Editing Nathaniel Gorham

{{short description|American Founding Father, businessman, and politician}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Nathaniel Gorham
| image               = Nathaniel Gorham.jpg
| imagesize           = 
| caption             = Nathaniel Gorham <br /> by [[Charles Willson Peale]], circa 1793
| smallimage          = 
| office              = 8th [[President of the Continental Congress|President of the Confederation Congress]]
| term_start          = June 6, 1786
| term_end            = February 2, 1787<ref>{{cite web
 | url = http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=G000325
 | title = GORHAM, Nathaniel, (1738–1796)
 | last = Editors
 | website = Biographical Dictionary of the United States Congress: 1774–present
 | publisher = United States Congress
 | access-date = 18 April 2018
 | quote = Member of the Continental Congress in 1782, 1783, 1786, 1787, and 1789, and was its president from June 6, 1786, to February 2, 1787}}</ref>
| predecessor         = [[John Hancock]]
| successor           = [[Arthur St. Clair]]
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1738|5|27}}
| birth_place         = [[Charlestown, Massachusetts|Charlestown]], [[Province of Massachusetts Bay]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1796|6|11|1738|5|27}}
| death_place         = [[Charlestown, Massachusetts]]
| resting_place       = Phipps Street Burying Ground<br />Charlestown
| spouse              = Rebecca Call
| children            = {{plainlist}}
*Collinsworth Gorham
*Emily Gorham
*Mary Gorham
*Elizabeth Gorham
*Ann Gorham
*John Gorham
*[[Benjamin Gorham]]
*Stephen Gorham
*Lydia Gorham
{{endplainlist}}
| party               = Federalist
| residence           = 
| alma_mater          = 
| occupation          = 
| profession          = Politician, merchant
| signature           = Nathaniel Gorham Signature.svg
}}
'''Nathaniel Gorham''' (May 27, 1738 – June 11, 1796; sometimes spelled ''Nathanial'') was an American [[Founding Father of the United States|Founding Father]], merchant, and politician from [[Massachusetts]]. He was a delegate from the Bay Colony to the [[Continental Congress]] and for six months served as the [[President of the Continental Congress|presiding officer]] of that body under the [[Articles of Confederation]]. He also attended the [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|Constitutional Convention]], served on its [[Committee of Detail]], and signed the [[Constitution of the United States|United States Constitution]].

== Life ==
Starting at 15, Gorham served an apprenticeship with a merchant in [[New London, Connecticut]], after which he opened a merchant house in [[Charlestown, Boston|Charlestown, Massachusetts]], in 1759.<ref>{{Cite ANB|title=Gorham, Nathaniel|first=Ronald J. |last=Lettieri |id=0100334}}</ref> He took part in public affairs at the beginning of the [[American Revolution]]: he was a member of the [[Massachusetts General Court]] (legislature) from 1771 until 1775, a delegate to the Provincial congress from 1774 until 1775, and a member of the [[Board of War]] from 1778 until its dissolution in 1781. In 1779, he served in the state constitutional convention. He was a delegate to the [[Congress of the Confederation]] from 1782 until 1783, and also from 1785 until 1787, serving as its president for five months from June 6 to November 5, 1786, after the resignation of [[John Hancock]]. Gorham also served a term as judge of the [[Middlesex County, Massachusetts|Middlesex County]] Court of Common Pleas,<ref name="Morton118B">Morton, p. 118.</ref> was a candidate for the [[Massachusetts's 3rd congressional district|3rd congressional district]] in both [[1788–1789 United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts|1788]] and [[1790–1792 United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts|1790]], in the former election winning on the first ballot but losing on the second,<ref>{{Cite web |title=A New Nation Votes |url=https://elections.lib.tufts.edu/catalog/8049g542w |access-date=2024-12-21 |website=elections.lib.tufts.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=A New Nation Votes |url=https://elections.lib.tufts.edu/catalog/dv13zv65g |access-date=2024-12-21 |website=elections.lib.tufts.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=A New Nation Votes |url=https://elections.lib.tufts.edu/catalog/fx719n94x |access-date=2024-12-21 |website=elections.lib.tufts.edu}}</ref> and was the runner-up in the [[1790–91 United States Senate elections#Massachusetts|1790 election]] for the U.S. Senate.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A New Nation Votes |url=https://elections.lib.tufts.edu/catalog/tufts:ma.ussenate.ballot3.1790 |access-date=2021-03-10 |website=elections.lib.tufts.edu}}</ref>

Gorham married Rebecca Call (May 14, 1744 – November 18, 1812), who was descended from [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] [[vicar]] and the first minister of [[Dorchester, Boston|Dorchester, Massachusetts]], [[John Maverick]], and his royally descended wife, Mary Gye Maverick. Rebecca was the daughter of Caleb Call and Rebecca Stimson.<ref>Waters, p. 366.</ref> They were the parents of nine children.<ref name="Morton117">Morton, p. 117.</ref>

