 On April 15 , <unk> , Queen Anne united West and East Jersey into one Royal Colony , the Province of New Jersey . Edward Hyde , 3rd Earl of <unk> became the royal colony 's first governor . After Hyde was recalled to England in 1708 over charges of <unk> , bribery , and corruption , the governor of New York was charged to also <unk> over New Jersey . Finally , in 1738 , King George II appointed a separate governor , Lewis Morris , to run New Jersey . 
