Sir Edmund Andros (1637–ca. 1714) - Encyclopedia Virginia
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Sir Edmund Andros (1637–ca. 1714)

SUMMARY

Sir Edmund Andros served as governor of Virginia from 1692 until 1698. Born in London, Andros enjoyed ties to the family of Charles II, served in the army, was appointed governor of New York by the future James II in 1674 and in 1686 of the Dominion of New England. His stay in New England was unpopular enough that he ended up imprisoned before returning to England. During the Glorious Revolution (1688) he supported William of Orange, who appointed him governor of Virginia with the hopes that he would aid New York during King William’s War (1689–1697) and raise the salaries of the Anglican clergy. Andros’s efforts were hindered by the war’s effect on the tobacco trade; when prices fell, so did the salaries of clergymen, who were paid in the crop. Forced to battle with the clergymen’s leader, James Blair, Andros raised salaries some but not enough. In the meantime, he subtly extended royal power in Virginia, tying the colony’s laws closer to England’s. Just staying in power despite a host of political enemies, Andros left office due to poor health, leaving Virginia in 1699. He served as lieutenant governor of Guernsey before dying in England sometime around 1714.

Early Years

Andros was born in London on December 6, 1637, the second of four sons and third of seven children of Amice (or Amias) Andros and Elizabeth Stone Andros. His great-great-grandfather John Andros, “alias Andrews,” migrated from Northamptonshire, England, to Guernsey in the Channel Islands and in 1543 married Judeth de Sausmarez, heiress to the Seigneurie of Sausmarez. John Andros’s descendants inherited the lordship. During the English Civil Wars the Andros family adhered to the Royalists, and following the Restoration in 1660 young Edmund Andros was made gentleman in ordinary to the queen of Bohemia, a sister of King Charles II. Andros was commissioned an ensign in the Regiment of Guards in 1662, a captain in the Barbados Regiment in 1667, and a major in the Barbados Regiment of Dragoons in 1672. At the death of his father in 1674 Andros received the office of bailiff of Guernsey and held it for life. In 1685 he was elevated to captain in the Regiment of Horse of Princess Anne of Denmark, an office that carried with it the equivalent army rank of lieutenant colonel. The unit was one of the first to abandon James II in 1688 and support William of Orange at the beginning of the Glorious Revolution.

Andros’s military career earned him important political appointments. The duke of York appointed him governor of his proprietary province of New York in 1674 and had him knighted in the winter of 1677–1678, but he had to recall Andros in 1680 because of colonial grumbling and disgruntled merchants in London. Andros received an even more important post in 1686, a year after the duke became King James II. He appointed Andros governor of the new Dominion of New England, which stretched from New Jersey to Maine. Three years later, the autocratic and unpopular dominion was overturned, and Andros was imprisoned at Castle Island in Boston Harbor before returning to England.

In Virginia

In spite of Andros’s close association with James II and his unpopular administration of two colonies, William and Mary appointed him governor of Virginia. He received his commission on March 1, 1692. The goals of the monarchs in sending Andros to Virginia included persuading the Virginians to live in cities (a perennial hope); sending men and money from Virginia to aid the colony of New York, which was under attack during King William’s War; raising the salaries of the Anglican clergy; creating a fleet of small boats to patrol the Chesapeake to prevent violations of the Navigation Acts; paying for soldiers to guard the frontier; and levying a tax on the importation of spirits to help pay for it all.

Andros arrived in Virginia on September 13, 1692, and took charge of a colony reeling from the effects of King William’s War on its economy, which was almost entirely dependent on tobacco. The temporary interruption of shipping prevented the sale of Virginia’s crop in England, and the disruption of trade reduced the principal source of revenue for the royal government—an export duty on tobacco. The inability of the planters to sell their tobacco drove down its price and in effect reduced the value of the clergymen’s salaries, which were paid in tobacco. Exacerbating that problem was a general dissatisfaction of the planters with the clergymen in the colony, many of whom were Scots. The discontented clergymen found an able leader in James Blair, commissary in Virginia for the bishop of London, and matters were worsened by the inability of Andros and Blair to work together harmoniously.

