Francis Lovelace

The Duke of York appointed Lovelace the second governor of the New York Colony in 1668 after the departure of Richard Nicolls.[1] While in office he purchased Staten Island from the local Native Americans, among whom he sent Church of England missionaries, granted 'freedom of conscience' to the English, Dutch and Swedish populations of the colony, organised infantry and militia companies and expanded New York City's defences.[2][4] During his time in NY, he ran and operated the King's House tavern (also known as Lovelace Tavern) in lower Manhattan. The tavern was built in 1670 in the Stadt Huys Block and rediscovered by archeologists in 1979–1980.[5][6]

Despite his defensive preparations, his administration was terminated by the temporary re-capture of the colony by the Dutch in 1673 when, for a brief period the Dutch Admiral Cornelis Evertsen the youngest seized New York City, to little opposition, and re-established Nieuw Amsterdam.[7] At the time of the invasion, Lovelace was out of the colony, meeting with the Governor of Connecticut, John Winthrop Jr. in Hartford, Connecticut, in the course of planning the first postal system from New York to Boston. From 1673 to 1674, Dutch naval Captain Anthony Colve acted as military governor-general until England recovered the colony under the terms of the Treaty of Westminster in 1674.[8]

Lovelace, whose property in New York had been confiscated by the Dutch, was sent home in disgrace to England.[8] The Duke of York, blaming Lovelace for the loss of his namesake colony, confiscated his plantation on Staten Island and his English estates for a £7,000 debt. In January 1675 he was committed to the Tower of London, where he was interrogated by commissioners. His answers were deemed unacceptable, but no further proceedings were brought against him. He contracted dropsy and, because of his health, was released in April. He went to live at Woodstock, Oxfordshire and died, in penury, by 22 December 1675 when administration of his estate was granted to his brother Dudley.[2]

The third new Governor of New York after Francis Lovelace was John Lovelace, 4th Baron Lovelace of Hurley – no kin to Francis of the Bethersden Lovelaces. Early genealogists confused Francis with an identically named son of Richard Lovelace, 1st Baron Lovelace of Hurley, due to a pamphlet issued at the time of his appointment mistakenly asserting that he was the brother of the said Richard. The confusion has also spread to more modern historians.