Chris & Julie Petersen's Genealogy

William Filley

Male Abt 1617 - Aft 1686  (~ 70 years)


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  • Name William Filley 
    Born Abt 1617  , , England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Died Aft 1686  Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I1886  Petersen-de Lanskoy
    Last Modified 27 May 2021 

    Family Margaret,   b. Abt 1621, , , England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. of Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Married 2 Sep 1642  Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. Samuel Filley,   b. 24 Sep 1643, Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 4/04 Jan 1711/2, Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 68 years)
     2. John Filley,   b. 15 Dec 1645, Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 20 Aug 1690, Suffield, Hartford, Connecticut, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 44 years)
     3. Elizabeth Filley,   b. 4/04 Mar 1650/1, Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, United States Find all individuals with events at this location
     4. Mary Filley,   c. 3 Aug 1651, Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 13 Apr 1711, Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 59 years)
     5. Hannah Filley,   c. 3 Jul 1653, Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 28 Aug 1729, Suffield, Hartford, Connecticut, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 76 years)
     6. Margaret Filley,   b. 1655, Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 15 Mar 1713, Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 58 years)
     7. Abigail Filley,   b. 21 Aug 1658, Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 8/08 Jan 1707/8, Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 49 years)
     8. Deborah Filley,   b. 21 Mar 1661, Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 20 Nov 1701, Westfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 40 years)
     9. William Filley,   b. 7/07 Mar 1664/5, Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. From 11 Aug 1707 to 4 Oct 1707, Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 42 years)
    Last Modified 28 May 2021 
    Family ID F1159  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • RESEARCH_NOTES:
      1. The book "The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography," v. 47, p. 633, entry for Everett Roswell Filley (b. 1894): "His first paternal American ancestor was William Filley, who came to this country from England in 1640 and settled in Windsor, Conn. From him and his wife, Margaret, the descent was through Samuel and Ann Gillet (etc.)"

      2. Henry R. Stiles, "The History and Genealogies of Ancient Windsor, Connecticut," 1892, v. 2, p. 250:
      "William Filley, m. Margaret ___, 2 Sep 1642 (O.C.R.); she adm. to Windsor church, 17 Jul 1751; he adm. to 'ch. communion, 8 Mar 1673.' (O.C.R.); those marked thus (*) bp. 3 Aug 1651. O.C.R.:
      a. Samuel, * b. 24 Sep 1643.
      b. John, * b. 15 Dec 1645; (Sheldon's 'Doct. Hist. Suff.' says he m. Abigail {prob. dau. Abraham} Dyble of Suffield, 1 Feb 1681, and d. there, 1690, leaving three daus., since when the name is extinct upon Suff.
      Record.)
      c. Mary *.
      d. Elizabeth *, b. 4 Mar 1650; m. David Winchel, 1669.
      e. Hannah, bp. 3 Jul 1653; (prob. the H. who {acc. to Sheldon's 'Doc. Hist. Suff.'} m. Joseph Harmon of Suffield {b. Springfield, 1647}, at Windsor 1673, and had 3 children; she d. at Suffield 28 Aug 1729; he d. 28 Oct 1729.)
      f. Abigail, b. 21, bp. 22 (another entry in O.C.R. says 28) Aug 1658.
      g. Deborah, b. 21 Mar, bp. 24 Nov 1661; prob. the D. who m. John Sackett of Wethersfield 1 Dec 1686. - Col. Rec.
      h. William, b. 7 Mar, bp. 12 Nov 1664/5."

      3. New England Historical and Genealogical Register, v. 5, p. 225, Article: "Record of Marriages and Births, in Windsor, CT":
      "William Filly, (of Simsbury) and Margaret (his wife) were m. 2 Sep 1642; chil. Samuel, b. 24 Sep 1643; John, b. 15 Dec 1645; Mary, b. ___ ___; Elizabeth, b. 4 Mar 1650; Abigal, b. 21 Aug 1658; Debroa, b. 21 Mar 1661; William, b. 7 Mar 1665."

