Winthrop Sargent (1753 - 1820)

Born 1 May 1753 in Gloucester, Essex, Massachusetts Bay

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 3 Jun 1820 at age 67 in At Sea, Gulf of Mexico near New Orleans

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Preceded by Mississippi Territory Organized April 7, 1798

Winthrop Sargent 1st Governor of Mississippi Territory 1798-1801

Succeeded by 2nd Territorial Governor William C. C. Claiborne

Biography

Winthrop Sargent is Notable.

Winthrop Sargent is an NSSAR Patriot Ancestor.
NSSAR Ancestor #: P-284663
Rank: Captain, 3rd Continental Artillery

Governor of the Mississippi Territory and Harvard graduate Winthrop Sargent began his career as captain of a merchant vessel owned by his father. In 1775 he enlisted in the army and served for eight years, rising during the Revolutionary War from Lieutenant to Brevet-Major. He served as Secretary of the Northwest Territory from 1787 to 1798 and then was appointed Governor of the Mississippi Territory. A Federalist, Sargent faced strong political opposition during his tenure as Governor and was generally unpopular with the people. He was replaced as Governor in 1801 but chose to remain in Mississippi rather than returning to the Northeast. Having married a wealthy widow, Sargent was able to live in the high style of early-nineteenth-century Natchez, enjoying a planter's life at Gloucester Plantation and engaging in a wide range of hobbies, from studying the stages of the Mississippi River to digging in Indian mounds to collecting fine art. Sargent died at sea in the Gulf of Mexico, not far from New Orleans. There is some question about whether he was in fact buried or whether the monument in Gloucester Cemetery is a cenotaph.^[1]

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Sources

1. ↑ Natalie Maynor, more info needed.

• Find A Grave Memorial# 24944020

• Winthrop Sargent on Wikipedia

• Winthrop Sargent Papers, 1771-1948 - Massachusetts Historical Society