Bray/Bryan ROSSITER

1610 - 1672  (62 years)

• Name	Bray/Bryan ROSSITER  [1, 2]
  	Son of EDWARD ROSSITER and his wife ? Comb. Edward, a stockholder in the Dorchester company, died at Dorchester in October 1631. Bray's brothers, Nicholas (and his family) and Hugh, returned to England; sisters Jane and Joan remained in New England and married respectively, Thomas Gilbert and Nicholas Hart. MILITARY: In April 1640 the Connecticut records show that "Mr Rocester of Wyndsor" was made ensign for the "several bands in the said Townes." COURT: Bray Rochester served on the jury at the Connecticut court in July 1640 and was frequently a party in court. In 1643 he sued the widow Hutchinson for L2w40. In 1650 he sued Henry Wolcott over a debt for treatment of his son. He lost a suit for defamation against Nicholas Hoit and withdrew one for slander against Peter Tilton that same year. In September 1652 he was in the Guilford Plantation Court stating that he had agreed to arbitration regarding his suit against Edward Sewers for false imprisonment. OCCUPATION: Physician, surveyor, agitator. He was admitted to the practice of medicine at Windsor after "being first tried and approved by Mr. Hooker, Mr. Stone and old Mr. Smith of Wethersfield." At the time of his removal to Guilford in 1651, he is said by historians to have been the only physician in Connecticut colony, but John Winthrop, Jr., was probably already practicing there, too. In March 1662/3 Rossiter performed the first autopsy known in Connecticut on the body of an eight-year-old girl, Elizabeth Kelly, who hd died in a delirium after accusing a neighbor, Goody Ayres of bewitching her. By the time Rossiter got there, the girl had been dead for five days. he was asked to determine whether she died of natural or preternatural causes. Because he had expected the body to be stiff and it was limber, he reported it as a preternatural sign. Seventeenth century medical knowledge of 'rigor mortis' was limited by today's standeards, and Rossiter was evidently unaware that stiffness abates in about 36 hours. The court allowed Dr. Rosseter "Twenty pounds, in reference to opening Kellies child, and his paynes to visit the Dep: Govern', and his paynes in visiting and administering to Mr. Talcot." [1]
  Birth	Poss. 1610	England   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Fact	Son of Edward of Boston, Mass.   [2]
  Fact	18 May 1631	Made a Freeman   [1]
  Death	30 Sep 1672	Guilford, Connecticut   [1, 2]
  Person ID	I73233	Main Tree
  Last Modified	18 Mar 2018

  
  

  Family	Elizabeth ALSOP,   c. 15 Feb 1613/14, Crewkerne, Somerset, England d. 29 Aug 1669, Guilford, Connecticut (Age ~ 55 years)
  Marriage	Bef 1639  [1]
  Children	1. Samuel ROSSITER   d. 10 Jun 1640, Windsor, Connecticut  [Birth] + 2. Joannah ROSSITER,   b. Jul 1642, Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, USA d. 12 Oct 1702, Sandwich, Barnstable County, Massachusetts (Age 60 years)  [Birth]   3. John ROSSITER,   b. 1644, Guilford, New Haven County, Connecticut d. Sep 1670, Killingsworth, New Haven Co., Connecticut (Age 26 years)  [Birth] + 4. Josiah ROSSITER,   b. 1646, Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, USA d. 31 Jan 1716, Guilford, New Haven County, Connecticut (Age 70 years)  [Birth]   5. Timothy ROSSITER   d. 1647, Windsor, Connecticut  [Birth]   6. Abigail ROSSITER   d. 1648, Windsor, Connecticut  [Birth]   7. Esther ROSSITER   d. 1649, Windsor, Connecticut  [Birth]   8. Peter ROSSITER   d. 1651, Windsor, Connecticut  [Birth]   9. Elizabeth ROSSITER   d. Sep 1651, Windsor, Connecticut  [Birth]   10. Susannah ROSSITER,   b. 18 Nov 1652, Guilford, New Haven County, Connecticut d. 21 Apr 1710, Woodbury, Connecticut (Age 57 years)  [Birth]   11. Sarah ROSSITER   d. 10 Aug 1669, Guilford, Connecticut  [Birth]
  Family ID	F29670	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	2 Sep 2022

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - Poss. 1610 - England Death - 30 Sep 1672 - Guilford, Connecticut  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Sources

  [S8969] AmericanAncestors.org: Early New England Families, 1641-1700. [S4793] Alvan Talcott, "Families of Early Guilford, Connecticut" Vol. II.