{{Short description|American colonial merchant (c. 1606–1681)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}} {{EngvarB|date=June 2021}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = William Hathorne | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | office = Member of the Council of Assistants | term_start = 1662 | term_end = 1679 | office1 = Speaker of the General Court | term_start1 = 1660 | term_end1 = 1661 | predecessor1 = Thomas Savage | successor1 = Thomas Clarke | term_start2 = 1657 | term_end2 = 1657 | predecessor2 = Richard Russell | successor2 = Richard Russell | term_start3 = 1650 | term_end3 = 1650 | predecessor3 = Daniel Denison | successor3 = Daniel Gookin | term_start4 = 1648 | term_end4 = 1648 | predecessor4 = Joseph Hills | successor4 = Richard Russell | term_start5 = 1646 | term_end5 = 1646 | predecessor5 = George Cooke | successor5 = Robert Bridges | term_start6 = 1644 | term_end6 = 1645 | predecessor6 = None ''(office established)'' | office7 = Member of the General Court<br>for Salem | term_start7 = 1634 | term_end7 = 1661 | successor6 = George Cooke | office8 = Commissioner for Massachusetts Bay<ref>Ward 1961, p. 405</ref> | term_start8 = 1644 | term_end8 = 1644 | term_start9 = 1650 | term_end9 = 1653 | term_start10 = 1669 | term_end10 = 1673 | birth_name = | birth_date = {{circa|1606}} | birth_place = Bray, Berkshire, Kingdom of England | death_date = {{death date text|10 June 1681}} (aged 70-79) | death_place = Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony, English Colonial America | body_discovered = | death_cause = | resting_place = | known_for = | education = | employer = | occupation = Assistant Governor, magistrate, merchant | networth = | height = | spouse = Anne Smith | partner = | children = 7 | parents = | relations = Nathaniel Hawthorne (great-great-great grandson) | family = | signature = | signature_alt = }} '''William Hathorne''' ({{circa|1606}} – 1681) was a New England politician, judge and merchant who was Commissioner for Massachusetts Bay and Speaker of the General Court. He arrived in America on the ship ''Arbella'',<ref name="Anderson">Anderson, Robert, ''The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633,'' Entry for William Hathorne, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA, 1999.</ref><ref>Waters, Henry F., ''Genealogical Gleanings in England,'' p. 45, Vol. I, New-England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA, 1901.</ref> and is the first American ancestor of author Nathaniel Hawthorne (who added the "w" to the spelling of his last name).
==Early life== Hathorne was the son of yeoman William Hathorne, of Binfield, Berkshire, and his wife, Sara. The family lived in "substantial", "comfortable circumstances."<ref>The Salem World of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Margaret B. Moore, University of Missouri Press, 2001, p. 29</ref> The elder William, in his will proved in 1651, left all his "lands, buildings and tenements" in Berkshire not to the by then absent eldest son, William, but to a younger son Robert, on condition that Robert give William one hundred pounds.<ref>Genealogical Gleanings in England, Henry F. Waters, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1885, p. 44</ref><ref>Soldiers in King Philip's War- Being a Critical Account of that War, with a Concise History of the Indian Wars of New England from 1620-1677, Official Lists of the Soldiers of Massachusetts Colony Serving in Philip's War, and Sketches of the Principal Officers, Copies of Ancient Documents and Records Relating to the War, Also Lists of the Narragansett Grantees of the United Colonies, Massachusetts, Plymouth and Connecticut, George M. Bodge, 1896, p. 318</ref> The younger William Hathorne had gone to America in 1630, and rose to prominence there through his own talent and efforts.
