Edward Hyde was the son of Henry Hyde, the second Earl of Clarendon. He came from a long line of reputable descendents - including his important father, a king as his uncle, a profitable marriage to Katherine, daughter of Lord O'Brien, and perhaps most beneficially, his cousin was Queen Anne. These connections provided him with a good education in Geneva and a seat in Parliament in 1685.
Cornbury was noted as being "a spendthrift, a grafter, a bigoted oppressor and a drunken vain fool." He encountered many problems while in England, including a scuffle with James II. As an Anglican, Hyde became one of the first army officers to desert James II, integrating himself with the victorious William and Mary.
Because Cornbury often overindulged in his lavish tastes, he overspent a considerable amount of his income and found himself being pursued by numerous creditors. In an attempt to escape from his problems, Cornbury fled to the American colonies with Queen Anne's blessing.
Immediately upon his arrival in New York in 1701, Anne appointed Cornbury as governor of New York. Only one year later, in 1702, the Queen added the title of governor of New Jersey to Cornbury's list of duties.
When he first arrived in New Jersey in 1703 the colony was rife with factional and political tension. In what had earlier been a proprietorship of East and West Jersey, a group of political parties sought Hyde's favor as they fought with each other over such things as land, money, power and religion. Cornbury was indifferent to these issues, but he saw the possibility for personal gain, hence his poor reputation began.
Looking at Viscount Cornbury's governorship in New York, it is apparent that he was equally as corrupt as he was in his New Jersey legislation. In New York, Hyde allied himself with the Anti-Leislerian party to secure gifts and a revenue. He twice dismissed uncooperative assemblies, who were largely uncooperative because of his impossible demands.
Perhaps the most (in)famous characteristic of Edward Hyde is not his status as a corrupt politician, but rather that of a cross dresser. Numerous rumors have circulated that Viscount Cornbury liked to dress in women's clothes in order to have a likeness near to his cousin, Queen Anne.
A painting hangs in the New York Historical Society whose description reads, "Viscount Cornbury, governor of New York and New Jersey (1702-1708)." The painting was identified as being Cornbury in 1796, seventy-three years after his death. This painting is a piece of evidence that supports historians' uniform depiction of Hyde as a cross dresser.
There have been many stories told throughout history of his escapades as a transvestite. One was told by Horace Walpole in a conversation with his friend George James Williams. Walpole recounted,
"He was a clever man. His great insanity was dressing himself as a woman. Lord Orford [Walpole] says that when Governor in America he opened the Assembly dressed in that fashion. When some of those about him remonstrated, his reply was, 'You are very stupid not to see the propriety of it. In this place and particularly on this occasion I represent a woman (Queen Anne) and ought in all respects to represent her as faithfully as I can.'"
A letter was written in 1714 by the German diplomat Baron von Bothmer to Hanover relaying the rumor that when in the Indies Cornbury thought "it was necessary for him, in order to represent her Majesty, to dress himself as a woman."
In 1707 an effort began to oust Hyde. The New Jersey assembly acted first, opening up an investigation of Hyde's conduct and drawing up a list of grievances. The assembly sent a copy of this list to the Board of Trade, asking the body to "relieve them from the oppressions they groan under by the arbitrary and illegal practices of his excellency."
New York followed suit in 1708, unanimously adopting resolutions condemning Cornbury's illegal activities in the colony. This double whammy perturbed Queen Anne, who dismissed Hyde of his duties in December of 1708.
Upon his dismissal, Cornbury was arrested by the sheriff of New York for his debt. He stayed in a New York jail until the death of his father, when his inheritance enabled him to pay his debts and return to England.
