Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Lynch, Thomas (d.1684?)
LYNCH, Sir THOMAS (d. 1684?), governor of Jamaica, was the son of Theophilus Lynch (b. 1603), fourth son of William Lynch of Cranbrook in Kent, and of his wife Judith, eldest daughter of John Aylmer [q. v.], bishop of London (Berry, County Genealogies, ‘Kent,’ p. 283; Hasted, Hist. of Kent, iii. 673; Addit. MS. 33920, f. 13b). It would seem that he was serving, in some capacity, in the army which went out to Jamaica in 1655 [see Penn, Sir William; Venables, Robert]. In 1660 he was in England on furlough, and on 28 Nov. petitioned the government for a passage back to Jamaica in one of the king's ships. He is then described as a captain (Cal. State Papers, Colonial, North America, and West Indies). At the same time he offered a paper of suggestions and considerations concerning Jamaica, showing himself well acquainted with the circumstances of the island. In January 1660–1 he was appointed provost-marshal of the island for life. In December 1662 he was lieutenant-colonel of the 5th regiment of militia; in April 1663 was sworn in as a member of council, and in April 1664 elected president of the council in the absence of Sir Charles Lyttelton [q. v.] In June 1664 Sir Thomas Modyford became governor, and Lynch was again sworn of the council. Six weeks later Modyford wrote to his brother, Sir James Modyford [q. v.], then in England, desiring him to apply to the Duke of Albemarle for the appointment of a sheriff, instead of a provost-marshal, but to do it quietly so as not to disoblige Lynch, ‘for he is a pretty understanding gentleman and very useful here; he has an estate, and would be very well beloved were he sheriff instead of marshal’ (ib. 21 July, 10 Aug. 1664). It appears, however, that there were personal difficulties; on 12 Feb. 1664–5 Lynch wrote to Lord Arlington complaining that the governor had discharged him from the council and the office of chief justice without giving any public reason; it was either to punish him for his ‘uncourtly humour of speaking plain and true,’ or he was prejudiced against him by Colonel D'Oyley, or else ‘he would have none to shine in this hemisphere but himself and his son.’
Lynch was obliged to return to England, whereas he had intended to marry, send for his relations, and make Jamaica his home (ib.) It was not till the end of 1670 that he was ordered to go out as lieutenant-governor, with authority to command in the absence of Modyford. The commission was repeated in January 1670–1, when Modyford was recalled, and at the same time he received a commission from the Duke of York to be commander-in-chief of his majesty's ships in and about Jamaica (ib. 23 Sept. 1670; 4, 13 Jan. 1671). He was knighted at Whitehall on 3 Dec. 1670, when he was described as of ‘Rixton Hall, in Great Sonkey Lane’ (Le Neve, Pedigrees of Knights, Harl. Soc., p. 243, s. v. ‘Linch’).
The principal and peculiar industry of Jamaica at that time was the support of the buccaneers, who had been largely encouraged by Modyford. Lynch improved on his predecessor's policy. During his government the buccaneers attained to a height and power previously unknown, and Captain (afterwards Sir Henry) Morgan [q. v.] rendered his name a terror to the Spaniards. That their proceedings were frequently irregular must be admitted, but it is incorrect to speak of them as pirates, at any rate in the modern sense. They acted under the governor's commission; the governor, Lynch as well as Modyford, held that he had authority to declare war against the Spaniards, and to order reprisals; and this view was supported and sanctioned by instructions from the king, who claimed his share of the plunder (History of Jamaica, 3 vols. 4to, 1774, i. 626). The complaints of the Spanish government, however, compelled the English government to give way (A New History of Jamaica from the earliest accounts to the taking of Porto Bello, 8vo, 1740, pp. 146, 152). Lynch was recalled, apparently in 1676, and Lord Vaughan was sent out with orders to suppress the pirates and put an end to piracy. In 1682 Lynch was again sent out to Jamaica as governor and captain-general, with similar instructions regarding piracy, and these he carried out very rigorously, both afloat and ashore, capturing and destroying the ships and hanging the men.
Lynch died, apparently in 1684, some time before the death of Charles II was known in the colony (ib. pp. 247-9). He was buried in the cathedral of Jamaica, beneath a black marble slab (Archer, Monumental Inscriptions of the British West Indies, p. 58). He married (1) Vere, daughter of Sir George Herbert, by whom he had a daughter Philadelphia, wife of Sir Thomas Cotton, bart., and (2) Mary, daughter of Thomas Temple of Frankton in Warwickshire, but does not seem to have left issue. His widow afterwards married his successor, Colonel Hender Molesworth (Lodge, Peerage of Ireland, 1789, v. 129).
[Authorities named in the text; Collins's English Baronetage, iii. 613, iv. 29.]