William HAYDEN

Notes:

Name:
William Hayden, of Devon, came to Dorchester, Mass., with the first settlers; (prob. in the MARY AND JOHN, May 30) 1630; was made freeman in 1634; served under Capt. Mason in the famous Pequot fight of 1637, and saved the Commanders life in the storming of the Fort, an exploit thus commemorated by Wolcott in his poem of 1721:

"But fate, that doth the rule of action know,
Did this unequal combat disallow;
For quite too much to force one man alone,
To beat an army, take a garrison,
Sent HAYDEN in, who with his sun-steeled blade
Joining the General, such a slaughter made,
That soon the Pequots ceased to oppose
the matchless force of such resistless foes."

The "sun-steeled blade" which turned the tide of battle is now in the collection of the Connecticut Historical Society at Hartford and the deed is represented by one of the crests on the book-plate of his great-great-grandson, Dr Moses Hayden, ...

William Hayden became a proprietor at Hartford in 1637, and at Windsor in 1639, building in the latter place a house on the site since occupied by the residence of the late Ezra H. Hayden, South-east of Hayden Station. Beyond on the West, he opened in 1654 a stone quarry (now called "Rocky Hill") which furnished most of the early gravestones and foundation walls of Windsor. In 1657-8 he is one of 17 making the first troop of horse raised i Connecticut. In 1660 he is charged 7s. for a "short seat" in the Old Windsor Meeting House. But in 1664 he removed to Fairfield, and the next year to Killingworth (in each place becoming a proprietor) and represented the latter place as Deputy to the General Court in 1667; and there (at Killingworth) he died, Sept. 26, 1669/

Family/Spouse: Sarah BIRDSEYE. Sarah was born in 1616 in Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, USA; died on 16 Jul 1655 in Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Margaret ?. Margaret was born about 1611. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Name:
Daniel, 1st son of William, bought in 1683 the "Great Island" in the Connecticut River, or Enfield Falls, now called "King's Island"; described as "a mile in length by 1/4 of a mile wide, and containing 150 acres, mostly under cultivation." He and his townsman Capt. Cook are called "the Nimrods of Windsor," for their havoc among the wolves, for which bounties were frequently granted then. he was freeman 1668, one of a troop of horse in King Philip's War, 1675, Lieut., and Selectman 1698.

Daniel married Hannah WILCOXSON on 17 Mar 1664. Hannah (daughter of William WILCOXSON and Margaret ?) was born about 1644; died on 19 Apr 1722. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Nathaniel married Sarah FRENCH on 17 Jan 1677 in Killingworth, Middlesex, Connecticut, USA. Sarah (daughter of Thomas FRENCH and Deborah ?) was born on 25 Aug 1650 in Guilford, New Haven County, Connecticut; died on 19 May 1717 in Killingworth, Middlesex Co., Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Fact: Dau. of William Hayden of Windsor, Conn.

Mary married Judah EVARTS on 3 Aug 1670. Judah (son of John EVARTS and Elizabeth BRADLEY) was born on 27 Oct 1642 in Guilford, New Haven County, Connecticut; died in 1696. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]