Governor Jonathan Trumbull House Museum Lebanon, Connecticut

About Governor Trumbull (1710-1785)

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Jonathan Trumbull was born in Lebanon in 1710.  He graduated from Harvard in 1727 and became a merchant.  At his store in Lebanon, Trumbull carried on a retail and wholesale business and imported European manufactures.  He was the largest meat packer in Connecticut, with an extensive overseas trade.  He also supplied the colonial armies.

Jonathan Trumbull's experience and logisitcal skills were invaluable assets when the American Revolution broke out and General Washington called upon him to supply the Continental Army.  It is through the efforts of Governor Trumbull and his aides in the Commissary Department that Connecticut became known as "The Provision State". First elected to the General Assembly in 1733, Jonathan Trumbull gained increasing recognition for his abilities.  In 1740 he was elected to the upper house and represented the legislature in many intercolonial affairs. Trumbull actively opposed Parliment's moves to tax the colonies at the end of the French and Indian War in 1763.  He sided with the radicals in the disputes with England, leading to his election as deputy governor of Connecticut in 1766, and then governor in 1769.  He supported the growing independence movemennt, which was particularly strong in eastern Connecticut and would lead to the outbreak of the war. From the time of the Lexington-Concord alarm in 1775, Jonathan Trumbull was at the center of the American war effort.  Governor Trumbull responded to the demands of war with strong and brilliant leadership to mobilize Connecticut men and resources for the Continental Army. Thoroughout the eight long years of the war, he responded unfailingly to the military and financial needs of General Washington, winning the general's friendship and respect.  Even in the darkest hours of military defeats, financial chaos, and wartime shortages, Governor Trumbull never doubted the justness of the patriot cause and its eventual success.  His leadership was critical to the final victory.

When Jonathan Trumbull died in 1785, George Washington wrote of him, " A long and well spent life in the service of his country, places Governor Trumbull among the first of patriots."

All Text for this web site has been excerpted from Around the Lebanon Green with express written permission from the author.