Nathaniel Gorham (1738 - 1796)

Born 27 May 1738 in Charlestown, Boston, Massachusetts Bay

Ancestors

Husband of Rebecca (Call) Gorham — married 6 Sep 1763 in Charleston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 11 Jun 1796 at age 58 in Charlestown, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States

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Nathaniel Gorham participated in the American Revolution. Join: 1776 Project Discuss: 1776

Biography

Hon. Nathaniel Gorham served with American Founding Fathers during the American Revolution.

Nathaniel Gorham is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A046242.

Signer of the Constitution,^[1] Fourteenth President of the Continental Congress^[2]

Nathaniel Gorham was the eldest son of Captain Nathaniel Gorham^[3] and Mary (Soley) Gorham of Charlestown, Massachusetts.^[4] He was born on 27 May 1738.^[5]

Born into a family of modest means and reputation, Nathaniel's formal education was minimal.^[6] At the age of fifteen, he was apprenticed to Nathaniel Coffin, a New London, Connecticut, merchant.^[3] Here, he attained the skills and knowledge that equipped him for success in the competitive world of commerce. In 1759, he established his own mercantile firm in Charlestown, and quickly became successful financially and socially.^[6]

In 1763, he married Rebecca Call and they settled in Charlestown, Massachusetts.^[3] Their children were:

1. Nathaniel, b. 25 Oct 1763^[7]
2. Rebecca, b. 20 Mar 1765^[8]
3. Mary, b. 7 Dec 1767^[9]
4. Elizabeth, b. 21 Jul 1769^[10]
5. Ann (1771-1830), m. ___ Brooks^[11]
6. John, b. 1772^[11]
7. Benjamin (1775-1885)^[12]
8. Stephen (1776-1849)^[11]
9. Lydia (1779-1856), m. ___ Phillips^[13]

Nathaniel's initial entry into politics was a modest appointment as a notary.^[6] In 1774, he was chosen as a Representative from Charlestown to the General Court. As trouble with England became inevitable, he aligned with the Patriots. In 1775, Nathaniel was named as one of a committee appointed by Congress to see after the welfare of the inhabitants of Charlestown.^[14] But when Boston was beseiged, Charlestown suffered the same fate; Nathaniel was stripped of his property and forced to seek asylum in Lunenburgh with his wife and small children.^[3]

As the War of Independence progressed, Nathaniel remained actively involved in the establishment of a provincial government, support of the war effort, and eventual framing of the Constitution:^[6]

• 1775 - Continued as member of Massachusetts provincial legislature
• 1778 - Appointed to the Board of War
• 1779-1780 - Served as delegate to state Constitutional Convention (that wrote the Massachusetts state constitution of 1780)
• 1780's - Served in both houses of the state legislature
  • 1785 - Chosen Speaker of the House^[3]
• 1782, 1783, 1785-1787 - Served as a member of the Confederation Congress
• 1786 - Chosen as President of Confederation Congress
  • 1787 - Chairman of the Committee of the Whole
  • 1787 - Member of the Committee of Detail (which drafted the Constitution)
• 1788 - Member of the Governor's Council^[15]

In 1785, despite the lack of a formal education, he became a judge of the Middlesex County court of common pleas and served until his death in 1796.^[6]

As a framer of the Constitution, he advocated a central government strong enough to support commercial endeavors, long terms for the president and senators, broad powers for Congress, executive appointment of judges, and a military controlled by the central government.^[15]

In his last years, he and a business partner undertook a speculative investment in western New York land. Unfortunately, the venture failed, leaving him heavily in debt.^[6][15]

Nathaniel Gorham passed away on 11 Jun 1796 at Charlestown, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts.^[16] He was buried at Phipps Street Burying Ground, Charleston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts.^[17]

Sources

1. ↑ Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 8 Apr 2018), "Record of GORHAM, NATHANIEL", Ancestor # A046242.
2. ↑ American History Central: Continental Presidents
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4} Vital Records from the New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (Compiled from articles originally published in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register.), pp. 306, 307.
4. ↑ Vital Records from the New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (Compiled from articles originally published in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register.), p. 252.
5. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F42Q-FZD : 20 May 2022), Nathaniel Goreham, May 1738; citing Birth, Charlestown, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007009468.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5} Morton, Joseph C. Shapers of the great debate at the Constitutional Convention of 1787: a biographical dictionary Volume 8 of Shapers of the great American debates. Publisher: Greenwood Publishing Group, pp. 117-121.
7. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G97M-59JP-S?cc=2061550&wc=Q4DQ-BZ8%3A353350401%2C355680501%2C355686801 : 22 October 2020), Suffolk > Charlestown > Births, marriages, deaths 1629-1843 > image 93 of 447; citing Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston.
8. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F427-SWG : 20 May 2022), Nathaniel Gorham in entry for Rebecca Gorham, 20 Mar 1765; citing Birth, Charlestown, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007009468.
9. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F427-382 : 20 May 2022), Nathanael Gorham in entry for Mary Gorham, 7 Dec 1767; citing Birth, Charlestown, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007009468.
10. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F427-38P : 20 May 2022), Nathanael Gorham in entry for Elizabeth Gorham, 21 Jul 1769; citing Birth, Charlestown, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007009468.
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1 11.2} FamilySearch LRCJ-FP8
12. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9Q1-JT9?cc=2061550&wc=Q4D3-HZ7%3A353350401%2C355680501%2C355683301 : 22 October 2020), Suffolk > Charlestown > Deaths 1849-1860 > image 273 of 530; citing Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston.
13. ↑ "Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1925", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N75Y-WZF : 14 December 2022), Nath. Gorham in entry for Lydia Phillips, 1856.
14. ↑ Frothingham The History of Charlestown, Massachusetts, p. 322.
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1 15.2} Wright, Robert K. Soldier-Statesmen of the Constitution Center of Military History, United States Army, Washington, D.C., 1987
16. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FH24-LJP : 20 May 2022), Nathaniel Gorham, 11 Jun 1796; citing Death, Charlestown, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007009468.
17. ↑ Memorial for Nathaniel Gorham

See also:

• Nathaniel Gorham
• Wikipedia:Nathaniel_Gorham
• Middlesex Gazette (Middletown, Connecticut, Friday, June 24, 1796) Vol. XI Issue: 553.

• Page 3: "Died. At Charlestown, (Mass.) of an Apoplectic fit, the Hon. Nathaniel Gorham, Esq. AEt. 59. He was apparently well, and attended at Lecture the Evening preceding."

• Wyman, Thos. B., Jr. Extracts From The Diary of Robert Calley of Charlestown, Mass. 1699-1765, The New England Historical & Genealogical Register (New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass., 1862) Vol. 16, Page 36, Page 38

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Paula Johnson for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Paula and others.