Edward Hyde (Visecount Cornbury) New Jersey's Eccentric Governor He was often seen "wearing a hoop skirt and headdress" Queen Anne appointed her cousin Edward Hyde, Viscount Cornbury, to be governor-general of New York and New Jersey in 1702. At his welcoming banquet he paid tribute to his wife’s ears, inviting the men present to feel them. One evening not long afterward, a woman rushed up to a watchman and pulled his ears. "She" turned out to be the royal governor. Thereafter Cornbury would often parade in his wife’s dresses and, shrieking with laughter, pounce on other men’s ears. He even wore a dress to his wife’s funeral. In 1708 the queen finally relieved her luxury- loving cousin of his post. He was promptly thrown into debtors’ prison, but his father’s timely death made him an earl, immune to prosecution. The man credited with doing more harm to the English cause in America than anyone else immediately sailed for London. Edward Hyde - Lord Cornbury Governor of New Jersey and New York 1702 - 1708 All the time, Cornbury had claimed that he was simply trying to represent the queen by resembling her "as faithfully as I can." Note: The elegantly attired governor (right) was "a frivolous spendthrift, an impudent cheat and a detestable bigot." A crony of his named Hyde Park (later the site of FDR’s home) after him. If you know of any other topic related Internet resources in New Jersey having a website, please email the Name and URL to Jersey-mall and we will try to include it in our NJ Resources.