Andros had learned his lessons from New York and New England and often deferred to the powerful Virginia planters who dominated the governor’s Council, but he succeeded only partially in implementing his instructions. In 1693 he sent £600 from the royal revenue to New York, but not until 1695 did the House of Burgesses finally agree to send £500 from the colonial treasury. In 1696 the burgesses agreed to raise the salary for a clergyman to 16,000 pounds of tobacco. That was then equivalent to about £64 sterling, an amount considerably below the Crown’s expectation. Andros had to pay for the guard boats from royal quitrent revenue, and he completely failed to convince the Virginians, many of whom had never seen a city and none of whom needed one, to create and live in them.

Andros’s efforts to expand royal power were subtle. Despite formal complaints from the burgesses, he continued the precedent established in 1688—after the death of Robert Beverley—of appointing the clerk of the House of Burgesses, and he extended his appointing power to the burgesses’ messenger. He allowed British laws passed after the last charter to apply to Virginia, binding Virginia more closely than ever to English statutes. Andros was favorably remembered for putting the government’s papers in order after his arrival and again after the fire that destroyed the State House on October 20, 1698.

James Blair was Andros’s biggest problem. In April 1695 they quarreled and the Council expelled Blair from its membership, but he was restored in November. In April 1697 the Council suspended Blair from sitting as a judge since, as a Scot, he was excluded by the Navigation Act of 1696. Blair posed a far greater threat during his visits to England than when he was in Virginia. On December 27, 1697, he seized the opportunity to complain to the highest ecclesiastical authorities in England that Andros did not sufficiently support either the new College of William and Mary or the Anglican Church, even though Andros had donated a large silver paten to the church in Jamestown. Blair blamed Andros for every failure of the Virginians to give the clergymen what they wished. Andros’s chief defender was young William Byrd (1674–1744), but Byrd was badly outnumbered. In addition to influential enemies in the church, Maryland governor Francis Nicholson supported Blair’s effort to have Andros removed. The powerful Board of Trade also displayed hostility to Andros as part of its effort to wrest control of colonial information from the hands of Andros’s ally in London, the wily bureaucrat William Blaythwayt. The board clearly disliked Andros’s terse and lackadaisical correspondence and sent him a stiff reprimand in September 1697. Despite the power of such a combination of antagonists, Andros’s friends in England, including Blaythwayt, were able to keep him in office.

Andros’s most powerful enemy of all was the Virginia climate. In March 1694 he complained of being “Incomoded By the Excessive Heats” and was granted permission to leave the colony for two months every year. In March 1698 Andros asked permission to resign his office because of his poor health. He met with the Council a third less frequently that year than previously. By October 1698 he learned that his request had been granted. His replacement was Francis Nicholson, who took office in December of the same year.

Later Years

Andros left Virginia early in 1699. He served as lieutenant governor of Guernsey from 1704 to 1706, after which he retired from public life. Andros married three times and was twice a widower. In February 1671 he married Marie Craven, and sometime after 1688 he married Elizabeth Crispe Clapham. She died in August 1703. His third wife was Elizabeth Fitzherbert, whom he married on April 27, 1707. He had no children. Andros died in London and was buried in Saint Anne’s Church in Soho, Westminster, on February 27, 1714.