      4. New England Historical and Genealogical Register, v. 5, p. 247, Article: "List of Freemen of Windsor, CT":
      "7 Oct 1669. Acount taken of all such Persons as dwell within the Limets of Windsor, and have bin approved of to be freemen, and alowed to take the oath of freedom: ffilly William..."

      5. DFAW, v. XI, No. 4, Summer 1994, article "The Captain Oliver Filley Family," by Eileen Phelps, 151 Wintonbury Ave., Bloomfield, CT, 06002:
      "The history of the Filley family in America begins with William Filley, an immigrant from England. William owned land in Windsor in the year 1640 and records show he married in 1642. William fathered eight children, three sons and five daughters. Many of the early Filley family owned land and lived in Massaco (Simsbury) and Wintonbury. Samuel, one of the men of the second generation, had a house laid out for him in Massaco on Hopmeadow Street in 1667..."

      6. Typescript of Dorothy Steffee Roberts, Hale, Michigan, Nov. 1989, on file at Windsor, CT. Historical Society:
      "William Filley's Arrival in Windsor? Several different versions exist concerning William Filley's arrival in Windsor, and they are all interesting. Just in case any of you readers want to do some researching on your own, I'll review the versions I have in my collection:
      A. (Condensed from the Filley Family Records, Mormon Genealogical Center, SLC, UT, 1977.) It is quite certain that he (William Filley) was on of the party which accompanied (Major) William Holmes in the vessel which sailed from Plymouth Colony and ascended the Connecticut in 1633 and landing at the mouth of the Farmington River, erected there the first house (trading post) built in Connecticut. In the records of the town of Windsor, under date of Sept. 1655, there appears the following:
      'William Filley hath purchased of George Alexander, his house and orchard and house lot containing nine acres more or less. As it is bounded south east by John Warham and Daniel Clark, in length 50 ro. - northwest by Job Drake, in length 50 ro. - north east by Ye Mill Brook, according to the running of it, southwest by Daniel Clark. Also wood land 28 acres on the north it is bounded by ye land of Thomas Newel, dec. 50 ro. - south by parcells of land above written have been peacible and quietly possessed by William Filley these twenty years he and his heirs and successors forever may enjoy it, desiring ye privalege of ye law and possession. We underwritten declare our acceptation as witness our hands this 11 day of April 1654. Benjamin Newberry, Commissioner; Henry Wolcott, Register; Thomas Bissel, Selectman.'
      So it would seem from the above that William Filley was in the occupation of his house and land in Windsor prior to 11 April 1634 - as we have no account of the settlement of any other company or persons in Windsor after the settlement of the Homes party in 1633. It is assumed that William Filley died in Windsor, although there is no record or stone to mark his grave. This is not unusual. There have been very few marked graves of the first settlers found. During the battles with the Pequot Indians, graves were not marked for security reasons.
      B. More recently reported in the 'Filley, Philley Family Newsletter,' put out quarterly by John C. Philley of Morehead University in Kentucky, is another possible theory on when and how William Filley came to Windsor.
      'From Vol. 20 of the 'Colonial and Revolutionary Lineages of America,' (published by the American Historical Company, Inc. in 1959), it is found on page 253 that 'William Filley, immigrant ancestor, came from Devon, England, in 1639, with Rev. Ephraim Huit, landed in New Plymouth or Massachusetts Colony, and from there removed to Connecticut, where we find him at Windsor, in 1640. He resided at Simsbury, Connecticut. Mr. Filley, like many others, owing to religious persecution, 'burned the bridge behind him.' That he came from Devonshire there is no doubt, as at that period there were no others of the name Filley anywhere else in England; hence he could have come from nowhere else. He left no record of his ancestors, having destroyed all traces of his antecedents when he left England.' The two sources quoted for this information were H.R. Stiles' 'The History and Genealogies of Ancient Windsor, CT,' v. 2, p. 250. Vol. V, p. 225 of the 'New England Historical and Genealogical Register.'
      Of particular note in this entry is the certainty expressed regarding William Filley in county Devon, England. Furthermore, his association with Rev. Huit is of interest.
      Additional Information in Vol. 14 of America Families-Genealogical and Heraldic published again by the American Historical Society, Inc. (date not given). Identical information regarding William Filley is included.
      Information about Loomis, one of the founders of Windsor, Ct. was the following: 'Joseph Loomis, born probably in England about 1590, was a woolen draper in Braintree, England. He sailed from London, April 11, 1638, in the ship 'Susan and Ellen,' and arrived in Boston July 17, 1638. He bought land in Windsor, CT, Feb. 24, 1640, and therefor probably came there from Boston in the summer or autumn of 1639. He is generally supposed to have come in company with Ephraim Hut and others, many of whom came to be responsible for the founding of Windsor, Conn.
      All of this suggests that William Filley came from Devon County, England to New England aboard the 'Susan and Ellen; in 1638 with E. Huit.
      John Philley remarks, 'Sounds logical? Now we'll have to search those passenger lists again. Elsewhere in this issue I have listed "The Founders of Windsor and the First Congregational Church.' The list was supplied to me by the Windsor Historical Society. Note that William Filley, Rev. Ephraim Huit and Joseph Loomis are listed.'
      C. Through the past decades, many researchers had hopefully pursued the possibility that a John (T)illey, who did come over on the ship 'Mary and John,' and did have land in Ancient Windsor (see Ancient Windsor map, upper right), was actually our William Filley, with either careless printing by an early recorder, or a deliberate effort by William Filley to erase his former identity. Not so! A record of John Tilley's land is given in "A History of Ancient Windsor,' vol. II, by Styles, which also reports the lands of William Filley."

