Gershom WOLCOTT

Other Events and Attributes:

• Fact: Son of Henry Wolcott and Sarah Newberry of Windsor, Conn.
• Birth: 16 Apr 1656
• Fact 1: 1679, Constable
• Fact 2: 1685, Selectman
• Fact: Oct 1685, Deputy to the General Court

Notes:

Name:
He settled in Wethersfield where he was a merchant and a constable there in 1679. Samuel was a representative to the General Court in 1685. He owned a large piece of land a mile west of Wethersfield where he built a one room house on a hill. His sons built nearby and the hill became known as 'Wolcott Hill'.

Samuel married Judith APPLETON on 6 Mar 1677/8 in Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut, USA. Judith (daughter of Col. Samuel APPLETON and Hannah PAINE) was born about 1652. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Name:
He came to America with his parents and was a member of the Dorchester Church when he was made Freeman at Boston, April 1, 1634; removed to Windsor, 1636. His name appears on the records of the Conn. Colony as early as 1638, when Henry Wolcott the younger, was "chosen to receive for Windsor the Indian con brought in", and to "keepe one exact account of what every man hath," etc. (Col Rec. of Conn., 1, p. 18). In1654, he went to England on business and again in 1671; was an importing merchant; much engaged in public life; is mentioned in the Royal Charter of Connecticut as one of the nineteen prominent men of the colony. He became a member of the House of Deputies at October session, 1660 and served at the March, May, June and August sessions of 1661. At the may session of 1662, he was a member of the House of Magistrates, to which he was annually re-elected till his death. Was of the Council of Military Affairs during King Philip's War. he wrote shorthand and preserved many items of Windsor History. It was he who took notes of a lecture delivered by Rev. Thomas Hooke, May 31, 1638, before the General Court, in which was outlined the Constitution of Connecticut, the first written constitution known to history, and the one which more than any other, formed the basis for the Constitution of the United States. His notebook is now in the possession of the conn. Hist. Society. He gave much attention to fruit culture, was prominent in church matters and left a large estate here and in England. His Wethersfield land went to his sons, Samuel of Wethersfield and Josiah of Windsor.

Henry married Sarah NEWBERRY on 18 Nov 1641. Sarah (daughter of Thomas NEWBERRY and Joane DABINOTT) was born about 1622; died on 16 Jul 1684. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Fact: Dau. of thomas and Jane Newberry of Dorcester, Mass.

Notes:

Name:
He became a freeman on 26 Sep 1648 and was Commander-in-Chief in King Philip's War. Samuel was Deputy to the General Court in 1668 under the title of Lieutenant Samuel Appleton, and from 1669-1671 and 1673. He was elected assistant from 1681 to 1686, six years, and was one of the first council under the charter of William and Mary in 1692. A record in the Massachusetts Files in 1675 indicates that "On 24th September ordered, that a commission be issued forth to Captain Samuel Appleton, to command a foot company of 100 men." which was prompted by the Indian war, called King Philip's War, which began that year. Samuel was appointed on 4 Oct. 1675 "Command in Chief, of the army in those parts, by whose industry, skill, and courage," says Hubbard, his neighbour, "those towns were preserved from running the same fate with the rest, wholly or in part so lately turned into ashes." Samuel "did not escape the persecution of Sir Edmund Andros and his tools, probably on account of the freedom of speech, in which he denounced his (Andros) arbitrary assumption of power." He died "after a career of great civil and military distinction." His will dated 12 Apr 1695 was proved 25 May 1696.

Headstone Inscription:

Here Lyeth Buried
ye Body of
Colo Samuel Appleton
Aged 70 Years
Decd May ye 15th
1696

He came from England with his father in 1635 and became a man of the highest repute in the military and civil service. Representative in 1660, and often after until 1681, when he was made an Assistant, in which office he was continued until the over-throw of the King Charles Government in1686. In 1675, he was made Commander-in-chief of the Massachusetts forces in the west against King Philip and for the defense of the frontier towns against the Indians; he was several times successful in repelling them and saving the towns. When hatfield was attacked oct 19, 1675, a bullet passed through his hair and a sergeant was killed at his side. When succeeded by Major Savage, as commander of the forces on the Connecticut River, he was transferred to the expedition against the Narragansetts, commanding all the Massachusetts men in that expedition and at the Great Battle. for his resolute support of the people against the unlawful taxation in 1687 he was imprisoned by Gov. Andros for three months. In the new charter of William and Mary, 1691, he was made one of the council, though he did not retain the office after the following election. He was justice in Quarterly and General Sessions Court, and also of the Court of Oyer and Terminer, (April 11, 1692), for the trial of persons charged with witchcraft. He ably and faithfully performed his diversified duties as legislator and judge and was held in the highest esteem by his contemporaries.