MAP
TIMELINE
December 6, 1637
Edmund Andros is born in London, the third child of Amice (or Amias) Andros and Elizabeth Stone Andros.
1660
Around this time Edmund Andros is made gentleman in ordinary to the queen of Bohemia, a sister of King Charles II.
1662
Edmund Andros is commissioned an ensign in the Regiment of Guards.
1667
Edmund Andros is made a captain in the Barbados Regiment.
February 1671
Edmund Andros marries Marie Craven.
1672
Edmund Andros is made a major in the Barbados Regiment of Dragoons.
1674
After the death of his father, Edmund Andros receives the office of bailiff of Guernsey, a position he holds until his death in around 1714.
1674
The duke of York, the future James II, appoints Edmund Andros governor of his proprietary province of New York.
1677—1678
During the winter, the duke of York, the future James II, knights Edmund Andros.
1680
The duke of York, the future James II, recalls Sir Edmund Andros as governor of New York because of colonial grumbling and disgruntled merchants in London.
1685
Sir Edmund Andros is made captain in the Regiment of Horse of Princess Anne of Denmark, an office that carries with it the equivalent army rank of lieutenant colonel.
1686
James II appoints Sir Edmund Andros governor of the new Dominion of New England, which stretches from New Jersey to Maine.
1688
Sir Edmund Andros's unit, the Regiment of Horse of Princess Anne of Denmark, is among the first to abandon James II and support William of Orange at the beginning of the Glorious Revolution.
1688
Sometime after this year, Sir Edmund Andros marries his second wife, Elizabeth Crispe Clapham.
1689
The autocratic and unpopular Dominion of New England is overturned, and its governor, Sir Edmund Andros, is imprisoned at Castle Island in Boston Harbor before returning to England.
March 1, 1692
Sir Edmund Andros receives his commission from William and Mary to serve as governor of Virginia.
September 13, 1692
Sir Edmund Andros, the colony's new governor, arrives in Virginia.
1693
Governor Sir Edmund Andros sends £600 from the royal revenue to New York, which is under attack during King William's War.
March 1694
Governor Sir Edmund Andros complains of being "Incomoded By the Excessive Heats" and is granted permission to leave the colony for two months every year.
1695
The House of Burgesses agrees to send £500 from the colonial treasury to New York, which is under attack during King William's War.
April 1695
Governor Sir Edmund Andros and James Blair, a member of the Council, quarrel and Blair is expelled from the Council.
November 1695
James Blair is restored to the governor's Council after a quarrel with Governor Sir Edmund Andros.
1696
The House of Burgesses agrees to raise the salary for Anglican clergymen to 16,000 pounds of tobacco. This is the equivalent to about £64 sterling, an amount considerably below the Crown's expectation.
April 1697
The governor's Council suspends James Blair from sitting as a judge since, as a Scot, he is excluded by the Navigation Act of 1696.
September 1697
The powerful Board of Trade in London sends Governor Sir Edmund Andros a stiff reprimand for his terse and lackadaisical correspondence. This is part of the board's effort to wrest control of colonial information from the hands of Andros's ally in London, the wily bureaucrat William Blaythwayt.
December 27, 1697
James Blair complains to the highest ecclesiastical authorities in England that Governor Sir Edmund Andros does not sufficiently support either the new College of William and Mary or the Anglican Church.
March 1698
Governor Sir Edmund Andros asks permission to resign his office because of his poor health.
May 31, 1698
Governor Sir Edmund Andros is granted permission to resign and return to England on personal business.
October 1698
Governor Sir Edmund Andros, suffering from poor health, learns that his request to resign his office has been granted.
October 20, 1698
Fire destroys the statehouse in Jamestown.
December 1698
Francis Nicholson takes office as Virginia governor, replacing Sir Edmund Andros, who has resigned due to poor health.
1699
Early in the year Sir Edmund Andros leaves Virginia, having resigned as governor due to poor health.
August 1703
Elizabeth Crispe Clapham, second wife of Sir Edmund Andros, dies.
1704—1706
Sir Edmund Andros serves as lieutenant governor of Guernsey.
April 27, 1707
Sir Edmund Andros marries his third wife, Elizabeth Fitzherbert.
February 27, 1714
Sir Edmund Andros is buried in Saint Anne's Church in Soho, Westminster.
FURTHER READING
  • Scanlon, James Edward. “Adros, Sir Edmund.” In The Dictionary of Virginia Biography, Vol. 1, edited by John T. Kneebone, J. Jefferson Looney, Brent Tarter, and Sandra Gioia Treadway, 173–175. Richmond: Library of Virginia, 1998.
CITE THIS ENTRY
APA Citation:
Scanlon, James & Dictionary of Virginia Biography. Sir Edmund Andros (1637–ca. 1714). (2020, December 07). In Encyclopedia Virginia. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/andros-sir-edmund-1637-ca-1714.
MLA Citation:
Scanlon, James, and Dictionary of Virginia Biography. "Sir Edmund Andros (1637–ca. 1714)" Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, (07 Dec. 2020). Web. 21 Mar. 2024
Last updated: 2021, December 22
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