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Trumbull, Jonathan (Lawyer jurist state legislator)

lawyer, jurist, state legislator, governor, was born Oct. 12, 1710, in Lebanon, Conn. He was a member of the assembly at the age of twenty-three; and was chosen lieutenant-governor in 1766, and chief justice of the superior court.

He refused to take the oath enjoined on royal officers. He was made governor from 1769 to 1783; and was the only colonial governor who took side with the people. He was a whig leader and was relied on by Washington as one of his firm supporters. The phrase sometimes used by Washington, Let us see what Brother Jonathan says, is supposed to have originated the term frequently applied to the United States. He died Aug. 17, 1785.