Josiah Winslow

Died at age 52. Governor of Plymouth Colony. The son of Mayflower Pilgrim and Governor Edward Winslow, Josiah was educated at Harvard. In 1656 he succeeded Myles Standish as commander of the colony's military forces. Winslow was Plymouth's assistant governor from 1657 to 1673, and Plymouth's Commissioner to the New England Confederation from 1658 to 1672. He became governor of Plymouth in 1673 and served until his death, earning accolades for establishing America's first public school. In 1675 and 1676 Winslow was military commander during King Philip's War. Bio by: Bill McKern (Findagrave.com) (March 24, 2020 by C.LaDue) Josiah (also Josias) Winslow (c. 1623 in Plymouth Colony – 1680 in Marshfield, Plymouth Colony) was the 13th Governor of Plymouth Colony. He was born one year after the Charter which founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony, bringing over 20,000 English immigrants to New England in the 1630s. Josiah was the Harvard College-educated son of Mayflower passenger and Pilgrim leader Edward Winslow and was Governor from 1673 to 1680. The most significant event during his term in office was King Philip's War, which changed New England forever. Josiah was the first governor born in a New England colony. Early years Josiah Winslow's parents were Edward Winslow (d. 1655) and his second wife, widow Susanna White. Her first husband had been Pilgrim William White, who died in February 1621, with whom she had sons Resolved and Peregrine White, all of whom were Mayflower passengers.[4] The wedding of Edward Winslow and Susanna White was the first in Plymouth Colony.[5][6][self-published source][7] In 1643 Josiah Winslow was chosen deputy to the general court from Marshfield, and in 1656 he succeeded Myles Standish as the commander of the colony's military forces.[8] In 1657 he was chosen assistant governor, a post he filled until he was elected governor in 1673. Also, in 1658 he was Plymouth's commissioner to the United Colonies (a Puritan alliance for military defense) until 1672. On October 2, 1658 he was commissioned as major-commandant of the colony's militia forces which were consolidated on that same date into a regiment under Winslow's command. He held this position until June 3, 1673 when, having been elected Governor of the Colony, he was succeeded by William Bradford Jr. On June 2, 1685, Plymouth Colony was divided into three counties (Plymouth, Barnstable and Bristol), and each county had its own regiment of militia. In 1643, his father, Edward Winslow, was one of six signers of the new Articles of Confederation of the New England colonies, and in 1673 Josiah became the first native-born governor of the colony upon the death of Governor Thomas Prence.[9] (Wikipedia)