      7. Excerpts from the book "The Filleys: 350 Years of American Entrepreneurial Spirit," by Donald G. Southerton, 2005:
      "In the spring of 1639, Reverend Ephraim Huit, an ousted Anglican minister, left his Warwickshire parish in England with a few loyal followers. He traveled into the neighboring counties of Dorset, Somerset, and Dorchester, gathering a group to take with him on the ten week voyage to America, in search of New Jerusalem. After arriving in Boston the group grew in number, adding other people already in Massachusetts, and set out for a new destination - Windsor, Connecticut - deep inland in the Connecticut River valley at the confluence of the Farmington and Connecticut Rivers It is here during the early settling of Connecticut that the story of 24 year old Englishman William Filley begins. He was the first of the Filleys in America.
      We know nothing of William before his arrival in Windsor, Connecticut, but having been born in the early seventeenth century (1615)...
      William's origins are unknown and no records exist about him before he settled in Windsor in the late 1630s. There are several thoughts on his place of [the next two pages missing in my copy of the book]...
      By 1640, Windsor's population had reached 300. William took possession of a lot north of the town's Palisado, which was a stockade built in 1636 during the period of unrest before the Pequot War. The lots were close physically and the townspeople were bound religiously, forming a 'heavenly village.' Early maps show the location of Filley homestead near the banks of the 'Rivulet,' the Farmington River, on Mill Street...
      William married in Sept. of 1642. His wife Margaret was 21 and he was 27. Women married young in New England compared to England. Marrying young was a reflection on the ease by which a young couple could acquire land and set up a farm.
      Little is known about Margaret; in fact researchers are unable to determine her last name. However, records indicate that she was born around 1621. It may be that she, like her husband, had been a servant.
      Nevertheless, the couple married in Windsor. Connecticut law required that prior to their wedding, they sign a contract of espousal and in a publicly displayed announcement proclaim their intent to marry. After an eight day lapse, they celebrated the actual wedding ceremony. In what was felt to be a divinely ordained social structure, the husband was assumed to be superior to his wife in all senses.
      The Filley's first Child, Samuel, was born in September of 1643. Six others followed in the next 22 years. In fact, Samuel would marry before his youngest brother, William, was born in 1664. New England's material abundance did not constrain family size as lack of it had in England. New England families were large by British or European standards and out-migration was low. William and Margaret's children would stay in the Windsor area since there was plenty of surplus land...
      We know nothing of the Filley farm...
      The neighbors, bound by church and community, lived in lots closely adjacent to William and Margaret and they shared meadows for cattle grazing... Early land records documented William's neighbors on Mill Road, including William Phelps, who owned 285 acres and was one of the town's early [my copy of book missing the next two pages]...
      In 1662, Windsor and the Connecticut Commonwealth responded to the fall of the Puritan-based Cromwellian government and the rise of the Restoration in England by negotiating with the new monarch, Charles II. In so doing they gained a new Royal Charter. This granted Connecticut residents the unique right 'to have and to hold...for ever' this place 'in New England in America.' On Oct. 9, the Connecticut General court transferred the region's government from a self-governing commonwealth to that of a British Royal Colony. This legal maneuver changed little for the settlers with the exception of giving sovereignty to the king. They gave up on freedom or rights of self-determination; however, all freemen were required to take an oath of allegiance. Town records indicate that William and his neighbors complied by taking the oath.
      ...Town records show that William was appointed and served as the town constable for a term beginning in March of 1662. As constable, William was responsible for enforcing the town's local ordinances... As a constable, he was responsible for the enforcement of the local laws and ordinance. Punishments for criminals included being locked in the town's stocks, a fine, or forty lashes by the town 'whipper.' Whipping were administered on the community's lecture day at the town square's signpost...
      Property records in 1686 show William and Margaret's material assets to have included a house with six acres, 18 acres of additional farmland, a horse, two oxen, two cows, and one swine. When compared to other Windsor settlers in the 1686 records, the Filleys had prospered... As Puritans they would have seen this affluence as a sign of divine grace...
      Probate records show no records of William's estate...
      Insight in 17th century New England entrepreneurialism can be gained through William Filley and his family. First, William Filley was drawn to cross the formidable Atlantic Ocean, most likely when he was a youth. Although popular myth promotes Puritan religious zeal compelling the exodus of English settlers to the New World, perhaps in William's case and that of hundreds of others, fiscal opportunity and the abundance of land were the key attributes. His accumulations of land holdings and large family confirm this motivation. Filley moved to increasing larger lots over sixteen years, a trend his prodigy would model. An indication that religion was perhaps a less significant driving force is found in William's long-delayed admittance to church communion (in 1673). William resided in the Puritan community for over thirty years before officially joining the local church.
      We have no record of William's or Margaret's deaths near the end of the 17th century..."

