Sherburne, Henry III

last name (variants): Sherbourne; Sherberne
honorific(s): Mr.; Esq.
Birth: April 4, 1709 in Portsmouth, NH
Death: March 30, 1767 in Portsmouth, NH
Affiliation

New Hampshire Assembly; Harvard College

Education

Harvard College (1728)

Faith

New Light (likely Congregationalist)

Nationality

Anglo-American

Occupation

Judge; Speaker of New Hampshire Assembly

Residence(s)
  • Portsmouth, NH (from 1709-04-04 to 1767-03-30)
Marital status

Sherburne was married and had as many as 16 children.

Biography

Henry Sherburne was an influential New Hampshire politician who supported Wheelock's agenda from 1761 until his death in 1767. He was an extremely well-connected man: his mother was a Wentworth and his father was a Sherburne, two of the most powerful families in New Hampshire. Henry Sherburne began working as a clerk in the New Hampshire court as soon as he graduated from Harvard. He went on to become a judge and the Speaker of the New Hampshire Assembly. During the Great Awakening, Sherburne became one of George Whitefield's disciples. Whitefield then introduced him to Wheelock in 1761. Sherburne used his influence to secure support for Wheelock from the New Hampshire Assembly, and raised private donations in his colony (he did not succeed in gaining much support from the Assembly because Benning Wentworth, the governor at the time, was an Anglican and strongly opposed Congregationalists). One of Sherburne's sons was a member of the Dartmouth Class of 1776, as was one of his nephews (the son of his brother John Sherburne, trustee of Dartmouth from 1770-1777).

Sources

Chase, Frederick. A history of Dartmouth College and the Town of Hanover, New Hampshire. 1891. Cutter, William Richard. New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of Commonwealths and the Founding of a Nation, Volume 2. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company 1913. Accessed via GoogleBooks. Wentworth, John. The Wentworth Genealogy: English and American Vol 1. Boston: Little, Brown & Company 1878. Accessed via GoogleBooks.