Francis Lovelace (1621-bef.1675) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree

Francis Lovelace

Born 1621 in Shoulden, Kent, England

Ancestors

Son of William Lovelace and Anne (Barne) Browne

Brother of Anne (Lovelace) Gorsuch, Richard Lovelace Esquire, Thomas Lovelace, Elizabeth (Lovelace) Hayne, Joane (Lovelace) Caesar, William Lovelace and Dudley Lovelace

Husband of Blanche (Talbot) Lovelace — married 1659 in Woolwich, Kent, England

Father of Edward Lovelace

Died before 22 Dec 1675 before age 54 in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England

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Profile last modified 15 Jul 2023 | Created 19 May 2010

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1 Biography
2 Sources
3 Research notes

Biography

Francis Lovelace is Notable.

in 1650, Francis seems to have gone to Virginia for two years, probably to accompany and aid his sister, Anne Gorsuch. After December 1652 he was an exile on the Continent with Charles II and his retinue; but in 1658 he was back in England aiding the Royalist cause.

On August 5, 1659, he was arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London, but he was freed upon the Commonwealth's collapse. He is mentioned by Pepys in his Diary, as being in London on Dec. 16, 1662 and perhaps was then employed in the Admiralty. On May 14, 1667, he is referred to as "appointed Governor of New York," in an English warrant to the Ordinance (Calendar of State papers, Colonial Series, America and West Indies 1661-1668, no 1480, p 466) and the earliest reference to his appointment appears in a newsletter as of April 13, 1667. While waiting to go to America he was, on June 13, 1667, commissioned as Lieutenant-colonel in a regiment raised by Col. Sir Walter Vane, with the Duke of York's approval. The evidences all point to his selection as governor as a reward for his royalist services and because he had been before in English-America

The Treaty of Breda was proclaimed in New York in 1668, Lovelace arrived in March and for several months was familiarized by Gov. Richard Nicolls with the administration. Lovelace had been instructed to continue unabated the policies of government that were in operation. About the middle of August 1668, he assumed full control. It was a time of epidemic diseases and deaths were numerous. he took hold of the situation with concern, he instituted regular Sessions of his executive council on Sept. 2, 1668 and its minutes to July 11, 1673, were the first regular English council minutes recorded in New York's. Since their publication in 1910 it can no longer be justly charged that Lovelace was arbitrary or incompetent. he was a conscientious man, and in tolerance was the equal of his predecessor, from whom he had inherited unfulfilled promises, unsettled problems, and precedents in administration which the Duke of York's required to be continued.

This made him cautious rather than phlegmatic in what he undertook. yet, in his five years in office, he transacted much business by himself, with his councilors, in the high court of assizes, or by commissions appointed by him and under his control. he not only watched over his vast territory, but entered into every phase of its needs and difficulties. His administration was harassed, internally and externally, by Indian troubles, boundary disputes, an insurrection in the Delaware country, a rebellion in New Jersey, and the incompatibilities of a mixed population of Dutch, English, Swedish, and other nationalities. he interested himself in better ferriage, roads and transportation by land and water; and the regulation of trade and extension of commerce. He instituted the first merchants' exchange and the first haven master of the port. he promoted shipbuilding and himself owned a fine ship, The Good Fame of New York. He extended settlements and laid out new villages and townships, and by purchase for the Duke freed Staten island from Indian control. he was tolerant toward religious sects, even to Quakers. he was Interested in Indian missions and though unsuccessful, made the first attempt to introduce the art of printing into the middle British colonies. he furthered the strengthening of fortifications and the raising of foot companies and troops of horse, keeping them in training. The drift whale, as well as sport fisheries, engaged his attention.

His intercolonial activities, especially with New England, are outstanding, for he institutes the first continuous post road between New York's and Boston, under a postmaster. It was while on a visit to Connecticut to promote this laudable object, that his vigilance lapsed, and he lost New York to a Dutch naval squadron, July 30-Aug.9, 1673. Had he been at his fort and used all the meager resources he had, the capitation could not have been prevented. The defenses of New York were not capable of withstanding an attack of a Dutch naval expedition, already encouraged by former triumphs. By the loss of New York's Lovelace was impoverished and degraded. All his property was stripped from him, first by the Dutch, then by his countrymen, some for debts to the Duke of York's, others for unpaid property or mortgages, or other private debts in New York. Litigation over these debts continued many years.