      8. The book "History of Ancient Windsor," by Stiles:
      V. 1, p. 156: "Filley, William. Under date of Feb. 4, 1640, on the records appears the name of Wm. Filley, followed by a blank space, evidently left for a description of his first lot of land. He sold, without date, a lot on Silver St., 11-1/2 r. wide, to Simon Mills, but no ho. named in deed. He also bo't the Humphrey Hide pl. but prob. did not res. there. Sept. 26, 1655, he bo't of Geo. Alexander the Jasper Rawlins' pl. and prob. res. there."
      V. 1, p. 88: "1675. For tax for support of Rivulet Verry according to holdings: ...Will Filley; Family a house (and) Two oxen..."

      9. Typescript on file at Windsor, CT. Historical Society, author unknown:
      "Our Founders of Ancient Windsor. In 1633 William Filley arrived with the Holmes party from Plymouth Colony and in 1635 Jonathan Gillett and Begat Eggleston arrived with the Reverend Warham group from Dorchester, MA to become a part of the founders of Windsor, Connecticut.
      Although William Filley arrived with the first group of settlers, records of his homes and lands are sketchy until his purchase in 1655 from George Alexander the old Jasper Rawlins place. Notice that prior to 1655 he did own a piece of land north of the settlement on the Rivulet (Farmington River). Cross comparing of records in 'History of Ancient Windsor' by Stiles Vol. II p. 155 (Eggleston), p. 157 (Gillett), p. 156 (Filley), and p. 165 (Rawlins), we can locate our pioneer homesteads of early Windsor.
      Living with their parents during their teen years on opposite sides of the beautiful Mill Brook, Samuel Filley, son of William Filley, and Anna Gillett, dau. of Jonathan Gillett, were married in 1663...
      [Map included and in my file no. 5342.]

