George Frost (New Hampshire politician)
George Frost (1720–1796) was an American seaman, jurist, and statesman from Durham, New Hampshire. He was a delegate for New Hampshire in the Continental Congress from 1777 to 1779.
George was born in New Castle, New Hampshire, on April 26, 1720. His father, John Frost, who had been a British naval officer, died when he was twelve. He moved to Kittery, Maine, and was cared for by his uncle, William Pepperrell. As a young man he went to sea in one of his uncle’s ships. He was at sea over twenty years, many of them as captain of a merchant vessel.
He returned to New Castle in 1760, when he’s still following a mercantile career. After marrying in Durham, he finally settled there in 1769. Frost was made a justice of the Strafford County, New Hampshire, court of common pleas in 1773, and would remain in that post until 1791.
In 1777, New Hampshire sent Frost as a delegate to the Continental Congress, where he served until 1779. On his return he was named to the state’s Governor’s Council in 1781. The Council at the time functioned as the upper house of the state legislature, and he served there until 1784.
George Frost died on June 21, 1796, at home in Durham. He is buried in Pine Hill Cemetery.
His son, George Frost II, was born in 1765 and succeeded him in business.[1]
References
- ^ Lovett, Robert W. (April 1959). "A Tidewater Merchant In New Hampshire". Business History Review. 33 (1): 60–72. doi:10.2307/3111935. ISSN 2044-768X.
George Frost II, as we shall designate him, could draw upon a considerable mercantile family tradition. His grandfather, John Frost, married a sister of Sir William Pepperell. His father, who was also named George, began business with his uncle, William Pepperell, became a partner of George Richards in London, and married the Widow Richards in 1757. After her death he married the Widow Smith, and in 1769 went to live in the Smith Garrison House in Lubberland, then part of Durham. He served as a judge from 1773 to 1791, was a delegate to the Continental Congress, and was a moderator and selectman of Durham. Records, still in the family's possession, show his accounts in London in 1759, in Newcastle, New Hampshire, to 1770, and in Durham from that year to 1796, when he died. These include general store accounts, estate accounts, wool accounts, and accounts for the Schooner Newcastle.