Moses Gill

Who was Moses Gill?

Moses Gill was a Massachusetts politician who briefly served as the state's Acting Governor. He is the state's only acting governor to die in office. A successful businessman, he became one of the leading settlers of Princeton, Massachusetts, entering politics shortly before the American Revolutionary War. He served on the Massachusetts Provincial Congress's executive committee until the state adopted its constitution in 1780, after which he continued to serve on the state's Governor's Council.

Elected lieutenant governor in 1794, he served in that office under Governors Samuel Adams and Increase Sumner until the latter died shortly after winning reelection in 1799. Gill served an apparently undistinguished term as acting governor until his own death in 1800, ten days before his successor, Caleb Strong, assumed office. Gill was a significant benefactor and founder of Leicester Academy, and supported the congregational church in Princeton, where the family had a large estate.