      10. From the booklet "The Settlement of Windsor, Connecticut," by Kent Avery, Donna Siemiatkoski, and Robert Silliman, reprinted 2002 by the Windsor Historical Society. The booklet contains various editions of a list of the "Founders of Ancient Windsor" with the latest and most accurate being amended and approved June 1996. The list names the heads of households in Windsor by June 1641. Family related ancestors included are as follows. ST=Saltonstall Party of 1635 (Lords and Gentlemen); D=Dorchester, Mass; H=Huit Party from England arrived in Massachusetts on the Susan and Ellen, 1638; *=Arrived at Dorchester on the Mary and John in 1630:
      Thomas Barber (ST. 1635)
      William Filley (D. 1640)
      Jeremiah Gillett
      Jonathan Gillett (D. 1635)*
      Nathan Gillett (D. 1635)*
      Edward Griswold (H. 1639)
      Matthew Griswold (H. 1639)
      Joseph Loomis (H. 1639)
      George Phelps (D. 1635)*
      William Phelps (D. 1635)*
      John Porter, Sr. (H. 1639)
      The second and third generations of these founders intermarried children from many other names among the Founders. The booklet also gives some history of the founding from which I quote the following:
      "The Connecticut River valley was first explored in 1614 when the Dutch explorer Adriaen Block sailed up the river as far as the Hartford area. However, the Dutch at New Amsterdam (now New York City) did not take advantage of the river valley until 1633 when they built a fort at the present site of Hartford.
      The valley was also explored by the English, both Pilgrims from the Plymouth Colony and Puritans from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In April of 1631 representatives of the River Indians went to Boston and then to Plymouth to ask that each colony make settlements in the valley..." [The local Indians were seeking to preserve peace in the valley by protection from their more warlike enemies including the encroaching Pequots from the southeast and the Mohawks from the northwest.]
      "...In 1633 groups from New Amsterdam, Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies explored and/or attempted to settle in the valley. During the early months of 1633, the Dutch were becoming apprehensive about the English colonies possibly settling on what they considered their land..." [The Dutch erected a fort at the present site of Hartford with two cannons and named it "House of Hope."]
      "The Plymouth Colony decided to go ahead with their explorations in the late summer of 1633... under the command of Lt. William Holmes... This party landed on Sep. 26, 1633, at the junction of today's Connecticut and Farmington Rivers and immediately erected... a 'Palizado' or stockade fort.
      "In the late summer of 1633 the Massachusetts Bay Colony decided to reconsider the possibilities of settling... A party led by John Oldham explored an overland route to Connecticut. They traveled westerly following an ancient Indian trail known as the Old Connecticut Path, then known as the Great Trail, until they reached the valley. His positive report encouraged the MBC to send their first party to settle the valley in 1634. Ten adventurers were the first settlers of Wethersfield. After this party of Puritans arrived in the valley, many more followed.
      "At this time the MBC was ripe for a massive migration. The colony was established in 1628 by Puritans from England who were seeking to 'purify' the community's civil, economic and religious lifestyle in response to the abuses of church and state power in England. Led by Gov. John Winthrop, these Puritans felt called by God to attempt to live personal and public lives pleasing to Him in the unspoiled wilderness to form a model Christian society for the world to emulate. After a few years in the Massachusetts Bay, some of the colonists began to feel that Winthrop's version of the Puritan vision was too restrictive. He believed that God governed society through only a few select men. For these theological and political ideals as well as for the practical concern of the desire to move from the overcrowded seacoast to the new land along the fertile river, Puritans from the towns of Watertown, Dorchester and Newtown were eager to consider the possibilities opened up by Oldam's explorations in the valley.
      "As a result, an advance party from Dorchester under the leadership of Roger Ludlow explored the Windsor area in the late spring of 1635 followed by a permanent settlement of 60 men, women and children in October. They probably moved just before winter to thwart the plans of yet another group of explorers, the 'Lords and Gentlemen.'
      "This party of about 20 men under Francis Stiles was sent form England by Sir Richard Saltonstall. They claimed the right to settle the valley by a patent granted in 1631 by the Earl of Warwick to Saltonstall and other noblemen of England. The Stiles group arrived in Boston from England on June 16, 1635, and stayed in Boston for ten days before leaving for Windsor. They sailed up the Connecticut River..."
