John Endecott
John Endecott was born in Devon, England in 1588. A Puritan, he was sent to Massachusetts Bay in 1628 and after settling in Salem and became leader of the community until the arrival of John Winthrop in 1630.
In 1636 Endecott led a punitive expedition against the Algonquin in Connecticut which led to the Pequot War. He was first elected as governor in 1655 and his ten years in power was marked by Puritan intolerance and resulted in the executions of religious dissenters. John Endecott died Boston on 15th March, 1665.
Primary Sources
(1) Thomas Dudley, letter sent to England (March, 1631)
In 1628 we procured a patent from His Majesty for our planting between the Massachusetts Bay and Charles River on the south and the river of Merrimac on the north and three miles on either side of those rivers and bay. And the same year we sent Mr. John Endecott and some with him to begin a plantation and to strengthen such as he should find there, which we sent thither from Dorchester and some places adjoining; from whom the same year receiving hopeful news, the next year, 1629, we sent diverse ships over with about 300 people, and some cows, goats, and horses, many of which arrived safely.
