Thomas Danforth
| Thomas Danforth | |
|---|---|
| Deputy Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony | |
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In office 1679–1686 |
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| Preceded by | Simon Bradstreet |
| Succeeded by | William Stoughton (as deputy president of the Dominion of New England) |
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In office 1689–1692 |
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| Preceded by | Francis Nicholson (as lieutenant governor of the Dominion of New England) |
| Succeeded by | William Stoughton (as lieutenant governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | bapt. November 20, 1623 Framlingham, Suffolk, England |
| Died | November 5, 1699 (aged 76) Province of Massachusetts Bay |
| Profession | Magistrate |
| Religion | Puritanism |
| Signature |  |
Thomas Danforth (baptized November 20, 1623 – November 5, 1699) was a politician, magistrate, and landowner in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. A conservative Puritan, he served for many years as one of the colony's councilors and magistrates, generally leading opposition to attempts by the English kings to assert control over the colony. He accumulated land in the central part of the colony that eventually became a portion of Framingham, Massachusetts. His government roles included administration of territory in present-day Maine that was purchased by the colony.
Danforth was a magistrate and leading figure in the colony at the time of the Salem witch trials, but did not sit on the Court of Oyer and Terminer. Despite this, he is inaccurately depicted in Arthur Miller's play The Crucible and its movie adaptations as doing so. He is presented as a harsh and domineering governor, apparently conflated with William Stoughton, who is not even named in Miller's play. In reality, Danforth is recorded as being critical of the conduct of the trials, and played a role in bringing them to an end.
Thomas Danforth was born in Framlingham, Suffolk, England, and baptized on November 20, 1623. He was the eldest son of Nicholas Danforth (1589–1638) and Elizabeth Symmes (1596–1629). Danforth immigrated with his father, brothers Samuel and Jonathan, and sisters Anna, Elizabeth, and Lydia to New England in 1634, probably aboard the Griffin. The family, along with the 200 or so other passengers aboard, left England to escape persecution for their Puritan beliefs. William Laud had become archbishop of the Church of England in 1633 and begun a crackdown on Nonconformist religious practices (such as those practiced by the more Calvinist Puritans) that prompted a wave of migration to the New World.
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