Moses Gill
| Moses Gill | |
|---|---|
Portrait by John Singleton Copley
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| Acting Governor of Massachusetts | |
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In office June 7, 1799 – May 20, 1800 |
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| Lieutenant | Himself |
| Preceded by | Increase Sumner |
| Succeeded by | Governor's Council |
| 4th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts | |
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In office May 29, 1794 – May 20, 1800 |
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| Governor |
Samuel Adams (1794-1797) Increase Sumner (1797-1799) Himself (1799-1800) |
| Preceded by | Samuel Adams |
| Succeeded by | Samuel Phillips, Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 18, 1734 Charlestown, Province of Massachusetts Bay |
| Died | May 20, 1800 (aged 66) Boston, Massachusetts |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse(s) |
Sarah Prince (1759–71) Rebecca Boylston Gill (1773–89) |
| Signature |  |
Moses Gill (January 18, 1734 – May 20, 1800) was a Massachusetts politician who briefly served as the state's Acting Governor. He is the state's only acting governor to die in office. A successful businessman, he became one of the leading settlers of Princeton, Massachusetts, entering politics shortly before the American Revolutionary War. He served on the Massachusetts Provincial Congress's executive committee until the state adopted its constitution in 1780, after which he continued to serve on the state's Governor's Council.
Elected lieutenant governor in 1794, he served in that office under Governors Samuel Adams and Increase Sumner until the latter died shortly after winning reelection in 1799. Gill served an apparently undistinguished term as acting governor until his own death in 1800, ten days before his successor, Caleb Strong, assumed office. Gill was a significant benefactor and founder of Leicester Academy, and supported the congregational church in Princeton, where the family had a large estate.
Moses Gill was born January 18, 1734 to John and Elizabeth (Abbot) Gill in Charlestown, Massachusetts. He was one the younger sons in a long line of children which included John Gill, who would become well known in the colonies as printer of the Boston Gazette. Gill entered business as a local merchant in Boston. In 1759 he married Sarah Prince, daughter to pastor Thomas Prince of Boston's Old South Church. Upon her father's death the couple inherited Prince's lands in western Worcester County, one of the largest tracts in what became the town of Princeton. In 1767 he retired from his business activities, and the couple divided their time between Boston and Princeton. Sarah died childless in 1771. Gill remarried in 1772 to Rebecca Boylston, a scion of the influential Boylston family and sister of Harvard College benefactor Nicholas Boylston. They were also childless; when his brother John died, Gill adopted one of his sons. The Gills were known to own several slaves.
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