Founders’ Series: Henry Wolcott

2021-03-31T12:20:50-04:00November 19th, 2020|Tags: , , |

Through inheritance, business acumen, and social aplomb, the Wolcott family rose in just a few generations from being tenant farmers in England to political elites in America. Henry Wolcott Sr., has been described as “the most prominent member of the Windsor settlement throughout his long life, and its richest citizen.”

Founders’ Series: John Hoskins, Paper Trail vs. DNA

2020-01-17T16:25:50-05:00January 17th, 2020|Tags: , |

When John Hoskins sailed to the New World, he was a middle-aged family man. The paper trail that establishes his English background is shaky, but has recently been fleshed out using advancements in DNA technology. Hoskins’s story is of interest not only to descendants, but also to anyone whose family research might benefit from similar genetic study.

Founders’ Series: Frances Clark Dewey Phelps

2021-03-31T12:21:53-04:00October 16th, 2019|Tags: , , , , |

Frances (unknown) (Clark) (Dewey) Phelps is one of the few women included on the Descendants of the Founders of Ancient Windsor’s founders list, which only includes heads of household. Women in Frances’s era rarely show up in official records, but their circumstances can be partially deduced from their husband’s and other contemporaneous records.

Founders’ Series: Jonathan Brewster, Adventurer and Alchemist

2021-03-31T12:22:51-04:00April 1st, 2019|Tags: , , , , , |

Windsor founder Jonathan Brewster’s time in our town was brief, but pivotal. He was Plymouth Colony’s resident agent here, and in 1635 he penned a letter to Governor William Bradford expressing his concern over the influx of newcomers into the fledgling settlement. He wrote, “Ye Massachusetts men are coming almost dayly...some have a great mind to ye place we are upon...I shall doe what I can to withstand them.”

Founders’ Series: Bray Rossiter, Man of Science, Man of Mischief

2021-03-31T12:23:42-04:00August 15th, 2018|Tags: , , , |

Bray Rossiter (1610-1672) was born to a family of wealth and power. They were Puritans, but were also loyal to the royal family. Bray was well-educated and likely received some medical training before coming to New England aboard the Mary and John in 1630, along with his father Edward, an influential Assistant of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and eleven other family members and servants.

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