-05-01)May 1, 1753 Gloucester, Massachusetts |
| Died | June 3, 1820(1820-06-03) (aged 67) New Orleans,Louisiana |
| Political party | Federalist |
| Spouse(s) | Mary McIntosh Williams |
| Relations | Judith Sargent Murray (sister) Benjamin Tupper (father-in-law) Paul Dudley Sargent (uncle) |
| Parent(s) | Winthrop Sargent Judith Saunders |
| Alma mater | Harvard College |
Winthrop Sargent (May 1, 1753 – June 3, 1820) was an American politician, military officer and writer, who served asGovernor of Mississippi Territory from 1798 to 1801, and briefly as actingAdjutant General of the U. S. Army in 1791. He was a member of theFederalist party.[1]
Sargent was born inGloucester, Massachusetts, on May 1, 1753. He was one of eight children born to Winthrop Sargent (1727–1793) and Judith Saunders. His elder sister wasJudith Sargent Murray (1751–1820), an essayist, playwright, and poet.[2]
He was the grandson of ColonelEpes Sargent, one of the largest landholders in Gloucester.[3] Sargent was also the nephew ofDaniel Sargent Sr. (1730–1806), a prominent merchant,Paul Dudley Sargent (1745–1828), who also served in theContinental Army, andJohn Sargent (1750–1824), aLoyalist during the Revolution.[4]
He graduated fromHarvard College Class of 1771[5] before theRevolution. He spent some time at sea, ascaptain of amerchantman owned by his father.[6]
Shortly after the outbreak of theAmerican Revolution, Sargent was commissioned inGridley's Regiment of Massachusetts Artillery on July 7, 1775, as alieutenant, and later that year was promoted tocaptain lieutenant of Knox's Regiment, Continental Artillery, on December 10. He was with his guns at thesiege of Boston, and later served in the battles ofLong Island,White Plains,Trenton,Brandywine,Germantown, andMonmouth. He was promoted tocaptain in the 3rd Continental Artillery on January 1, 1777, andbrevettedmajor on August 25, 1783, and was discharged from the Continental Army later that year.[1] In 1783 he became an Original Member of the MassachusettsSociety of the Cincinnati.
In 1786, he helped to survey theSeven Ranges, the first lands laid out under theLand Ordinance of 1785. With inside knowledge of the area, he went on to form theOhio Company of Associates, was an important shareholder in theScioto Company, and as of 1787, secretary of the Ohio Company.[7]
Sargent was appointed by theCongress of the Confederation as the first Secretary of the Northwest Territory, a post second in importance only to the governor,Arthur St. Clair. He took up his post in 1788. Like St. Clair, Sargent would function in both civil and military capacities; he served as acting Adjutant General of U.S. Army from September 1791 until he was wounded twice at theBattle of the Wabash, on November 4, 1791.[7][8] On August 15, 1796, he would, as Acting Governor, proclaim the establishment ofWayne County, the first American government in what is nowMichigan.
PresidentJohn Adams then appointed Sargent the first Governor of theMississippi Territory, effective from May 7, 1798, to May 25, 1801.[9] His last entry as Northwest Territory's secretary was on May 31, 1798; he arrived atNatchez on August 6, but due to illness was unable to assume his post until August 16.[1]
The subject was a cotton planter, marketing his crop in New York by Gilbert and John Aspinwall, merchants.[10]
In 1788, Sargent was elected a Fellow of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences.[11] He was also a member of theAmerican Philosophical Society elected in 1789[12] and an original member of theSociety of the Cincinnati as a delegate fromMassachusetts, and published, with Benjamin B. Smith,Papers Relative to Certain American Antiquities (Philadelphia, 1796), and "Boston," a poem (Boston, 1803).[8]
Being a Federalist, Sargent was dismissed from his position as territorial governor of Mississippi in 1801 by incoming presidentThomas Jefferson. Sargent took up life in the private sector, developing his plantationGloucester,[14] the earliest such establishment inNatchez. Sargent was elected a member of theAmerican Antiquarian Society in 1813.[15]
During the last decades of Winthrop's life he became major plantation owner in [Natchez, Mississippi]. He acquired extensive plantations due to his marriage to wealthy widow Mary (McIntosh) Williams.[16] In Natchez alone Winthrop owned over 300 slaves and 11,000 acres.[17]
In 1789, he married Roewena Tupper (1766–1790), a daughter of Gen.Benjamin Tupper, at the settlement ofMarietta in the first marriage ceremony held under the laws of theNorthwest Territory.[18] After her death, he married Hannah Ober of Massachusetts on 13 Feb 1791. They had a daughter, Hannah born 25 August 1791 in Massachusetts, and Hannah Ober died the next day.[19][20] Then he married Mary McIntosh Williams (1760–1823) shortly after moving toNatchez.[21] They were the parents of:[21]
He died on June 3, 1820, inNew Orleans.[22] His grandson was the writerWinthrop Sargent (1825–1870). A 1848 Louisiana Supreme Court case decided that the Louisiana portion of Winthrop's estate which included real estate, timber, agricultural properties in Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Virginia and Massachusetts would be divided between his son George Washington Sargent as well as his stepchildren through his marriage to Mary Williams. These step children included Mary (Williams) Urquhart and Mary Sargents grandchildren through her deceased son James C Williams, namely David Percy Williams.[23] Some of the properties of Winthrop Sargent were passed through the Natchez David Williams family who arrived in the 1700s according to Supreme Court case.[24] The Winthrop Sargent estate was worth several million dollars in 1700s currency and valued at nearly 10 million dollars in the mid-1800s when his heirs divided his estate.[25] One of the heirs of Winthrops estate was Archie P Williams a mixed race slave owner who became a millionaire in 1800s dollars due to his 1/4th share of Sargents estate through his grandfather James C Williams.[26][27] The majority of the Winthrop Sargent estate today is owned by one of the Williams heirs, Anton R Williams.[28] Anton R. Williams Holding Company ofGrand Rapids, Michigan and its funding arm continues legacy business operations[29]
Although there are at least two Sargent Townships (inIllinois andNebraska) and oneSargent County, it is not known if these are named after Winthrop Sargent. However, a former township of the Northwest Territory'sWayne County was designated as Sargent Township or the District of Sargent; this apparently encompassed the settlements downriver from Detroit and at theRiver Raisin in what is nowMonroe County, Michigan. This township apparently ceased to function after the organization ofMichigan Territory, being replaced by the District of Erie.A student dormitory at Ohio University (founded in 1804) in Athens, Ohio, is named Sargent Hall in his honor. This is the first university in the Northwest Territory and the first in Ohio.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| New title | Secretary of Northwest Territory July 9, 1788 – May 31, 1798 | Succeeded by |
| Governor of Mississippi Territory May 7, 1798 – May 25, 1801 | Succeeded by | |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by John Pratt (acting) | Adjutant General of the U. S. Army September 4, 1791 – November 4, 1791 (acting) | Succeeded by Ebenezer Denny (acting) |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
