John Reading (New Jersey)
| John Reading | |
|---|---|
| Acting Governor of the Province of New Jersey | |
|
In office June 17, 1747 – August 10, 1747 |
|
| Preceded by | John Hamilton (President of Council) |
| Succeeded by | Gov. Jonathan Belcher |
| Acting Governor of the Province of New Jersey | |
|
In office August 31, 1757 – September 22, 1757 |
|
| Preceded by | Gov. Jonathan Belcher |
| Succeeded by | Lt. Gov. Thomas Pownall |
| Acting Governor of the Province of New Jersey | |
|
In office September 22, 1757 – June 16, 1758 |
|
| Preceded by | Lt. Gov. Thomas Pownall |
| Succeeded by | Gov. Francis Bernard |
| President of the New Jersey Provincial Council | |
|
In office June 17, 1747 – December 12, 1758 |
|
| Preceded by | John Hamilton |
| Succeeded by | Robert Hunter Morris |
| Member of the New Jersey Provincial Council for the Western Division | |
|
In office June 15, 1713 – December 12, 1758 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
June 6, 1686 Gloucester, New Jersey |
| Died | November 5, 1767 (aged 81) |
| Resting place | Old Amwell Presbyterian Churchyard |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Surveyor and politician, Acting Governor of New Jersey |
| Religion | Presbyterian |
John Reading (6 June 1686 – 5 November 1767) was the first native-born governor of the British Province of New Jersey, serving in 1747, and again from September 1757 to June 1758. His father, Colonel John Reading, was the first major landowner in Hunterdon County.
Governor Reading was one of the founders and trustees of the College of New Jersey, which later became Princeton University. The Reading family is still influential in the state of New Jersey.
John Reading was born at Gloucester, New Jersey on 6 June 1686. John and his sister Elsie were sent with their mother to England for education, where they remained for several years. Upon return to the United States Reading assisted is father in his work as a surveyor and in the management of his extensive landed interest. He inherited a large estate upon his father's death in 1717, especially in land, which made him the wealthiest man in Hunterdon county.
On 3 November 1718, he was nominated by Governor Hunter to a seat in the provincial council at the young age of thirty-two. At the same time, Reading was named commissioner to run the north boundary line between New Jersey and New York. and one of the commissioners to run the lines between East and West New Jersey.
On 24 June 1720 Reading was appointed to the council of the new governor William Burnet. Reading retained the post until 1758, when he resigned. On two occasions during his tenure he became acting governor and commander-in-chief of the province.
On 10 February 1727, Mr. Reading was commissioned "Collonel of ye Military Regiment of ffoot for ye county of Hunterdon, whereof Daniel Cox, Esq. was Collonel," and on the same day he was appointed president judge of the court of common pleas of that county. On 14 August 1727, he was commissioned surrogate for Hunterdon and Somerset counties.
On 6 November 1728, he was appointed by the Crown one of the judges "to try pirates." In addition to these offices he held that of one of his Majesty's justices of the peace. On 18 April 1740 he was appointed one of the officers for Hunterdon county to enlist men to fight the war then waging against Spain, and in that year was also appointed by the King as one of the commissioners to define the boundary between the colonies of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. He was also for some years one of the agents for the family of William Penn in managing their landed interests in New Jersey.
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Wikipedia