Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 10.djvu/383

 WENTWORTH

WERDEN

John and Sarah (Hunking) "Wentworth, and a descendant of Elder William Went.wortli, the emigrant. His father was a prominent lawyer and merchant of New Hampshire. John was graduated from Harvard in 1755 ; was sent to England as agent of the province in 1765, and was appointed governor of New Hampshire to succeed his uncle, Gov. Benning Wentworth (q.v.), in 1767, serving till 1775. To this appointment was added that of surveyor-general of the king's woods in America. After receiving his commis- sion from the crown, he sailed from England to Ciiarleston, S.C., arriving in March, 1768, and pro- ceeded to Portsmouth, N.H., by land, registering his appointment in each of the colonies as he passed through, and entered upon his duties as governor in June, 1787. He was married, Nov. 11, 1769, to his cousin Frances, daughter of Samuel Wentworth. and widow of Theodore Atkinson. He granted the charter founding Dartmouth college in the name of King George III., Dec. 13, 1769, rejecting the proposition to have it called Wentworth college ; was an ex-of- ficio member of the first board of trustees, 1769- 75 ; endowed the college with 44,000 acres of land, and also gave a piece of land to each member of the first graduating class. He op- posed the insurrection of the colonies against Great Britain, and when Gen. Tliomas Gage applied to him for aid in erecting barracks in Boston for the British troops, he endeavored to comply with his request, which course made him unpopular, and he was forced to abandon his office and take refuge at Fort W^illiam and Mary. He embarked for Boston, Aug. 24, 1775, and went to England, where he re- mained until peace was declared. In 1792 he was appointed governor of Nova Scotia, holding office till 1808, when he was retired with a pension. In 1795 he was created a baronet. The honorary degree of A.M. was conferred on him by Harvard and the College of New Jersey in 1763 ; that of LL.D. by Oxford, in 1766, and by Dartmouth, 1773. He died in Halifax, N.S., April 8, 1820.

WENTWORTH, John, delegate, was born in Salmon Falls, N.H., July 17, 1745 : son of Col. John and Joanna (Gilman) Wentworth. He was graduated from Harvard in 1768 ; studied law with Judge William Parker, and established himself in practice in Dover, N.H. He was married in July, 1771. to Margaret, daughter of Joseph and Margaret (Colton) Frost of New Castle. He was a member of the committee of safety that ad- ministered the state government during an ad- journment of the legislatui'e ; was a member of the New Hampshire legislature, 1776-81 ; a delegate to the Continental congress, 1778-79, and was one of the original signers of the articles of Confederation, at Philadelphia, Aug. 8. 1778.

He was a member of the state council to succeed his father, 1780-83 ; was appointed by Gov. John Wentworth, register of the probate for Stratford county in 1780, and state senator, 1784-87. He died in Dover, N.H., Jan. 10, 1787.

WENTWORTH, John, representative, was born in Sandwich, N.H., March 5, 1815; son of Paul and Lydia (Coggswell) Wentworth ; grand- son of John and Margaret (Frost) Wentworth and of Col. Amos and Lydia (Baker) Wallingford Coggswell ; great-grandson of Col. John and Joanna (Gilman) Wentworth; greats-grandson of Capt. Benjamin and Elizabeth (Leighton) Went- worth ; greats-grandson of Ezekiel and Elizabeth Wentworth, and great*-grandson of William Wentworth, the emigrant. He was taken by his parents to Dover, N.H., in 1819; attended the ixiblic schools and academies in New Hampshire, and was graduated from Dartmouth, A.B., 1836, A.M., 1839. He removed to Chicago, 111., where he obtained employment on the Democrat ; was a member of the first meeting of citizens to con- sider the organization of Chicago as a city ; and voted at the first city election in May, 1837. He studied law in Chicago, and also attended the Harvard law school ; was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1841 ; purchased the Cliicago Democrat in the same year and conducted it with success until 1861. He was a Democratic representative in tlie 28th, 33d and 39th congresses, 1843-45 ; 1853-.55 and 1865-67, resi:)ectively. He was mar- ried Nov. 13, 1844, toRoxanna Marie, daughter of Riley and Roxanna (Atwater) Loomis of Troy, N.Y. He was one of the founders of the anti- slavery party ; was elected mayor of Chicago by the Republican party in 1857, and issued a proc- lamation calling for volunteers, after Fort Sumter was fired upon in 1861. He served as mayor until 1863 ; introduced the first steam fire engine in Chicago in 1857, and paid off a large floating debt that had accumulated before his accession to the office. He was a member of the constitutional revision committee of Illinois in 1861 ; a member of the board of education, 1861-64 and 1868-72 ; and also of the state board of agriculture. The honorary degree of LL.D. was conferred on him by Dartmouth in 1867. He is the author of : Genealogical, Bibliographical and Biographical Account of the Descendants of Elder William Wenticorth (1850) ; TJie Wenticorth Family (3 vols., 1878). He died in Chicago, 111., Oct. 16,1888.

WERDEN, Reed, naval officer, was born in Delaware county, Pa., Feb. 28, 1818. He entered the U.S. navy as midshipman, Jan. 9, 1834. and on July 16, 1840. was advanced to passed midship- man and ailmitted to the naval school at Pliila- delphia. He was commissioned lieutenant, Feb. 27, 1847. served on the Germantown during tlie war with Mexico, and participated in the shore