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William Tryon (June 8, 1729–January 27, 1788) was colonial governor of the Province of North Carolina (1765-1771) and the Province of New York (1771-1780).
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Early life and career
Tryon was born June 8, 1729 at the family's seat at Norbury Park, Surrey, England the son of Charles Tryon and Lady Mary Shirley.
In 1751, he entered the military as a lieutenant in the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards and was promoted to Captain in the same year. He had a daughter by Mary Stanton, whom he never married. In 1757, he married Margaret Wake, a London heiress with a dowry of 30,000 pounds. Her father had been the Honourable East India Company's Governor in Bombay from 1742 to 1750, and had died in Cape Town on the voyage home. In 1758, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel.
During the Seven Years War, he and his regiment was involved in the Cherbourg-St. Malo operation. They landed at Cherbourg and destroyed all war marking facilities. In September, they reembarked for St. Malo where the operation went smoothly until the withdrawal when they came under intense fire from the French. Tryon was twice wounded in the thigh and in the head.
The portrait to the right is commonly labeled as Governor William Tryon, but depicts the incorrect regimental uniform and ornamentation for his known military and political career.
Governor of North Carolina
On April 26, 1764, through family connections, he obtained the position of acting lieutenant governor of the Province of North Carolina. He arrived in North Carolina with his family, including a young daughter,1 as well as architect John Hawks,2 on October 9 to find that the previous governor, Arthur Dobbs, had not left. He said that he would not be leaving until May. Tryon found himself with no income (although he was Liuetenant Governor).1 In 1765, a house called Russelborough on the Cape Fear River near Brunswick Town was renovated to serve as Tryon's residence while he acted as Lieutenant Governor.1 Tryon assumed his position as acting governor when Dobbs died on March 28, 1765. On July 10, the King promoted him to governor.
After assuming the office of governor, Tryon worked to to expand the Church of England in North Carolina.2 There were only five Anglican clergy members in North Carolina at that time.2 Tryon pushed for the completion of abandoned construction projects of Anglican churches in Brunswick Town, Wilmington, Edenton, and New Bern.2 Tryon appointed members of the clergy for these churches and encouraged the construction of new churches, especially in rural areas.2
There was a strong opposition in North Carolina to the Stamp Act of 1765. When the Stamp Act Congress was held, the colonial assembly was not in session, and hence delegates could not be selected to this congress. Tryon refused to allow meetings of the Assembly from May 18, 1765 to November 3, 1766 to prevent the Assembly passing a resolution in opposition to the Stamp Act. Tryon said that he was personally opposed to the Stamp Act and that he offered to pay the taxes on all stamped paper on which he was entitled to fees. Tryon requested troops to enforce the act, but instead he was informed on June 25, 1766 that the act was repealed.
While he had composed plans for an elaborate governor's mansion even before assuming the office, Tryon worked with Hawks during 1764 and 1765 to draw up plans for an elaborate home for himself.2 In December 1766, the North Carolina legislature authorized 5,000 pounds for the building of Tryon's mansion.2 Tryon told the legislature that the sum was not substantial enough for the plans he and Hawk had created; building it "in the plainest manner" would cost no less than 10,000 pounds without including the outbuildings he envisioned.2 Hawks agreed to supervise the construction for three years and went to Philadelphia at Tryon's behest to hire workers; Tryon said native North Carolina workers would not know how to construct such a building.2 Tryon was able to convince the legislature to increase taxes for the house.2 In 1769, he created a postal service for the colony, and in 1770, Tryon moved into Tryon Palace.2 The house was "a monument of opulance and elegance extraordinary in the American colonies."2
Tryon is most noted for suppressing the Regulator movement in western North Carolina during 1768 to 1771. Tryon stopped the North Carolina Regulator uprising, which had been caused partly by the taxation imposed to pay for his new governor's mansion, Tryon Palace, at New Bern (which Tryon made the provincial capital) and partly due to tax abuse and fraud by officials.2 Tryon's militia defeated 6,000 regulators in the Battle of Alamance in May 1771.2
Tryon executed seven alleged Regulators, approved by Judge Richard Henderson.2 He had most of the men tried for violating the Riot Act, a crime temporarily made a capital offence by the General Assembly. The executed men included James Few, Benjamin Merrell, James Pugh, Robert Matear, "Captain" Robert Messer, and two others. Six other Regulators – Forrester Mercer, James Stewart, James Emmerson, Herman Cox, William Brown, and James Copeland – were pardoned by King George III and released by Tryon. The Regulator uprising is viewed by some historians as a precursor to the American Revolution. Tryon then raised taxes to pay for the militia's defeat of the Regulators.2
Tryon's governorship ended, and he left North Carolina on June 30, 1771.
Governor of New York
On July 8, 1771, Tryon arrived in the Province of New York and became its governor. In 1771 and 1772 he was successful in having the assembly appropriate funds for the quartering of British troops and also on March 18, 1772 the establishment of a militia. Funds were also appropriated for the rebuilding of New York City's defences.
In 1772, opposition in New York was strong against the Tea Act. In December, the Sons of Liberty "persuaded" the tea agents to resign. Tryon proposed to land the tea and store it at Fort George. The Sons of Liberty were opposed and Alexander McDougall said, "prevent the landing, and kill [the]governor and all the council". When news of the Boston Tea Party arrived on December 22, Tryon gave up trying to land the tea. He told London the tea could only be brought ashore "only under the protection of the point of the bayonet, and muzzle of cannon, and even then I do not see how consumption could be effected". In 1774, the New Yorkers dumped their own consignment of tea into the harbour.
