Governor Of Massachusetts Bay

Youth.

John Winthrop was born to privilege as a member of the English gentry. His grandfather had benefited from Henry VIII's confiscation of Roman Catholic monasteries by buying Bury Saint Edmunds in Groton, Suffolk. John's father, Adam Winthrop, was also a shrewd businessman, and in addition to his Groton estate he rented and bought lands close by and grew cash crops that he sold to nearby London. He was trained in the law although he did not have a legal practice; presumably he dispensed justice on his estate. Adam's second wife, John's mother, was Anne Browne, the daughter of a wealthy merchant. John was Adam's only son, so he knew that the manor at Groton would one day be his. His education befitted his station. His first years were spent under the tutelage of a local minister, but he was being...