John Hancock: Born Rags, Inherited Riches

John Hancock was born on January 23, 1737 A.D. in Braintree, Massachusetts to Colonel John Jr. and Mary Hawke Thatcher Hancock. While raised in Braintree, John became a childhood friend of John Adams, who was only a year older than John. At age seven, Hancock’s father passed away, forcing his family to send him to his Bostonian paternal uncle, Thomas, to be raised properly. The elder Hancock was already one of the richest merchants in Boston, and by the end of the Seven Years’ War, one of the richest colonists in America. When Thomas passed away in August 1764, John, his closest male kin, inherited the Hancock Manor and estates, which included thousands of acres of land.

In May of 1766, Hancock was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, where he quickly became associated with the “Whigs” or “Patriots” (yes, from New England, but not THE New England Patriots). He also became the protégé of the leader of the Whig party, Samuel Adams (not the beverage). This new friendship led him to become one of Boston’s greatest progressive politicians, especially after unfair lawsuits involving one of his schooners, the Liberty.

The rest is already known to most, but here are some examples of what you might not know:

After his first term as President of the Second Continental Congress, he was re-elected to the House of Representatives and later served as governor of Massachusetts for five years. He again served as President of Congress from 1785-86, but soon after returned to his seat as governor, dying in that office in 1793 at the age of 56. For the last few years previous, his Lt. Governor, Samuel Adams, had become the acting governor in his ill health. He died in one of the greatest funerals ever held for any American up to that time.