Colonial Governor. He was the son of William and Frances Amcotts Bellingham, and married Elizabeth Backhouse and later Penelope Pelham after the death of his first wife. He had come to Boston in the year 1634 from England becoming a lawyer. He also served as a Member of Parliament for his town in 1628 and 1629. During the wedding of his second wife, it was said she had been betrothed to another, he performed the ceremony himself and was prosecuted for it. Author Nathaniel Hawthorne immortalized him as a character in his novel "The Scarlet Letter". He served as the Governor of Massachusetts three times with the first beginning in 1641, and served ten various years in this position and also died in office. The only home built by one of the founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony to still survive is The Governor Bellingham-Cary House, which honors his name.
Colonial Governor. He was the son of William and Frances Amcotts Bellingham, and married Elizabeth Backhouse and later Penelope Pelham after the death of his first wife. He had come to Boston in the year 1634 from England becoming a lawyer. He also served as a Member of Parliament for his town in 1628 and 1629. During the wedding of his second wife, it was said she had been betrothed to another, he performed the ceremony himself and was prosecuted for it. Author Nathaniel Hawthorne immortalized him as a character in his novel "The Scarlet Letter". He served as the Governor of Massachusetts three times with the first beginning in 1641, and served ten various years in this position and also died in office. The only home built by one of the founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony to still survive is The Governor Bellingham-Cary House, which honors his name.
Bio by: The Guardian
Inscription
"Here lies Richard Bellingham, Esq., late governor in the Colony of Massachusetts, who departed this life on the 7th day of September, 1672, in the 81st year of his age."
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