Samuel Vetch
Encyclopedia
Samuel Vetch was a Scottish
soldier and colonial governor of Nova Scotia
.
, Scotland
on December 9, 1668, and was baptized in the Church of Scotland
the next day. His father, William Veitch, was a politically active Presbyterian minister. He and his wife Marion Fairley had a number of children, of whom Samuel was the second. Veitch was arrested in the hysteria surrounding the Popish Plot
in the late 1670s, but was released. The family harboured the Duke of Argyll
, who was sought for his refusal to take oaths prescribed by the Test Act
, and Veitch became involved in the Scottish conspiracy contributing to the Monmouth Rebellion
. When that failed, Veitch went into hiding, and eventually fled to the Dutch Republic
, where he was joined in 1683 by his two oldest sons, William Jr. and Samuel. The boys studied for the ministry at Utrecht
, but neither was interested in pursuing that career. Both became supporters of William of Orange
, and Samuel was probably in a regiment of Scottish supporters in the 1688 Glorious Revolution
that brought William and Mary
to power in England.
He was then commissioned a cornet
in the Royal Regiment of Scots Dragoons, "though very young", at the age of 20. The regiment was sent back to the Netherlands, where it fought in the Nine Years' War. Vetch was wounded at Steinkirk and was also in battle at Landen
. By the end of the war he had been promoted to captain.
to establish a colony in Central America
, whose remnants ended up in New York
.
Vetch then established a highly profitable but illegal trade with New France
. With the outbreak of Queen Anne's War
in 1702, public outcry over his trading activities with Acadia
led to his trial and conviction on charges by the government of the Province of Massachusetts Bay
in 1706. He went to England, and, using his knowledge of New France, proposed to Queen Anne
the conquest of all of New France. With the support of political allies and sympathetic colonial governors, the queen gave Vetch a military commission and promised him a governorship and military support for the 1709 campaign season. Along with Francis Nicholson
, Vetch travelled to Boston
in 1709 to raise colonial militia and supplies. However, the promised military force never arrived (having been diverted to the European theater of the War of the Spanish Succession
), and the effort collapsed. Nicholson immediately returned to London, and secured a new promise of support for 1710.
the Acadian capital of Port Royal
, although little of the surrounding countryside was pacified. Vetch was named the first governor of Nova Scotia
, and the town was renamed Annapolis Royal
in honour of the queen. The garrison that was left there was woefully undersupplied, and Vetch apparently funded at least some of its expenses, although he did get some official assistance from Massachusetts. However, some of his underlings also complained that he was grossly mismanaging the affairs of the colony. Nicholson capitalized on these complaints to have himself appointed governor in Vetch's place in 1713.
Vetch then returned to England to recover his reputation and his lost funds. With the accession of George I
to the throne, he succeeded, and was reappointed governor in 1715. However, he never returned to North America, as he was called on to advise on matters of North American trade and politics. He was formally replaced as governor in 1717 by Richard Philipps
, and spent his remaining years in unsuccessful attempts to recoup his expenses and acquire other colonial postings. He died in King's Bench Prison
, where he had been sent because of his debts, in 1732. He was buried at St. George's
in Southwark
.
Vetch was married to Margaret Livingston, a member of the prominent Livingston family
of New York; they had two children.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
soldier and colonial governor of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
.
Early life
Samuel Vetch was born in EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
on December 9, 1668, and was baptized in the Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
the next day. His father, William Veitch, was a politically active Presbyterian minister. He and his wife Marion Fairley had a number of children, of whom Samuel was the second. Veitch was arrested in the hysteria surrounding the Popish Plot
Popish Plot
The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy concocted by Titus Oates that gripped England, Wales and Scotland in Anti-Catholic hysteria between 1678 and 1681. Oates alleged that there existed an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate Charles II, accusations that led to the execution of at...
in the late 1670s, but was released. The family harboured the Duke of Argyll
Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll
Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll was a Scottish peer.He was born in 1629 in Dalkeith, Scotland, the son of Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll....
, who was sought for his refusal to take oaths prescribed by the Test Act
Test Act
The Test Acts were a series of English penal laws that served as a religious test for public office and imposed various civil disabilities on Roman Catholics and Nonconformists...
, and Veitch became involved in the Scottish conspiracy contributing to the Monmouth Rebellion
Monmouth Rebellion
The Monmouth Rebellion,The Revolt of the West or The West Country rebellion of 1685, was an attempt to overthrow James II, who had become King of England, King of Scots and King of Ireland at the death of his elder brother Charles II on 6 February 1685. James II was a Roman Catholic, and some...
. When that failed, Veitch went into hiding, and eventually fled to the Dutch Republic
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
, where he was joined in 1683 by his two oldest sons, William Jr. and Samuel. The boys studied for the ministry at Utrecht
Utrecht
Utrecht is a city in the Netherlands.The name may also refer to:* Utrecht , of which Utrecht is the capital* Utrecht , including the city of Utrecht* Bishopric of Utrecht* Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht...
, but neither was interested in pursuing that career. Both became supporters of William of Orange
William of Orange
William of Orange usually refers to either:*William the Silent, William I, , Prince of Orange, founder of the House Orange-Nassau and the Netherlands as a state...
