William Dummer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
William Dummer
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Portrait created in 1886 by Frederic Porter Vinton based on an earlier painting
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| Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay | |
| In office October 15, 1716 – June 11, 1730 |
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| Preceded by | William Tailer |
| Succeeded by | William Tailer |
| Acting Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay | |
| In office January 2, 1723 – July 19, 1728 |
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| Preceded by | Samuel Shute |
| Succeeded by | William Burnet |
| In office September 10, 1729 – June 11, 1730 |
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| Preceded by | William Burnet |
| Succeeded by | William Tailer (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | about 1677 Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony |
| Died | October 10, 1761 (aged 84) Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay |
| Spouses | first unknown Katherine Dudley (second) |
William Dummer (born around 1677 – died October 10, 1761) was an important politician in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. This was a British colony in North America. He served as its lieutenant governor for 14 years, from 1716 to 1730.
During this time, he also acted as governor for a long period, from 1723 to 1728. He is best known for leading the colony during a conflict called Dummer's War. This war was fought between the British colonies and Native American tribes in what is now New Hampshire, Maine, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.
Dummer came from a rich merchant family in Massachusetts. He traveled to England when he was young to work in the family business. When he returned to Massachusetts in 1712, he entered politics. His brother, Jeremiah Dummer, helped him get the job of lieutenant governor from the King.
He served under Governor Samuel Shute, who often argued with the local assembly (a group of elected representatives). Shute left the colony suddenly in 1722, in the middle of the war with Native American tribes. Dummer then took charge.
Dummer successfully ended the war. He made a peace treaty with the Abenaki people, which became a model for future agreements. In 1728, William Burnet replaced Shute as governor. Burnet's time in office was mostly spent arguing about his salary.
Burnet died in office, and Jonathan Belcher became the new governor in 1730. Belcher chose William Tailer as his lieutenant. Dummer then retired from public life. He split his time between his farm in Byfield and his home in Boston.
Dummer cared a lot about education. In his will, he left money to start a school in Massachusetts. He also donated his Byfield estate for the school's use. For many years, it was known as Dummer Academy or Governor Dummer Academy. Today, it is called The Governor's Academy.
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Growing Up in Boston
William Dummer was born in Boston, the main city of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. His father was Jeremiah Dummer, who was the first silversmith born in America. His mother was Anna (Atwater) Dummer.
His grandfather, Richard Dummer, was one of the first settlers in Massachusetts and a very wealthy man. William was also related to the important judge Samuel Sewall. William was the oldest of nine children, but only four of them lived to be adults. He was baptized at Boston's Old South Church on October 10, 1677.
We don't know much about Dummer's early life. Because his family was rich, he probably went to the Boston Latin School. However, he did not go to Harvard. His younger brother, Jeremiah Dummer, did go to Harvard and then studied in Europe.
Family and Home Life
In 1702, Dummer joined the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts. He then went to England, likely in the early 1700s. There, he worked in his family's merchant business. He returned to Massachusetts in 1712.
While in England, he reportedly married a cousin from the Dummer family. She passed away, which may have led to his return to Massachusetts. They did not have any children. On April 26, 1714, he married Katherine Dudley. She was the daughter of Massachusetts Governor Joseph Dudley.
In 1712, his father gave him a large piece of land in the Byfield area of Newbury. This gift might have been for his wedding. This property became their country home. Dummer divided his time between this Newbury property and the family home in Boston.
Becoming Lieutenant Governor
When Queen Anne died in 1714, all official jobs given during her rule were set to end. This caused a big competition for leadership roles in Massachusetts. Dummer's brother, Jeremiah, was in London representing their family's side.
Jeremiah and Jonathan Belcher were able to convince the person chosen by the other political group, Elizeus Burges, to give up his job. Finally, in June 1716, Samuel Shute was chosen as governor, and William Dummer became lieutenant governor. Shute arrived in the colony in October, and both men started their jobs.
Leading the Colony
William Dummer's role during Governor Shute's time was not easy. Shute often argued with the provincial assembly, which was the colony's elected government. The assembly refused to pay government officials a regular salary. They also disagreed with other rules Shute was told to put in place.
In 1720, the assembly cut the lieutenant governor's pay. Dummer returned the money, saying his own expenses for the job were more than the amount they offered.
Starting Dummer's War
The assembly also made it harder for Shute to talk with the Abenaki people. The Abenaki lived on the colony's eastern borders (now in Maine). They were upset about settlers moving onto their lands. Even though some people wanted peace, the Massachusetts assembly took a tough stance. They stopped trade with the Abenaki and sent soldiers to attack Norridgewock, a main Abenaki town.
Relations got worse, and open fighting began in 1722. Shute declared war on the Abenaki in July. Because of his arguments with the assembly, Shute suddenly left the colony for London on January 1, 1723. This left Dummer to act as governor and lead the military. Dummer was left to manage the war, which is now known as Dummer's War.
Fighting on the Frontier
Historian John Ragle described Dummer's time as acting governor as "unspectacular but able." In 1723, Dummer tried hard to get the Iroquois (from what is now New York) to help fight the Abenaki. He also tried to keep western Abenaki groups (from what is now Vermont) out of the conflict.