While traveling in the Mediterranean, in 1674, he was captured by Turks, taken to Algiers, and there stripped of his jewels and several hundred pounds. on being ransomed he returned to England, where he was pursued by the vindictiveness of the Duke of York, who claimed a debt of seven thousand pounds and was irritated by the loss of his is proprietary province. in January 1675, he was imprisoned in the Tower, but he was released in April on security, on account of being "dangerously ill of a dropsy". Meanwhile he had been under examination, for the loss of New York's, by a committee appointed by the King. his last months were spent in retirement at Woodstock, near Oxford, where he probably died in the latter part of 1675, as letters of administration were issued to his brother Dudley on December 22 of that year. This administration was still unsettled in 1686, when Dudley died.

In 1652, Francis Lovelace was in VA said to have been entrusted by Gov. Berkley of VA to carry news to King Charles II of the surrender of the colony to the representatives of Parliament with the latter's consent. Appointed Deputy Governor of Long Island and in 1668 became Governor of New York 1668-1673, until the city was captured by the Dutch July 30, 1673.

Lovelace's immediate forebears were Royalists supporting the Stuarts. He himself served as a Colonel for forces loyal to Charles I during the English War and was active in Wales, where he was governor of Carmarthen Castle until it capitulated to parliamentary forces in 1645. There is a letter from Gov. Francis Lovelace of NY to Gov Berkley of VA dated Dec. 6, 1669, which refers to appointment of Thomas Todd of Mobjack Bay guardian to the will Whitbey's son by his niece Mr. Kath Gorsuch.

He was a soldier in the King's army in Scotland. (Louis XIV) Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, Vol I - IV Burgesses and Other Prominent Persons

Name: Colonel Francis Lovelace was son of Sir William Lovelace, and brother of Richard Lovelace, the poet, served Charles I in Wales and commanded Caermathen from 1644 until it was captured by Langhorne in October, 1645. His estate was sequestered by the parliamentarians and in 1650 he came to Virginia. At the surrender of Virginia to the parliamentary commissioners in 1652, he was allowed to repair to Charles II, with the news. After the restoration he was made governor of New York from 1667 to 1673. His sister Anne married Rev. John Gorsuch, of England and Virginia.

Origin

Francis Lovelace was born c. 1621 at Shoulden, Kent, England.^[1] He was the third son of Sir William Lovelace, of Bethersden and Woolwich, Kent, and Anne Barne. Richard Lovelace, the poet, was his older brother.

His family was NOT closely related to the barony Lovelace of Hurley. However, Francis is sometimes confused with Francis Lovelace, son of Richard Lovelace, 1st Baron Lovelace. Also, the profiled Francis Lovelace, 2nd governor of New York, was succeeded by John Lovelace, 4th Baron Lovelace of Hurley, as the 3rd proprietary governor of New York Colony.

Family

Francis married Blanche Talbot.

English Civil War

Francis served as a Colonel in the Royalist army for King Charles I during the English Civil War.

Governor of New York

Francis was appointed by the Duke of York as the second proprietary governor of the colony of New York.^[2]

Returned to England

After the colony was briefly reclaimed by the Dutch in 1673, Francis was recalled to England in disgrace. His properties in the colony and in England were confiscated, and in January 1675, Francis was confined to the Tower of London. He was held under questioning until April 1675, when he was finally released, apparently due to poor health.

Death and Legacy

Francis died before 22 December 1675 at Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, dishonored and destitute, but little did he know that he had actually lead the beginning of the U.S. Postal Service.

Boston Post Road

He had been the royal governor of New York, and he had sent the first official post rider to Boston. Sometime in February 1673, the first mail ever arrived in Boston from New York City via the Boston Post Road. Thus Francis Lovelace initiated both the U.S. Postal Service and the Boston Post Road.

Sources

↑ The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. (Page 175) New York, NY: New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, 1870-. (Online database accessed February 1, 2015: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011.)
↑ Wikipedia contributors, Francis Lovelace Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, accessed February 1, 2015

Richardson, Douglas: Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd edn. (2011), 4 vols, Volume 3, page 53, LOVELACE 16iii. Also Royal Ancestry (2013) 3:634.

DNB - confused, in spite of its own warning. Most of this article applies to the Governor. But he was not the son of the 1st Baron or the grandfather of the 4th Baron (also Governor of New York).