Thomas Cushing

Thomas Cushing III (March 24, 1725 – February 28, 1788) was an American lawyer and statesman from Boston, Massachusetts. He was a loyalist for Massachusetts in the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1776, and the first Lieutenant Governor of the state from 1780 to 1788. Between the resignation of John Hancock and the election of James Bowdoin, he served as Acting Governor of Massachusetts in 1785.

Thomas was born into a prosperous and leading mercantile family of Boston. (The Cushing family had originally emigrated from Norfolk, England, to Hingham, Massachusetts in 1638.) His father, also named Thomas Cushing, was a leading member of the Old South Church and selectman. Thomas, Sr. was a frequent moderator of town meetings, and accepted the gift of Faneuil Hall from Peter Faneuil in 1742, served in the General Court (colonial assembly) of Massachusetts from 1731 to 1747, and as its speaker after 1742. His mother, Mary (Bromfield) Cushing (1689–1746) was also from another prominent family. The younger Thomas was born at Boston on March 24, 1725, and was the eldest of four children.

Thomas got his early education from Boston Latin School, followed by Harvard, where he graduated in 1744. He studied law and was admitted to the bar. On October 1, 1747, he married Deborah Fletcher (c. 1727 – 1790). After a brief time in his father's counting house, as a co-worker with Samuel Adams, he practiced law in Boston.

Thomas was elected to the state assembly in May 1766, and shortly afterward became its speaker. The Assembly first chose James Otis, but Governor Bernard rejected this choice, and Cushing was named as a compromise candidate between the Whigs and the Tories. He held this post for the rest of the life of the colonial assembly, until 1774.

For a long time Cushing remained opposed to the revolution, and then to American independence. In 1772, he refused to serve when named to one of the Committees of Correspondence. He was still elected one of the delegates to the First Continental Congress in 1774, and to the second in 1775. While not supporting revolution, his prominence was such that in April 1775, he was ordered to be arrested, sent to England, and tried for treason. Fortunately, he never fell into Governor Gage's hands. When Massachusetts formed a revolutionary government that summer, he was elected to the Council.

In 1776, his opposition to independence continued so when delegates were elected for the next session of the Continental Congress on January 19, he got no votes. Elbridge Gerry took his seat in the congress. When he finally came to support the revolution, he served the Continental Army as commissary general for Massachusetts.

Cushing declined re-election to the Continental Congress in 1779, but accepted election as the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts in 1780 and held that post until his death. He attended the state convention that ratified the United States Constitution. Thomas died on February 28, 1788, and is buried in the Granary Burying Ground in Boston.

External links

• Thomas Cushing at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Official Commonwealth of Massachusetts Governor Biography