Edward Hyde (1661-1723)

3rd Earl of Clarendon; Governor of New York & New Jersey

He was known as Lord Cornbury until he succeeded his father as the Earl of Clarendon in 1709. In his early career, he raised a regiment of Dragoons and fought under the Duke of Marlborough. In 1688, he and his Dragoons sided with William III of Orange in what was termed the Glorious Revolution in Ireland. In reward, he was made Governor of the Provinces of New York and New Jersey, serving between 1701 and 1708. His conduct during this time was generally referred to as "scandalous". In 1702, he was famously alleged to have opened the New York Assembly dressed in a, "hooped gown and elaborate headdress and carrying a fan, much in the style of the fashionable Queen Anne". His detractors found him "morally profligate" and extremely corrupt. Hyde Park in Dutchess County, New York, was named in his honor by his secretary, Pierre Fauconnier. In 1685, he married Katherine, daughter of Lord Ibrackan, son of the 7th Earl of Thomond. By her, he fathered two children who lived to adulthood.
Contributed by Mark Meredith on 17/12/2019 and last updated on 16/08/2022.