Liberty Signer (1729 - 1795)

Dr. Josiah Bartlett is best known today as the second.man to sign the Declaration of Indenpendence (after John Hancock). William Whipple and Matthew Thornton also signed from New Hampshire. Born in Amesbury, MA, Bartlett practiced medicine in the nearby little town of Kingston, NH. He was respected as a staunch patriot and He married his first cousin Mary Bartlett of Newton, MA and they had ten children. Refusing to take a bribe from the Royal Governor, he remained a patriot, but lost his post as Justice of the Peace and Militia leader for the King. Bartlett twice attended the Continental Congress and, after the Revolutionary War, became a "president" of New Hampshire. When the title changed to "governor".in 1792, Bartlett was again elected. Though not the first chief executive of the new state, Bartlett was technically the first man to bear the title of governor in NH. His name is even more famous today due to the television series West Wing. In the popular show, actor Martin Sheen plays Josiah "Jeb" Bartlett, a Catholic Democrat governor from NH who is elected Preisidnet of the US.

Before television's West Wing, the real
Josiah Bartlett was "president" of NH
More Famous NH People

New Hampshire Framers of Freedom
An overview of the life of the man from East Kingston

Timeline of the Life of Josiah Bartlett
A handy starting point for your research

Mary Bartlett
The amazing life of Mrs. Josiah Bartlett

Hon. Josiah Bartlett
From the Bartlett Family Research web site

Bartlett in the NH State Capitol
Bartlett was NH chief executive in 1791 and 1792

JosiahBartlett.com
A biography from Virtualogy, an education project

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

Signers of the Declaration on UShistory.org
Includes a handy pop-up link to other signers

The Original Declaration
The faded original in the National Archives

Thomas
Legislative information from the USA on the Internet

HISTORIC SITES & ITEMS

Bartlet Museum
Amesbury historical museum in town where Bartlett was born

Letter from Josiah Bartlett
Scroll down for this NH item from the Mayflower Families

American Independence Museum
Exeter, NH history exhibits

Nichols Memorial Library
For more information on Josiah Bartlett;s hometown contact the
Kingston library.

NH History Museum & Tuck Library
Key source of Bartlett research material and displays in Concord, NH

Bartlett Gravesite
Plains Cemetery in Kingston, NH on Find-a-Grave

THE WEST WING

The West Wing Site
Meet Martin Sheen and the whole cast of the TV Show

The NBC Official West Wing Site
Join the fan club, chat, see fan sites

The West Wing
An episode and character guide

Wing Span
Tons of details and features and lists of other West Wing sites

NAMESAKES

The Bartlett Ancestral Society (Genealogy)

Ancestry of Richard Bartlett (Newbury, MA 1634)

Society of Decendants of Robert Bartlett of Plymouth

Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy
A "think tank" for NH located in Concord, NH

Bartlett Museum, Amesbury, MA
Named after Barlett who was born in Amesbury. No site found.

Politicians Named Bartlett
From the Political Graveyard

Bartlett, NH
Part of the Jackson, NH Chamber of Commerce

KEY BOOK
Mevers, Frank C., ed. The Papers of Josiah Bartlett. Hanover, N.H.: New Hampshire Historical Society, Univ. Press of New England, 1979. 516 pp.

More Famous NH People

By J. Dennis Robinson
Copyright © 2001 SeacoastNH.com. All rights reserved. Updated 2005.