Peter Sergeant was a merchant in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 in the late 17th and early 18th century.

Biography

Born in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Sergeant moved to Boston and prospered as a merchant. He served as town constable in 1674, and as a Councillor 1692–1703 and 1707–1714. He was a member of the Third Church congregation, attending services at the Cedar House, and later at the Old South Meeting House

Old South Meeting House

The Old South Meeting House , in the Downtown Crossing area of Boston, Massachusetts, gained fame as the organizing point for the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773. 5,000 colonists gathered at the Meeting House, the largest building in Boston at the time.-Church :The church, with its 56 m ...

. He was also associated with the New England Company. During the 1689 Boston revolt

1689 Boston revolt

The 1689 Boston revolt was a popular uprising on April 18, 1689, against the rule of Sir Edmund Andros, the governor of the Dominion of New England. A well-organized "mob" of provincial militia and citizens formed in the city and arrested dominion officials...

, he participated in the Committee of Safety that ousted governor Edmund Andros

Edmund Andros

Sir Edmund Andros was an English colonial administrator in North America. Andros was known most notably for his governorship of the Dominion of New England during most of its three-year existence. He also governed at various times the provinces of New York, East and West Jersey, Virginia, and...

.

In 1679, Sergeant built a large house on old Marlborough Street

Washington Street (Boston)

Washington Street is a street originating in downtown Boston, Massachusetts that extends southwestward to the Massachusetts-Rhode Island state line. The majority of it was built as the Norfolk and Bristol Turnpike in the early nineteenth century...

, and lived there for most of the rest of his life. He left briefly 1699–ca.1700, in order to accommodate royal governor Richard Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont

Richard Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont

Richard Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont , known as The Lord Coote between 1683 and 1689, was a member of the English Parliament and a colonial governor...

. (After 1716 the Sergeant House was known as the Province House

Province House (Boston, Massachusetts)

The Province House was a 17th-century mansion on old Marlborough Street in Boston, Massachusetts. Built in 1679, it was the home of merchant Peter Sergeant, and after 1716, the official residence of royal governors of the Province of Massachusetts Bay...

.)

Sergeant married four times: to Elizabeth Corwin; to Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Shrimpton (1682–1700); to Mary Phips (1701–1706); and to Mehitable Cooper (1706–1714).

Sergeant's funeral was held on February 13, 1714; he is buried in the Granary Burying Ground

Granary Burying Ground

Founded in 1660, the Granary Burying Ground in Massachusetts is the city of Boston's third-oldest cemetery. Located on Tremont Street, it is the final resting place for many notable Revolutionary War-era patriots, including three signers of the Declaration of Independence, Paul Revere and the five...

.