Samuel married Hannah PAINE on 2 Apr 1651 in Ipswich, Essex Co., Massachusetts. Hannah was born in 1628/29 in Lavenham, co. Suffolk, England; was christened on 11 Feb 1628/29 in Lavenham, co. Suffolk, Englnad; died before 1655/56 in Ipswich, Essex Co., Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Fact: Daughter of William Paine and Anna North

Other Events and Attributes:

• Fact: Son of John Wolcott of Tolland near Taunton, Somersetshire, England

Notes:

Name:
By the decease of his elder brother, Christopher, in 1639, he inherited the family estate including the manor house Galdon Hall, but this occurred after his removal to America. The earlier part of his life was spent in the ordinary pursuits of a country gentleman, but becoming converted to Puritanism, he, like hundreds of others, sought refuge in America. Although past 52 years of age at the time and with a family of young children, he joined the part of Maverick and Warham, which emigrated in 1630. it is said he had visited New England two years earlier and returned for his family. He took with him his wife and three sons, leaving behind two daughters and the youngest son, aged 5. On October 19th of this same year, his name appears in a list of those desiring to be made Freemen of Boston and he was sworn May 14, 1634. May 14, 1634, the General Court of Massachusetts granted him and two others liberty "to looke out fiermes for themselves," etc. He first settled at Dorchester, but in 1636 left that place with Warham's party to found Windsor. In February, 1637-8 he was appointed collector of the Rates for Windsor and April 11, 1639, he was one of the so-called Committee of the General Court. At the court of Election held april 13, 1643, he became a magistrate or Assistant, to which office he was annually chosen until his death. After the pastor, he was the most important citizen of Windsor. he is one of the twelve whom Trumbull calls the civil and religious Fathers of Connecticut. It has been said that he inherited a considerable estate in England, but these accounts have doubtless been exaggerated. At his death, his property was inventoried at L764-8-10. In the ancient "Family Chronologie," it is recorded of him and his wife, "these both dyed in hops and Ly buried under one tomb in Windsor." (N.E. reg., 9 p. 338; Ibid., 5, pp. 463-4; Stiles' Ancient Windsor, 2, p. 799; N.E. Reg., I, p. 251; Address by the Rev. Peter Clark Wolcott, Aug. 1911, before the Society of the Descendants of Henry Wolcott.)

Henry married Elizabeth SAUNDERS on 19 Jan 1606. Elizabeth was christened on 20 Dec 1584; died on 7 Jul 1655. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Fact: Dau. of Thomas Saunders of Lydiard, St. Lawrence Somersetshire, England

Other Events and Attributes:

• Fact: Son of Richard Newberry and Grace Matthew

Notes:

Name:
He was one of the richest men among the colonists and a merchant; he had an excellent education and was engaged in legal study in London during several terms of the Court of Chancery. (Chancery Proceedings, series 2, 342-65.) In 1626, he occupied an estate called "Coweleyes" in Marshwood, co. Dorset. he turned Puritan when a young man and sailed for New England in April, 1634. His first appearance on the records of New England is as a grantee of lands in Dorchester, Mass., Sept. 1, 1634; he subsequently received several other large grants of land there. His name invariably appears on the records with the prefix "Mr." for he was of the highest social standing. He joined the church in Dorchester soon after his arrival and on Sept. 3, 1634, was admitted a Freeman of Mass., and immediately became prominent in public affairs, being chosen Selectman Oct. 28, 1634, when it was "agreed that their shall be Tenn men chosen to order all the affayres of the Plantation, to continue for one yeare & to meete monethly according to the order Oct; 8, 1633." On Mar. 4, 1634-5 and May 6, 1635, he was Deputy for Dorchester to the General Cour. On May 6, he was "chosen overseer of the worke att Castle Ileland, in the roome of Roger Ludlowe, Esq." et. At the session of July 8, he was apppointed one of a committee of two "to sett out the bounds betwixte Wessaguscus & Barecove." He was an active leader in the project for the settling of Windsor but died before its accomplishment; he had, however, visited the site of the new town and his widow and children went there after his death.

After the death of Mrs. Newberry, her husband m. (2) about 1630 Jane, who was perhaps Jane Dabinott of Chardstock, dau. of John Dabinott and a cousin of his first wife. Thomas Newberry was her guardian. Her father had left her over 150 pounds when married with the consent of her mother and his overseers, Christopher Dabinott and Thomas Newberry; perhaps the latter "consented" she should marry himself. Jane, his second wife went to New England with him in 1634 and after his death married Rev. John WARHAM.

Thomas married Joane DABINOTT about 1619. Joane was born about 1600; died about 1629. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Fact: Dau. of Christopher Dabinott of Yarcombe, Devon, England

Notes:

Name:
He was of royal and noble descent from Henry I Beauclerc, King of England from 1100-1135. Samuel was apprenticed on 16 July 1604 to Samuel Doughty of the Drapers' Company, London. He and Judith lived in the family home at Holbrook Hall, where their first five children were baptized. They moved sometime after 1625, possibly in Groton or Combs or Milden or Monks Eleigh, where they held lands in each of these locations. He became interested in the Puritan community and had planned to leave England in 1630 with the Winthrop fleet, but came later. Samuel became a freeman 25 May 1636 and was Deputy at the General Curt on 17 May 1637. Samuel served on the Grand Jury in 1641. He was a deputy to the General Court from 1656 to 1664 with the title of "Lieutenant," and thereafter as "Captain." He was a member of the Armory and was a gentleman and amiger (one entitled to bear heraldic arms.)

Samuel married Judith EVERARD on 24 Jan 1615/16 in Preston, co. Suffolk, England. Judith was born about 1597 in London. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Birth: ab 1587
• Fact: Daughter of John Everard and Judith Bourne

Notes:

Name:
She was of royal and noble descent from Louis IV d'Outremer (over the seas), known as "the Simple," King of the Franks from 936-954.