Governor Benning Wentworth (1696–1770), oil on canvas by Joseph Blackburn (fl. 1753 – 63), 1760. Given in memory of Strafford and Margaret Wentworth by their daughters, Anne Wentworth Morss, Margaret Wentworth Whiting and Constance Wentworth Dodge.
Governor Benning Wentworth (1696–1770), oil on canvas by Joseph Blackburn (fl. 1753 – 63), 1760. Given in memory of Strafford and Margaret Wentworth by their daughters, Anne Wentworth Morss, Margaret Wentworth Whiting and Constance Wentworth Dodge. Credit: N.H. Historical Society

Scion of a New Hampshire political dynasty, Benning Wentworth was appointed the province’s first royal governor in 1741.

Before then, New Hampshire had shared a governor with Massachusetts, with the lieutenant governor of Massachusetts serving as de facto governor of New Hampshire.

In 1740, the British Crown separated the two governments, appointing Wentworth to his role. During the 25 years of his rule, Wentworth founded dozens of towns in southern New Hampshire and even tried to expand New Hampshire’s boundaries into what is today Vermont. The town of Bennington, Vt., was one such effort that still bears his name.

He also held the lucrative office of surveyor of the king’s woods, which oversaw the removal of thousands of the province’s tall, white pine trees to become masts for the ships of the British Navy.

Wentworth became the longest serving governor in all of the American colonies. He was succeeded by his nephew, John Wentworth, in 1767.

N.H. Historical Society