kids encyclopedia robot

John Cutt facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
John Cutt
President of New Hampshire
In office
1680–1681
Succeeded by Richard Waldron
Personal details
Born
John Cutt

Wales
Died April 5, 1681 (age 68)
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Spouses Hannah Starr, Ursula
Children John, Elizabeth, Hannah, Mary, Samuel
Occupation President (Governor) of colonial New Hampshire and merchant, magistrate, councilor.
Signature

John Cutt (1613 – April 5, 1681) was the first president of the Province of New Hampshire.

Cutt Ursula house
President Cutt's widow, Ursula, built her house at the Cutt family's Pulpit Farm between 1681 and 1685

Cutt was born in Wales, emigrated to the colonies in 1646, and became a successful merchant and mill owner in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He was married to Hannah Starr, daughter of Dr. Comfort Starr of Boston, a founder of Harvard College and a surgeon who emigrated from Ashford, Kent, England. Starr is buried in King's Chapel Burying Ground, Boston.

On January 1, 1680, John Cutt became the first president of the royal Province of New Hampshire, when New Hampshire was first separated from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Cutt was the head of the seven-member royal provincial council. An early copy of the document appointing Cutt and his council is now preserved by the State of New Hampshire.

Soon after his appointment he fell ill. On March 1, 1681, the provincial Council and General Assembly designated March 17, 1681, as a Fast Day, "A day of public fasting and prayer." The Council and Assembly believed Cutt's illness and the recent sighting of a comet were signs of "divine displeasure"; the fast day was unsuccessful, as John Cutt died on April 5, 1681.

After his Cutt's death, Richard Waldron was named acting president.

Family

John Cutt was accompanied from Wales to Portsmouth by two brothers, Richard and Robert. A descendant of brother Robert Cutt was Hon. Hampden Cutts (as the family styled themselves, with the 's' in succeeding generations) of North Hartland, Vermont. Hampden Cutts married Mary Pepperrell Sparhawk Jarvis, daughter of William Jarvis of Weathersfield, Vermont, and the man who introduced merino sheep to America. Cutts's wife Mary Jarvis was herself a descendant of John Cutt through her father.

kids search engine
John Cutt Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.