      "All the land within the present borders of Windsor was legally purchased from these Indians [Podunk, Poquonocks, Sicaogs and Tunxis]."
      "...disaster struck in the winter of 1633-34 when a smallpox epidemic spread through the River Indians tribes killing most of them..."
      "The Pequots continued to conquer most of the tribes in Connecticut until they were finally stopped in the Pequot War in 1637 when the men in the river settlements united to fight after the Wethersfield massacre on April 23. After the Pequots were defeated, the River Indians, and the Englishmen were able to maintain a peaceful coexistence."
      In regards to the Plymouth group "just one month after the trading post was completed... the Dutch governor at New Amsterdam sent 70 men to evict the Plymouth settlers from their trading post. When the Dutch force reached Windsor, they found the Plymouth settlers so well entrenched that after a few hostile demonstrations they returned to New Amsterdam. After this one attempt to dislodge the Windsor settlers, the Dutch took no further action against the settlement at Windsor... The trading post stayed undisturbed for nearly two years after the Dutch conflict until in 1635 two groups of settlers came from the MBC to settle on land in what is now Windsor."
      "The Dorchester group who arrived in Windsor in 1636 was actually a Puritan congregation established by the Rev. John White in Plymouth, England, in 1630. Seeking a creative solution to the problems of political and religious oppression in England, the Puritans decided to emigrate to the New World to perform an 'errand in the wilderness,' to develop a model society under God free from the corruption of England. Rev. White encouraged 140 people to covenant with God and each other to live as a Christian community in the New World. Rev. John Warham and Rev. John Maverick were chosen as ministers. Others in company included... established gentlemen... William Phelps; and young, mostly single men such as... George Phelps. After a day of prayer, fasting and preaching, they boarded the Mary and John where they met together every day for worship and preaching during the ten weeks of their voyage. Landing in the New World, they established their new community in Dorchester under the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Bay Colony headed by Governor John Winthrop."
      "After a few years differences arose between Winthrop and some of the other ministers including Rev. Thomas Hooker, Warham and Maverick concerning the basis of authority in the government by a very few people whereas others saw that all the governed should have a voice in the government. Since these two ideas could not coexist, the problems of overcrowding the seaside colony and the inducement of a lucrative fur trade in the fertile inland valley helped the Dorchester group under Warham and the Newtown group under Hooker to decide to move west as congregations to develop their vision of the Puritan community under God."
      "The Dorchester group traveled to the Connecticut River Valley following the Old Connecticut Path. It is debated whether the group continued all the way to Windsor on the Old Connecticut path or rather went through Agawam (now Springfield), Massachusetts, and traveled south along the Connecticut River until they reached Windsor. Most likely they took the Old Connecticut Path all the way since there were no known paths to Agawam large enough for a group of that size until the Bay Path was discovered in 1648."
      "After walking for 14 days, the group reached Windsor at the end of October and settled on the east side of the Connecticut River across from the mouth of the Scantic River. For temporary shelter they dug into the sides of the low hills along the Connecticut River making homes that were enclosed on three sides by dirt, in front by posts and on the roof by wood and thatch."
      "The unusually harsh winter came early that year freezing the river over by mid-November and preventing the ship laden with their possessions and provisions from sailing upriver from Long Island Sound. Some settlers traveled downriver, freed a ship and returned to the Bay Colony. Some returned to Dorchester overland through the snow. Still others decided to stay, subsisting through the winter on acorns, malt, grain and possibly receiving some food from the Indians and other groups of settlers. Undeterred from the harshness of the first winter, the Dorchester community renewed their determination to settle permanently in the Conn. River Valley. By the end of April of 1636 most of the congregation of the Dorchester church had removed to what is now Windsor, taking their church records with them and leaving a few townsmen remaining to reorganize a new church under the ministry of the Rev. Richard Mather who arrived from England a few months later."
