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Peter Chester (governor)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Depiction of Peter Chester by Bartolomé Vázquez

Peter Chester (1720–1799) was the last governor of the British territory of West Florida from August 1770 until 9 May 1781.[1]

Chester focused on agricultural development in the Lower Mississippi Valley.[2] Spain controlled the land west of the Mississippi River, Britain its east side.[3]

Chester was the area's third governor (fifth if acting governors are included).[4] He dealt with issues related to Native Americans in Florida. John Stuart was the Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the Southern District of North America.[5] George Washington wrote to him March 25, 1773.[6] Robert Ross also wrote a letter to Chester, on August 14, 1778.[7]

British artist Arthur Devis (1711 – 1787) produced an oil painting of a hunting scene with Peter Chester, his brother Edward Chester who owned Cockenhatch estate manager Thomas Gorsuch,[citation needed] and a clergyman of Barkway.[8]

Britain's National Archives at Kew have some of his correspondence in their collection.[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Rowland, Eron Opha Moore (July 25, 1925). "Peter Chester, Third Governor of the Province of British West Florida Under British Dominion, 1770-1781" – via Google Books.
  2. ^ "Mississippi Under British Rule - British West Florida - Mississippi History Now". mshistorynow.mdah.state.ms.us.
  3. ^ Abbey, Kathryn T. (June 1935). "Peter Chester–s Defense of the Mississippi after the Willing Raid". Journal of American History. 22 (1): 17–32. doi:10.2307/1897052. JSTOR 1897052.
  4. ^ Peter Chester, third governor of the province of British West Florida under British dominion, 1770-1781. July 25, 1925. OCLC 1857630.
  5. ^ Osborn, George C. (1953). "Relations with the Indians in West Florida during the Administration of Governor Peter Chester, 1770-1781". The Florida Historical Quarterly. 31 (4): 239–272. JSTOR 30138906.
  6. ^ "Founders Online: From George Washington to Peter Chester, 25 March 1773". founders.archives.gov.
  7. ^ "Letter from Robert Ross to Peter Chester". Archived from the original on 2020-07-25.
  8. ^ "Arthur Devis (1711-1787), Group portrait, including Edward Chester (1712-1767), owner of Cockenhatch, his brother, Peter (1720-1799), Governor of Florida, a groom and the clergyman of the parish of Barkway, Rev. William Andrew, full-length, in a landscape with hounds beyond". www.christies.com.
  9. ^ NORTH AMERICA: Correspondence from the province of West Florida; Governor Peter Chester. 1776.