George Burdett

George Burditt was born in England, Burdett was a minister of the Church of England serving at Yarmouth. Under the pretence of being oppressed by a fellow bishop, but in reality because he had been suspended for disrespecting a statue of Jesus, he left his life and children and travelled to New England in 1636.[1] Burdett spent a short time in Salem, Massachusetts before travelling to Dover, New Hampshire where his popularity led to his election as governor within a year. His ministry was characterised by the dispute between Episcopalian and Puritan settlers,[2] resulting in "confusion and trouble."[3]

Burdett corresponded with Archbishop William Laud, and when this was discovered by his political opponents, he was forced from office. Following an adulterous revelation, he left for Agamenticus (present-day York, Maine), however he fell into "usurpation, crime and injustice".[4] According to State Papers from Maine, he was "indicted by the whole Bench for a man of ill name and fame." He was charged with committing adultery with two married women and ordered to pay compensation.[3] As a result, he returned to England, where he served as chaplain to Parliamentary regiments during the English Civil War. After the Restoration he served as a minister in Ireland.

• Breen, Louise A. (2001). Transgressing the Bounds. Oxford University Press US. ISBN 0-19-513800-7.
• Daniell, Jere R. (1981). Colonial New Hampshire: A History. KTO Press. ISBN 0-527-18715-1.
• Lawrence, Robert Fowler (1856). The New Hampshire Churches. Claremont Manufacturing Co.
• Moody, Robert (1963). "Thomas Gorges, Proprietary Governor of Maine, 1640–1643". Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society. 75: 10–26. JSTOR 25080568. (Contains details on Burdett's trial in Maine.)
• Moore, Susan Hardman (2007). Pilgrims: New World Settlers & the Call of Home. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-11718-9. OCLC 122337947.
• Parliamentary Army Chaplains, 1642–1651