On December 29, 1773 the governor's mansion and all its contents were destroyed by fire. The New York assembly appropriated five thousand pounds for his losses.
On April 7, 1774 Tryon departed for a trip to England. Cadwallader Colden was the acting governor of New York in Tryon's absence. He arrived back in New York on June 25, 1775 after the American Revolutionary War had begun. Isaac Sears in July returned from the Continental Congress with orders to put Tryon under arrest, but George Washington had ordered Philip Schuyler, the commander in New York, to leave Tryon alone. On October 19, 1775, Tryon was compelled to seek refuge on the British sloop-of-war Halifax in New York Harbor. In 1776, he dissolved the assembly and called for new elections in February. The new assembly was for independence and Tryon dissolved it.
During the spring and summer of 1776, Tryon and New York City's mayor, David Mathews, were conspirators in a miserably bungled plot to kidnap General George Washington and to assassinate his chief officers. One of Washington's bodyguards, Thomas Hickey, was involved in the plot. Hickey, while in prison for passing counterfeit money, bragged to his cellmate Isaac Ketcham about the kidnapping plot. Ketcham revealed it to authorities in an effort to gain his own freedom. Hickey was court-martialled, and was hanged for mutiny on June 28, 1776.
In June, Admiral Howe arrived in New York City with the British army. Howe placed New York under martial law with James Robertson as the military commander. Tryon retained his position as governor, but with little power.
In early 1777, Tryon was given the rank of major-general of the provincials. In April, he was ordered to invade Connecticut and march on the city of Danbury to destroy an arsenal there. Tryon engaged and defeated Patriot forces under the command of General David Wooster and Benedict Arnold at the Battle of Ridgefield when attempting to return to an invasion fleet anchored in Westport. In May, 1778 he was given the rank of major-general in the British army, but in America only, and also the colonelcy of the 70th Regiment of Foot. He became the British commander of the British forces on Long Island.
Tryon had long advocated engaging in attacks on civilian targets, but Clinton turned down Tryon's proposals. In July 1779, Tryon commanded a series of raids on the Connecticut coast, attacking New Haven, Fairfield, and Norwalk, burning and plundering most of Fairfield and Norwalk. Tryon's raids were intended to draw American forces away from the defence of the Hudson valley. In spite of pressure from Governor Trumbull, George Washington did not move his troops. Americans condemned him for making war on "women and children", and the British commander Clinton was also indignant for Tryon disobeying his orders. Tryon found approval in his conduct from Lord Germain, but Clinton refused to give Tryon any further significant commands.
In September 1780, Tryon returned to his home in London, England. He directed the affairs of his 70th Regiment of Foot still in the colonies and he gave directions in 1783 for the regiment to be brought back to England for disbandment. In 1782 was promoted to lieutenant-general. In 1784 he was made colonel of the 29th Regiment of Foot which was stationed in Canada.
He died at his home in London on January 27, 1788 and was buried at St. Mary's Church, Twickenham, Middlesex.
Legacy
Like many pre-Revolutionary War officials in America, Tryon has generally been pictured by Americans as a tyrant (e.g., nicknamed "The Wolf" by the citizens of North Carolina). In reality, he seems to have been tactful and a good administrator, who improved the colonial postal service. He became unpopular first because he obeyed the instructions of his superiors prior to the war and then by disobeying his orders by being overly harsh against the Americans during the war.
- Tryon County, New York and Tryon County, North Carolina were both named for him (though later renamed).
- His name is still preserved at Fort Tryon Park in Manhattan in New York City, which was held by the British throughout most of the American Revolution.
- The town of Tryon, North Carolina.
- One of the major roads in Charlotte, North Carolina is named Tryon.
- There is also a Tryon Road in Raleigh (which happens to be in Wake County, named after Tryon's wife Margaret Wake), North Carolina.
- A Tryon Street in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and Albany, New York.
- A Tryon Street in South Glastonbury, Connecticut that travels along the banks of the Connecticut River. The adjacent Tryon Farms was featured in Glastonbury's yearly 2007 calendar. Sarah Jane Tryon-Betts is the land owner, as is her uncle; Charles Tryon. Many homes on Tryon Street date back to this period, and in fact accommodate the furniture of this era, some of which, (Cherry Highboy) produced by the cabinetmaker, Isaac Tryon, circa 1772.
Many descendents of William Tryon reside in Connecticut, and upstate New York.
References
Further sources
- Haywood, Marshal D. Governor William Tryon and his Administration in the Province of North Carolina. Raleigh, 1903.
- Nelson, Paul, William Tryon and the Course of Empire, 1990, ISBN 0-8078-1917-4
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
External links
- Tryon Palace, North Carolina
- Captain Benjamin Merrell & The Regulators of Colonial North Carolina
- Regulator Movement of North Carolina
| Preceded by: Arthur Dobbs |
Governor of the Royal Colony of North Carolina 1765-1771 |
Succeeded by: James Hasell |
| Preceded by: Lord Dunmore |
Governor of the Province of New York 1771-1780 |
Succeeded by: James Robertson |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Tryon, William |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Colonial governor in America |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 8, 1729 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Norbury Park, Surrey, England |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1788 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | London, England |
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- This page was last modified on 17 November 2008, at 05:45.
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