John Wentworth (January 16, 1671 – December 12, 1730) was an American sea captain, merchant, politician, judge and colonial administrator who served as the lieutenant governor of New Hampshire from 1717 to 1730.
Early life
thumb|The [[Metropolitan Museum of Art purchased the Wentworth house in 1926, and moved portions of the interior to the museum. The house was unusually grand in scale, and the spiral-turned balusters are the earliest known in New England.]]
thumb|Interior of the John Wentworth house, now in the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.]]
He was a grandson of "Elder" William Wentworth (born at Alford, Lincolnshire, England, in 1615; died in Dover, New Hampshire, March 16, 1697),
Political career
John Wentworth was raised to be a sea captain. In 1712 he was appointed by Queen Anne a councillor for New Hampshire; in 1713 he became a justice of the common pleas, and late in 1717 lieutenant governor. again governing between Burnet's death in 1729 and the arrival of Jonathan Belcher in 1730. During his administration he brought focus on the border dispute between New Hampshire and Massachusetts, cultivating power centers in London that eventually led to resolution of that dispute (albeit in 1740, long after his death), and establishing the dynasty that would dominate New Hampshire until independence.
Family
On October 12, 1693, Wentworth married Sara Hunking. The couple had thirteen children, three of whom (Samuel, Benning, and Mark Hunking Wentworth) would become prominent themselves. Benning Wentworth was later the first directly appointed royal governor of New Hampshire. Mark's son in his turn would also become the last royal governor, Sir John Wentworth, 1st Baronet.