He was not successful in either goal. The Iroquois refused to fight tribes allied with New France. Dummer's efforts to contact Grey Lock, a main leader of the western Abenakis, also failed.
In August 1723, Grey Lock began attacking Massachusetts towns in the Connecticut River valley. Dummer asked the leaders of the Connecticut Colony for help. They sent soldiers, but the attacks continued. Dummer also approved building a fort north of Northfield. This fort was named Fort Dummer in his honor. It was located in what is now Brattleboro, Vermont, and is seen as the start of permanent European settlement in Vermont.
Fort Dummer did not stop the Native American attacks. When Grey Lock's raids continued in 1724, Dummer again asked Connecticut for more help. Connecticut sent more soldiers, but Abenaki raids continued until 1727. Grey Lock then seemed to stop fighting without outside support.
Peace on the Eastern Frontier
One of the arguments Shute had with the assembly was about choosing military officers. This was the governor's job. The assembly wanted the military leader of the eastern area (Maine), Colonel Shadrach Walton, removed. Dummer argued with the assembly about this but eventually replaced Walton with Thomas Westbrook.
Westbrook led another attack on Norridgewock in February 1723, but the village was empty. The war on the eastern border involved similar attacks by eastern Abenaki tribes and counterattacks by the Massachusetts and New Hampshire militias. After Norridgewock was destroyed in August 1724 (and the French priest Sebastian Rale was killed), the war calmed down. Dummer took a strong stand, accusing the French of starting the war and demanding they stay neutral.
Peace talks began in Boston in early 1725 with the Penobscot leaders Wenemouet and Sauguaaram. Dummer led these talks and was firm. He refused to stop settlers from moving into disputed lands. However, he allowed the Penobscots to keep a Catholic priest. He also pushed Wenemouet to bring Grey Lock and other Abenaki leaders to the peace table.
These talks led to a first peace agreement with only the Penobscots in July 1725. Wenemouet then tried to spread this peace among the wider Wabanaki Confederacy. However, a French priest later found differences between the written treaty and what was agreed upon. Sauguaaram rejected the written treaty in January 1726.
At a peace meeting in August 1726, the Penobscots tried to argue against the problematic language. But they were convinced to sign the treaty anyway. The Penobscots then promoted this peace within the confederacy. By March 1727, all tribes except Grey Lock's group had agreed to it. A final big peace meeting was held at Casco Bay in July 1727. This meeting formally ended the fighting. Dummer, New Hampshire's Acting Governor John Wentworth, and many Wabanaki leaders attended.
The treaty Dummer negotiated became a key part of diplomacy between Massachusetts and the eastern tribes for the next 50 years.
Challenges as Acting Governor
Dummer tried to work well with the provincial legislature. For example, he allowed Elisha Cooke, who had opposed Shute, to become the speaker of the assembly. He managed the assembly's attempts to control the military by organizing expeditions when they were not meeting.
The assembly refused to give money to pay soldiers, which led to more soldiers leaving their posts. They also fired his brother Jeremiah as the colony's agent in London.
Shute's complaints to London led the Privy Council (a group of advisors to the King) to issue an Explanatory Charter. This document supported Shute on all the main issues. Shute was getting ready to return to Massachusetts in 1727 when King George I died. King George II chose William Burnet as the new Massachusetts governor instead of Shute. He also renewed Dummer's job as lieutenant governor.
The issue of colonial money came up again in 1726. Dummer had been told to only allow new money to be printed in special cases. The assembly wanted to print a large amount of money for repairing forts. Dummer had asked for money for repairs, but the amount the assembly wanted to print was much more than needed. Dummer said no and dissolved the assembly.
When the assembly met in 1727, Dummer kept them in session for 165 days. He demanded they deal with the money withdrawal. The assembly threatened to stop paying him. Eventually, they withdrew some money before Dummer gave in. This issue made the atmosphere very tense when Burnet arrived in July 1728.
Life After Politics
Burnet's short time as governor was mostly spent in a bitter argument over his salary. After Burnet died suddenly on September 7, 1729, Dummer again became acting governor. He stayed in office until June 11, 1730. Then, William Tailer took over, chosen by the new Governor Jonathan Belcher.
After he was replaced as lieutenant governor, Dummer seemed to retire to private life as a successful farmer. He reportedly served on the provincial council, but there are no other public records about him. He also left no letters or other personal papers. He died at home on October 10, 1761, and was buried in Boston's Granary Burying Ground.
Dummer's Lasting Impact
William Dummer left several gifts in his will to help others. He gave money to Harvard College and also for buying books. His biggest gift was his Newbury property for a preparatory school.
The school opened on February 27, 1763, and was first called the Dummer Charity School. Later, it was known as Dummer Academy and then Governor Dummer Academy. In July 2006, its name changed to The Governor's Academy. This was because Dummer's last name sounded like "dumber," which led to teasing during sports events. Dummer's old Georgian style house is still a main building on the school campus. It now serves as the headmaster's home.
The towns of Dummer, New Hampshire and Dummerston, Vermont were also named in his honor.