In 1786, it might have been Gorham [[Prussian scheme|who suggested]] to [[Alexander Hamilton]] that [[Prince Henry of Prussia (1726–1802)|Prince Henry of Prussia]] would become [[Stadtholder|president]]<ref>{{cite journal |first=Richard |last=Krauel |title=Prince Henry of Prussia and the Regency of the United States, 1786 |journal=The American Historical Review |volume=17 |issue=1 |year=1911 |pages=44–51 |doi=10.2307/1832837 |jstor=1832837 }}</ref> or king of the United States. However, the offer was revoked before the prince could make a reply.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9vpS7DEKrsUC&pg=PA72|title=The Founders: The 39 Stories Behind the U.S. Constitution|last=Fradin|first=Dennis Brindell|date=2005|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA|isbn=9780802789723|language=en}}</ref>

For several months in 1787, Gorham served as one of the Massachusetts delegates to the United States Constitutional Convention.<ref name="Morton118B">Morton, p. 118.</ref> Gorham frequently served as chairman of the Convention's [[Committee of the whole]], meaning that he (rather than the president of the Convention, [[George Washington]]) presided over convention sessions during the delegates' first deliberations on the structure of the new government in late May and June 1787. After the convention, he worked hard to see that the Constitution was approved in his home state.

In connection with [[Oliver Phelps (politician)|Oliver Phelps]], he [[Phelps and Gorham Purchase|purchased from the state of Massachusetts]] in 1788 pre-emption rights to an immense tract of land in western New York State which straddled the [[Genesee River]], all for the sum of $1,000,000 (about ${{Formatprice|{{inflation|US|1000000|1800|r=2}}}} today).<ref name="Morton120">Morton, p. 120.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=McKeveley |first=Blake |date=January 1939 |title=Historic Aspects of the Phelps and Gorham Treaty of July 4–8, 1788 |journal=Rochester History |volume=1 |issue=1 |publisher=Rochester Public Library |issn=0035-7413 |url=http://www.rochester.lib.ny.us/~rochhist/v1_1939/v1i1.pdf |access-date=29 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071203025006/http://www.rochester.lib.ny.us/~rochhist/v1_1939/v1i1.pdf |archive-date=December 3, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The land in question had been previously ceded to Massachusetts from the state of New York under the 1786 [[Treaty of Hartford (1786)|Treaty of Hartford]]. The pre-emption right gave them the first or preemptive right to obtain clear title to this land from the [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]. They soon extinguished the Native American title to the portion of the land east of the Genesee River, as well as a {{convert|185000|acre|km2}} tract west of the Genesee, the Mill Yard Tract, surveyed all of it, laid out townships, and sold large parts to speculators and settlers. His son Nathaniel Gorham Jr. was a pioneer settler of this tract, having been placed in charge of his father's interests there.<ref>{{Cite Appletons' |inline=1 |wstitle=Gorham, Nathaniel |year=1900}}</ref> In 1790, after Gorham and Phelps defaulted in payment, they sold nearly all of their remaining lands east of the Genesee to [[Robert Morris (financier)|Robert Morris]], who eventually resold those lands to [[The Pulteney Association]]. Phelps and Gorham were unable to fulfill their contract in full to Massachusetts, so in 1790, they surrendered back to Massachusetts that portion of the lands which remained under the Native American title, namely, the land west of the Genesee. It also was eventually acquired by Robert Morris, who resold most of it to the [[Holland Land Company]].

== Death and legacy ==
Gorham died in Charlestown in 1796. He is buried in the [[Phipps Street Burying Ground|Phipps Street Cemetery]] in Charlestown.<ref name=Morton120/><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100115154258/http://www.history.army.mil/books/RevWar/ss/gorham.htm US Army Center of Military History]</ref> Gorham Street in [[Madison, Wisconsin]], is named in his honor.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/archives/002071.asp |title=Odd Wisconsin Archives |website=www.wisconsinhistory.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060423205749/http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/odd/archives/002071.asp |archive-date=2006-04-23}} </ref> The town of [[Gorham, New York]], is also named in his honor.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gannett|first=Henry|title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ|year=1905|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n139 140]}}</ref>