      "The land the Dorchester settlers started building on was owned by the Plymouth group. This piece of land was from a second land purchase from the Indians stretching from the Farmington River in the south to what is now Hayden Station in the north. The Dorchester settlers refused to acknowledge that the land belonged to the Plymouth group. The Plymouth group, who had not actually settled this second piece of land, was forced to stay in the Plymouth Meadow at the junction of the two rivers and eventually sold their land to Matthew Allyn. In 1640, two years after this sale, the Plymouth House and lot was declared to be within the jurisdiction of the orders of Windsor."
      "In 1637 because of the threat of a Pequot attack, the Dorchester settlers constructed a palisade or fence of wooden posts on the higher ground north of the Farmington River. Here the settlers constructed more permanent homes. After the threat of Indian attack subsided and the homes of their families were completed, the settlers built their first meetinghouse for their church in 1639. The site of the meetinghouse in the center of what is now the Palisado Green is marked by a monument to the early settlers of Windsor."
      "A few days after the Dorchester group reached Windsor, another group arrived...'The Lords and Gentlemen,' this group envisioned developing the Connecticut Valley into large manor-like estates upon which they would continue to enjoy the lifestyle to which they were accustomed in England. They claimed the right to settle under the Warwick Patent... giving them the right to settle anywhere in what is now Connecticut. This group included the Stiles brothers...as well as their servants and apprentices including... Thomas Barber..."
      "Although the Stiles party wanted to settle the highland around the area that is now the Palisado Green, the Dorchester settlers allowed them to settle only in the northernmost part of Plymouth's second land purchase, the land just south of what is now Hayden Station..."
      "In March 1636 the General court of Massachusetts established a commission of eight members to govern the river towns, including Agawam (now Springfield), for one year. Windsor's representatives were William Phelps and Roger Ludlow."
      "Early in the following year the town of Dorchester changed its name to Windsor, Newtown to Hartford, Watertown to Wethersfield. The changes from Massachusetts names to wholly new names reflected the fact that the three towns were no longer under Massachusetts jurisdiction but constituted the separate colony of Connecticut."
      "The three settlements in Windsor were merging into one identity with most of the Plymouth group leaving, the Dorchester group continuing to be the most prominent..."
      "In May 1638 Rev. Thomas Hooker preached a sermon in which he propounded the theological basis of a democratic government. These beliefs were actually put into words by Roger Ludlow, a brilliant legal mind trained at Oxford University. Known as the 'Fundamental Orders of 1639,' this document expressed Rev. Hooker's belief that 'the foundation of authority is laid in the free consent of the people.' Thus, Roger Ludlow and Thomas Hooker were the primary contributors to the first written constitution in the world, which expressed the right of the people to govern themselves."
      "Meanwhile, large-scale emigration into Windsor continued until about 1641 when it became a trickle, reflecting both the exodus of Puritans from England and the end of that Exodus when the Puritans finally secured political power there in 1641. In most cases people migrated first to the MBC then on to the Connecticut River Valley. One of these later groups which emigrated in 1638 from England to Massachusetts and then to Windsor was led by the Rev. Ephraim Huit, who then assisted Warham in his work. That group of immigrants, many of whom came over on the Susan and Ellen included John Porter and Joseph Loomis (who married the White sisters), John Bissell, Edward and Matthew Griswold and Daniel Clarke...."

      11. On file with me (file 2656) are various maps of early Windsor, Connecticut that are copies of those found at the Windsor Historical Society. Included are:
      A. "Plan of Ancient Windsor, 1640-1654." Also includes a blow-up of the Palisado. Ancestral "Heads of Households" shown on the plan include John Bancroft, Thomas Barber, William Filley, Jonathan Gillett, Nathan Gillet, Edward Griswold, Jos. Loomis, Wm. Phelps, Jr., Wm. Phelps, Sr., John Porter.
      B. "Map of Windsor, 1633-1650." Shows many ancestral heads of households.
      C. A map entitled "Southern New England in the 17th Century," which also shows the "Great Trail" leading from Dorchester, Mass. to Windsor, Connecticut.
      D. Misc. other Windsor maps in the same time periods locating ancestral heads of households and their land.

      BIRTH:
      1. Estimated age of 25 at time of marriage in 1642.