 In 1691 William and Mary issued a charter establishing the Province of Massachusetts Bay , and appointed Phips its first governor . Bradstreet was offered a position on Phips ' council when the new governor arrived in 1692 , but declined . Bradstreet died at his home in Salem on 27 March 1697 at the age of 93 ; due to his advanced age he was called the " Nestor of New England " by Cotton Mather . 