==Descendants==
Gorham's descendants number in the thousands today.<ref>{{cite web
  | last = Roberts
  | first = Gary Boyd
  | author-link = Gary Boyd Roberts
  | title = #54 Royal Descents, Notable Kin, and Printed Sources: Harvard, Its Presidents, and Kings
  | work = New England Ancestors.org
  | publisher = New England Historic Genealogical Society
  | year = 2001
  | url = http://www.americanancestors.org/harvard-its-presidents/
  | access-date = 5 July 2012}}</ref> Some of his notable descendants include:
* Gorham's son [[Benjamin Gorham]] was a U.S. [[United States House of Representatives|Representative]] from Massachusetts.
*Bishop [[Phillips Brooks]] was an American clergyman and author, who briefly served as [[Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts|Bishop of Massachusetts]] in the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]] during the early 1890s. He is best known for authoring the [[Christmas carol]] "[[O Little Town of Bethlehem]]".
* [[Charles Francis Adams Jr.]] was a member of the prominent [[Adams political family|Adams]] family and son of [[Charles Francis Adams Sr.]] He served as a colonel in the [[Union Army]] during the [[American Civil War]] and was a railroad executive following the war.
* [[John Quincy Adams II]] was an American lawyer and politician, the son of Charles Francis Adams Sr. and the grandson and namesake of president [[John Quincy Adams]].
* [[Charles Francis Adams III]] was the [[United States Secretary of the Navy]] under President [[Herbert Hoover]].
* [[Charles Francis Adams IV]] was a U.S. electronics industrialist. He served as the first president of the [[Raytheon Company]].
* [[Brooks Adams]] was an American historian and a critic of capitalism.
* [[Henry Adams]] was an American journalist, historian, academic and novelist. He is best known for his autobiographical book, ''[[The Education of Henry Adams]]''.
* [[William Everett]] was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts.
* [[Octavius Brooks Frothingham]] was an American clergyman and author.
* Catherine Lovering Adams married [[Henry S. Morgan|Henry Stugis Morgan]], who was an American banker. He was the son of [[J. P. Morgan Jr.|John Pierpont ("Jack") Morgan Jr.]] and the grandson of renowned banker [[J. P. Morgan|John Pierpont Morgan Sr.]], founder of [[J.P. Morgan & Co.]]
* [[Peter Greenough|Peter Bulkeley Greenough]] was an American journalist and editor. He was the husband of opera singer [[Beverly Sills]].
* [[Gorham Parks]] was a U.S. Representative from Maine.
* [[Cort William Gorham]] council man in Brielle New Jersey.
* Greg Gray a baseball state champion coach in Massachusetts.
* Ellen Gorham
* Jackson Gorham
* Milton Gorham
* Susan Gorham
* Robert Gorham
* Matthew Gorham
* Michael Gorham
* Christopher Gorham
* Mark Gorham
* Tyler Gorham
* Ed Gorham 
* Eric Gorham 
* Joshua Gorham

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* Haxtun, Annie Arnoux. ''Signers of the Mayflower Compact ''. Publisher: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1998. {{ISBN|0-8063-0173-2}}.
* MMOA.''The bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Volume 17''. Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1922.
* Morton, Joseph C. ''Shapers of the great debate at the Constitutional Convention of 1787: a biographical dictionary Volume 8 of Shapers of the great American debates''. Publisher: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006 {{ISBN|0-313-33021-2}}.
* Waters, Henry Fitz-Gilbert ''The New England historical and genealogical register, Volume 59''. Publisher: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1905.

==External links==
{{Appletons' Poster|Gorham, Nathaniel|Nathaniel Gorham}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071203025006/http://www.rochester.lib.ny.us/~rochhist/v1_1939/v1i1.pdf Phelps & Gorham Treaty of July 4–8, 1788, Historical Aspects of the, ''Rochester History'' magazine, by Blake McKelvey Vol 1 No(s)1 (January 1939) (PDF format)]
* [http://www.crookedlakereview.com/articles/101_135/131spring2004/131robortella.html The Field Notes of Col. Hugh Maxwell's Pre-emption Line Survey in the Phelps and Gorham Purchase] transcribed by John M. Robortella
* [http://www.sullivanclinton.com/mapset/shell.swf For Animations of these Land Acquisitions click Map Scene 5] Map animation by Dr. Robert Spiegelman
* [http://www.nathanielgorham.com Presidential Biography by Stanley L. Klos]
* {{CongBio|G000325}}

{{United States Constitution signatories}}
{{Presidents of the Continental Congress}}
{{Authority control}}
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{{s-off}}
{{succession box
|title=[[President of the Continental Congress]]
|before=[[John Hancock]]
|after=[[Arthur St. Clair]]
|years=June 6, 1786 – November 5, 1786}}
{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorham, Nathaniel}}
[[Category:1738 births]]
[[Category:1796 deaths]]
[[Category:Founding Fathers of the United States]]
[[Category:Continental Congressmen from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Signers of the United States Constitution]]
[[Category:Politicians from Boston]]
[[Category:18th-century American merchants]]
[[Category:American Congregationalists]]
[[Category:People from Charlestown, Boston]]
[[Category:People of Massachusetts in the American Revolution]]
[[Category:Patriots in the American Revolution]]
[[Category:Drafting of the United States Constitution]]
[[Category:Merchants from colonial Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Burials at Phipps Street Burying Ground]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 1788–1789 United States elections]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 1790–1791 United States elections]]