==Life in Massachusetts== He was a prosperous merchant in Salem, Massachusetts, was admitted as a freeman in 1634, served as a deputy representing Salem for many terms and when the House of Deputies elected a speaker for the first time, he was the one chosen. He served in that capacity for several years thereafter and was Salem's commanding character of the time period.<ref name="Anderson"/><ref>''Soldiers in King Philip's War,'' Chapt. 22 (http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/newengland/philip/21-end/ch22.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124220249/http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/newengland/philip/21-end/ch22.html |date=24 January 2021 }})</ref><ref>Hurd, Duane Hamilton. ''History of Essex County, Massachusetts,'' p. xvii, vol. I, J. W. Lewis & Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1888.</ref><ref name="Jameson, J. Franklin 1651, pp. 142, 143">Jameson, J. Franklin, ed. ''Johnson's Wonder-Working Providence, 1628-1651,'' pp. 142, 143, 231, Barnes & Noble, Inc., New York, New York, 1910.</ref>
Hathorne was a zealous advocate of the personal rights of freemen against royal emissaries and agents.
Hathorne served as a magistrate on the highest court, and received a grant of 640 acres for service to the state. He was elected assistant to the governor in 1662 and served until 1679. He was appointed as captain of the Salem military company on May 1, 1646, and led troops to victory in King Philip's War. He was commissioned as a major in 1656.<ref>Crane, Ellery Bicknell, ed., ''Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts,'' pp. 376-377, Vol. I, The Lewis Publishing Company, New York, NY, 1907.</ref><ref name="Jameson, J. Franklin 1651, pp. 142, 143"/>
==Personal life== Later, Hathorne married a certain Anne Smith and had at least two children, one of whom, Elizabeth (b. 22 July 1649), married Israel Porter (1643-1706) and was the grandmother of Israel Putnam.
==Influence on Nathaniel Hawthorne==
William Hathorne was a reflection of the Puritan society in which he lived. Puritans came to Massachusetts to obtain religious freedom for themselves, but had no particular interest in becoming a haven for other faiths. The laws were harsh, with punishments that included fines, deprivation of property, banishment or imprisonment. For example, Hathorne had Quakers whipped in the streets of Salem.
Hathorne's son, Judge John Hathorne, is also a symbol of this period. People believed that witches were real. There was no scientific explanation for individuals' bizarre behavior, so witchcraft appeared to be the logical explanation for people's fits (which experts now suspect may have been the result of ergotism). Nothing caused more fear in the Puritan community than people who appeared to be possessed by the devil. Witchcraft was a major felony. Judge Hathorne is the best known of the witch trial judges, and he became known as the "Hanging Judge" for sentencing witches to death.<ref>Starkey, Marion, ''The Devil in Massachusetts,'' Knopf, Doubleday, 1969.</ref><ref>Brief Biography of John Hathorne, Hawthorne in Salem Web site (http://www.hawthorneinsalem.org/Life&Times/Family/Paternal/Introduction.html#JohnHathorne {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205092910/http://www.hawthorneinsalem.org/Life%26Times/Family/Paternal/Introduction.html#JohnHathorne |date=5 December 2020 }}).</ref>
Author Nathaniel Hawthorne, who descended from these men, used his ancestors as inspiration for some of his most famous works. He was much interested in colonial history, good vs. evil, and the psychology of Puritan society. His classic novels ''The Scarlet Letter'' and ''The House of the Seven Gables,'' and the short story "Young Goodman Brown" reflect his studies.<ref>Hawthorne, Manning, Biography of Nathaniel Hawthorne in ''Readers' Encyclopedia of American Literature''.</ref>
<gallery> File:House of the Seven Gables (front angle) - Salem, Massachusetts.jpg|The House of the Seven Gables Image:GallowsHillPark Salem Massachusetts.jpg|Gallows Hill Park. Popular legend places the execution of the Salem Witches near this site. Image:SalemCommon Salem Massachusetts.jpg|Salem Common in 2006 Image:PickmanHouse Salem Massachusetts.jpg|The Pickman House, c. 1664, located on Charter Street and believed to be Salem's oldest surviving building </gallery>
==References==
{{Reflist}} *{{cite book |editor-last=Ward|editor-first=Harry|title = The United Colonies of New England-1643-90|publisher = Vantage Press=1961}}
==External links== * [http://salem.org/ Salem, MA Web site]
{{Nathaniel Hawthorne}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hathorne, William}} Category:1681 deaths Category:People from Salem, Massachusetts Category:Merchants from colonial Massachusetts Category:1600s births Category:Speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (colonial period) Category:English emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies