Overview
Josiah Bartlett was a New Hampshire physician, Patriot, and statesman who rose from local leadership to national prominence during the American Revolution. He served in the Provincial Assembly, supported the Patriot Cause, and was the first delegate to vote for the Declaration of Independence. After the war, he served as the chief executive and later as the state’s Governor. He also strengthened early American medicine by helping to found the New Hampshire Medical Society in 1791.
Personal Facts
- Born: November 21, 1729, in Amesbury, Essex County, Massachusetts.
- Parents: Stephen Bartlett (father) and Hannah Webster (mother).
- Spouse: Mary Bartlett (1754).
- Died: May 19, 1795, in Kingston, New Hampshire. 65 years old.
- Buried: Plains Cemetery, Kingston, New Hampshire.
- Part of: Signers of the Declaration of Independence, Signers of the Articles of Confederation.
Significance
Josiah Bartlett is important to American History because he signed the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation, making him one of the nation’s Founding Fathers.
Biography
Early Life and Medical Career
Josiah Bartlett was born on November 21, 1729, in Amesbury, Essex County, Massachusetts, to Stephen and Mary Bartlett. He attended local schools and later studied Greek and Latin through private lessons. When he was 16, he started studying medicine in the office of Doctor Nehemiah Ordway, a relative, where he gained valuable experience. In 1750, after five years of training, he started his medical practice in Kingston, New Hampshire.
Bartlett built a strong reputation as a skilled country doctor. He identified a dangerous throat disease and treated it successfully with Peruvian bark. This led him to question common medical ideas of the time, and he introduced several reforms based on careful study and testing.
Marriage and Family
Bartlett married his cousin, Mary Bartlett of Newton, New Hampshire, on January 15, 1754. They had 12 children, and many of their descendants went on to become physicians.
Early Public Service
Bartlett’s sharp judgment, honesty, and steady interest in public matters led the people of Kingston to elect him to the Provincial Assembly in 1765, and they continued to re-elect him until the start of the American Revolutionary War.
In 1767, Royal Governor John Wentworth appointed him Justice of the Peace and later made him a Colonel in the local militia. However, as tensions grew between Great Britain and the Colonies, Bartlett firmly supported the Patriot Cause. Because of his strong stand, officials removed him from both offices in February 1775.
Delegate to Congress
In 1774, during a tense and important year, Bartlett gained recognition as a committed Patriot. The Provincial Assembly appointed him to its Committee of Correspondence, and he was elected to the first Provincial Congress, which selected him as one of New Hampshire’s delegates to the First Continental Congress. He could not accept the position because his home had recently burned, likely due to his support for the Patriot Cause.
AHC Notes
- The Provincial Congress was involved with the Capture of Fort William and Mary (December 14–15, 1774). Local militia from the Portsmouth area, led by John Langdon and John Sullivan, stormed the fort and seized the garrison’s military supplies.
- The supplies were later used to arm the New Hampshire Militia, and some of the gunpowder may have been used in the Battle of Bunker Hill.
New Hampshire’s First Provincial Congress
The first Provincial Congress in New Hampshire convened on July 21, 1774, and was the first organized resistance to British authority in New Hampshire.
- Eighty-five delegates, mostly from seacoast towns, attended the meeting.
- Nathaniel Folsom and John Sullivan were chosen as New Hampshire’s Delegates to the First Continental Congress.
- The Provincial Congress provided 200 pounds for their expenses.
- John Giddings was appointed treasurer to manage the funds.
- A committee, including John Wentworth, Meshech Weare, Bartlett, Christopher Toppan, and John Pickering, Jr., was established to draft instructions for Folsom and Sullivan and to communicate with them while they were in Philadelphia.
Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation
During his time in Congress, Bartlett voted for independence and signed the Declaration of Independence. He also voted for the Articles of Confederation and signed the document.
- In 1775 and 1776, New Hampshire again chose him as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress.
- In 1776, he became the first member to vote for adopting the Declaration of Independence, and he later signed it.
- He was a member of the Committee of Thirteen that was tasked with developing the framework that became the Articles of Confederation.
- Although he was reelected in 1777, he was too exhausted from his heavy workload to serve, but he continued to stay active in public affairs while at home.
- In 1778 and 1779, Bartlett returned to Congress and was the first delegate to vote for the Articles of Confederation when the states were called. He also signed the Articles.
Governor of New Hampshire
He later served as the state’s chief executive, then known as the President. In June 1793, after the new New Hampshire Constitution changed the title of the state’s chief executive, Bartlett became New Hampshire’s fourth Governor.
During his four-year administration, he consistently urged lawmakers to make needed changes so the state could meet its responsibilities to the Federal Government.
- He called for early payment of the state debt, careful handling of public and private commitments, and responsible spending.
- He supported revising state laws, improving how certain judges were chosen, and strengthening agriculture and manufacturing.
- He encouraged better roads and the possible construction of canals to bring communities together and promoted moral education for the next generation.
Because of declining health, he left public life at the end of his term in 1794.
Contributions to American Medicine
In 1790, Dartmouth College awarded Bartlett an honorary Doctor of Medicine degree. Despite his long involvement in public affairs, he never lost his interest in medical work. In 1791, he performed one of his most important services to the field by securing a charter for the New Hampshire Medical Society. He wrote the Society’s constitution and bylaws, and the new organization elected him as its first President.
Death and Legacy
Bartlett did not live long after retiring from public service. He died at his home in Kingston on May 19, 1795.
People who knew him described him as tall and well built, polite but dignified, and careful in his appearance. He wore his auburn hair in a queue, a white stock at his neck, ruffled sleeves, short clothes, silk stockings, and low shoes with silver buckles.
His bronze statue, unveiled in 1888, stands in the public square of Amesbury, New Hampshire.
Accomplishments and Milestones
- 1750 — Josiah Bartlett started his medical practice in Kingston, New Hampshire.
- 1754, January 15 — He married Mary Bartlett.
- 1765 — Kingston elected him to the Provincial Assembly.
- 1767 — Bartlett was appointed Justice of the Peace and Colonel of the militia.
- 1775, February — Royal officials removed him from his offices for supporting the Patriot Cause.
- 1776 — Bartlett cast the first vote for the Declaration of Independence and signed it.
- 1778 — He returned to the Continental Congress.
- 1790 — Dartmouth College awarded him an honorary Doctor of Medicine degree.
- 1791 — Bartlett secured the charter for the New Hampshire Medical Society and became its first President.
- 1793, June — He became New Hampshire’s Governor under the new Constitution.
- 1795, May 19 — Bartlett died at his home in Kingston.