, and Samuel was probably in a regiment of Scottish supporters in the 1688 Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
that brought William and Mary
William and Mary
The phrase William and Mary usually refers to the coregency over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, of King William III & II and Queen Mary II...
to power in England.
He was then commissioned a cornet
Cornet (military rank)
Cornet was originally the third and lowest grade of commissioned officer in a British cavalry troop, after captain and lieutenant. A cornet is a new and junior officer.- Traditional duties :The cornet carried the troop standard, also known as a "cornet"....
in the Royal Regiment of Scots Dragoons, "though very young", at the age of 20. The regiment was sent back to the Netherlands, where it fought in the Nine Years' War. Vetch was wounded at Steinkirk and was also in battle at Landen
Battle of Landen
The Battle of Landen , in the current Belgian province of Flemish Brabant, was a battle in the Nine Years' War, fought in present-day Belgium on 29 July 1693 between the French army of Marshal Luxembourg and the Allied army of King William III of England...
. By the end of the war he had been promoted to captain.
Colonial ventures and business
He then joined a short-lived Scottish attemptDarién scheme
The Darién scheme was an unsuccessful attempt by the Kingdom of Scotland to become a world trading nation by establishing a colony called "New Caledonia" on the Isthmus of Panama in the late 1690s...
to establish a colony in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
, whose remnants ended up in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Vetch then established a highly profitable but illegal trade with New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
. With the outbreak of Queen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War , as the North American theater of the War of the Spanish Succession was known in the British colonies, was the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought between France and England, later Great Britain, in North America for control of the continent. The War of the...
in 1702, public outcry over his trading activities with Acadia
Acadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
led to his trial and conviction on charges by the government of the Province of Massachusetts Bay
Province of Massachusetts Bay
The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a crown colony in North America. It was chartered on October 7, 1691 by William and Mary, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of England and Scotland...
in 1706. He went to England, and, using his knowledge of New France, proposed to Queen Anne
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
the conquest of all of New France. With the support of political allies and sympathetic colonial governors, the queen gave Vetch a military commission and promised him a governorship and military support for the 1709 campaign season. Along with Francis Nicholson
Francis Nicholson
Francis Nicholson was a British military officer and colonial administrator. His military service included time in Africa and Europe, after which he was sent as leader of the troops supporting Sir Edmund Andros in the Dominion of New England. There he distinguished himself, and was appointed...
, Vetch travelled to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
in 1709 to raise colonial militia and supplies. However, the promised military force never arrived (having been diverted to the European theater of the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
), and the effort collapsed. Nicholson immediately returned to London, and secured a new promise of support for 1710.
Governor of Nova Scotia
The 1710 expedition succeeded in capturingSiege of Port Royal (1710)
The Siege of Port Royal , also known as the Conquest of Acadia, was conducted by British regular and provincial forces under the command of Francis Nicholson against a French Acadian garrison under the command of Daniel d'Auger de Subercase, at the Acadian capital, Port Royal...
the Acadian capital of Port Royal
Port Royal, Nova Scotia
Port Royal was the capital of Acadia from 1605 to 1710 and is now a town called Annapolis Royal in the western part of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Initially Port Royal was located on the north shore of the Annapolis Basin, Nova Scotia, at the site of the present reconstruction of the...
, although little of the surrounding countryside was pacified. Vetch was named the first governor of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, and the town was renamed Annapolis Royal
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. Known as Port Royal until the Conquest of Acadia in 1710 by Britain, the town is the oldest continuous European settlement in North America, north of St...
in honour of the queen. The garrison that was left there was woefully undersupplied, and Vetch apparently funded at least some of its expenses, although he did get some official assistance from Massachusetts. However, some of his underlings also complained that he was grossly mismanaging the affairs of the colony. Nicholson capitalized on these complaints to have himself appointed governor in Vetch's place in 1713.
Vetch then returned to England to recover his reputation and his lost funds. With the accession of George I
George I of Great Britain
George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....
to the throne, he succeeded, and was reappointed governor in 1715. However, he never returned to North America, as he was called on to advise on matters of North American trade and politics. He was formally replaced as governor in 1717 by Richard Philipps
Richard Philipps
General Richard Philipps was said to have been in the employ of William III as a young man and for his service gained the rank of Captain in the British army. He served at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 and made the rank of Lt. Col. in 1712.In 1717 he was appointed Governor of Nova Scotia by...
, and spent his remaining years in unsuccessful attempts to recoup his expenses and acquire other colonial postings. He died in King's Bench Prison
King's Bench Prison
The King's Bench Prison was a prison in Southwark, south London, from medieval times until it closed in 1880. It took its name from the King's Bench court of law in which cases of defamation, bankruptcy and other misdemeanours were heard; as such, the prison was often used as a debtor's prison...
, where he had been sent because of his debts, in 1732. He was buried at St. George's
St George the Martyr Southwark
St George the Martyr is a church in the historic Borough district of south London. It lies within the modern day London Borough of Southwark on Borough High Street at the junction with Long Lane, Marshalsea Road, and Tabard Street....
in Southwark
Southwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
.
Vetch was married to Margaret Livingston, a member of the prominent Livingston family
Livingston family
The Livingston family of was a prominent family which migrated from Scotland to the Dutch Republic to the Province of New York in the 17th century. Descended from William, 4th Lord Livingston, its members included signers of the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States...
of New York; they had two children.