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Sketches of the Early Settlers of Middletown Connecticut


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Sketches of the Settlers

In a note to his Centennial Address, Dr. Field says of these early inhabitants:

"William Bloomfield was from Hartford, a:nd it is said he returned thither; if he did he afterward removed to Long Island. Nathaniel Brown was from Hartford. He had five children born to him, in Middletown, from 1661 to 1669, and it is probable that he died in the last mentioned year. His son, Nathaniel Brown 2d, lived in this place after him. George Graves was from Hartford and returned to that place: while here he was elected twice a representative to the General Court. William Markum removed to Hadley, Mass., and died there. What became of John Martin is not known. William Smith, who was from Wethersfield, removed to Farmington. Matthias Treat was also from Wethersfield and died before 1663, having a farnily which removed from this place. A man by the name of Joseph Smith died in Rocky Hill in Wethersfield in 1673, who may have been the s;ime person whodwelt a while in the Upper Houses. Robert Webster was from Hartford, son of Gov. John Webster of Hartford, afterward of Hadley. He was the ancestor of the late Noah Wesbter, LL. D. While here he re-i)resented the town almost continually in the General Court.

"Inquiries concerning the previous residence or residences of Thomas Allen have not been pursued to a satisfactory result.

"Obadiah Allen was recommended by the elders of the church in Windsor, which renders it probable that he at least resided in that town for a time. This name is not always spelt with an e, Allen; in a town record book it has been spelt, Alyn and Allyn; on the old church records it is Allin.

"Nathaniel Bacon probably came directly from England. He was a nephew of Andrew Bacon, of Hartford. The family were from Stretton in England, county of Rutland.

"William Briggs was from Wethersfield.

"From whence Alexander B. and William Cheney came, it is not ascertained. The latter was a representative to the General Court in several instances.

"Jasper Clements was born in England, about 1614. He died here in 1678, aged 64, leaving property for support of schools in the town.

"Henry Cole married in Hartford in 1646. He was not a land holder there, but may have been a resident. He moved from Middletown to Wallingford soon after 1670; Edward Higby purchased part of his property.

"Nathaniel Collins, the first settled pastor in Middle- town, and his brother, Samuel Collins, were from Cambridge, Mass., sons of Dea. Collins.

"William Cornwall was an early settler in Hartford, and had five sons, three of whom, John, Samuel, and William, Jr., accompanied him to Middletown. It is said that he died in 1677 an old man.

"George Durant had lived in Maiden, Massachusetts, and probably came from that town to this place.

"Samuel Eggleston was from Windsor.

"Edward Foster; of his previous history I have no information.

"John Hall had been in a familv state many years before he left England, and' was an early settler both in' Hart- ford and Middletown. His three sons, Richard, Samuel, and John Hall, Jr., probably came to Middletown when he did. He died May 26th 1673, in the 89th year of his age. John Hall, Jr.. was a deacon.

"Giles Hamlin is generally considered as coming here immediately from England. He was born about 1612- He was in the habit of crossing the; Atlantic, and was engaged in foreign commerce, partly by himself and partly with John Pynchon, of Springfield, his brother-in-law, John Crow, Jr.,who dwelt in Fairfield, and Elder Goodwin, of Hartford, afterward of Farmington, He died in 1689.

"William and Daniel Harris came to Middletown from Rowley, Massachusetts.

"George Hubbard was an early settler in Hartford, and had six sons, Joseph, Daniel, Samuel, George, Nathaniel, and Richard. The two oldest sons settled in Middletown.

"This George Hubbard was a distinct person from the George Hubbard who resided in Wethersfield, Milford, and Guilford. The genealogies of their families show this.

"Thomas Hubbard,who became a settler and proprietor in Middletown, is supposed to have come from Wethers- field, as there was an inhabitant early there of that name. He died in 1671, and whether he was related or not to either of the George Hubbards just mentioned is not known.

"John Hurlburt was from Wethersfield, son of Thomas Hurlburt, of that city.

"Isaac Johnson was from Roxbury, and recommended from the church there to the church in Middletown.

"John Kirby, one correspondent states, settled first in Boston, and it may be that he landed there and remained for a short time. Another correspondent says that his first child was born in Hartford, and a third that he had a child born or baptized in Hartford in 1646, but adds that he lived in Wethersfield, and had children born there in 1649 and 1651. From this town he removed to Middletown. In 1654 he owned a house and land in Rowington, Warwickshire, England, and the presumption is that he emigrated first from that place.

"Isaac Lane. I know not from what place he came.

"William Lucas. There was a William Lucas at Marblehead in 1648, who may have been the same person that came here. He died in 1690.

"Anthony Martin. There was an early settler in Wethersfield by the name of Samuel Martin; but the point has not been investigated, whether Anthony was from that town.

"Thomas Miller was recommended to the church in Middletown from the church in Rowley.

"Thomas Ranney is said to have been from Scotland. He was married to Mary Hubbard, the eldest child of George Hubbard, of Middletown, in 1659, and had five children, Thomas, John, Joseph, Mary, and Elizabeth. He died January 25th 1713, and was the first person buried in the oldest graveyard in the Upper Houses.

"David Sage is said to have been from Wales.

"John Savage married in Hartford in 1653, and may have resided there, though not a proprietor in that place.

"Samuel Stocking was from Hartford and a son of George Stocking.

"Samuel Stow, who preached to the people in Middletown some years as a candidate for the ministry, I have very lately been informed by a friend, was not born in Concord, Mass., but in Roxbury, and that he did not live in Concord until after he became a candidate. The probability therefore is that his brother, Thomas Stow, if not his nephew, John Stow, were also born in Roxbury, Mass. Samuel Stow died May 8th 1704.

"James Tappin. There was a man named James Tappin, married at Guilford to Hannah Garrett, March 5th 1656. But it is doubtful whether this was the same person that settled in Middletown.

"Edward Turner was from Milford, and had two or three children baptized there. His wife was recommended to the church in Middletown, from the church in that place.

"John and William Ward are supposed to have been both from Rowley. The former was recommended from the church in that place.

"Andrew, Robert, and John Warner were sons of Andrew Warner, who emigrated from Hatfield, Eng., about 1630, who was at Cambridge in 1632, and at Hartford among the early settlers. He was a deacon in Rev. Mr. Hooker's church and an influential man in that town. He removed to Hadley in 1659, where he died in 1684, at an advanced age. The three sons in Middletown were farmers. Andrew Warner died January 26th 1682. Robert repeatedly represented the town in the Genera! Court; he died April loth 1690. John died in 1700. The Warners in Chester and Lyme are descendants of Daniel Warner, one of their brothers.

"Thomas Wetmore is said to have been from Wales. He married a daughter of John Hall, in Hartford, in 1645, and had two or three children baptized there. He died in 1681, aged 66.

"Nathaniel White was from Hartford, a son of John White, of Hartford and Hadley.

"John Wilcox was from Hartford.


Source: History of Middlesex County Connecticut with Biographical Sketches of it's Prominent Men, New York: J. B. Beers & Co., 1884.