Colonial Gov. Thomas Welles

Birth: 1590 Willenhall, England Death: Jan. 14, 1659 Wethersfield Hartford County Connecticut, USA

~MY ANCESTOR~

GOVERNOR THOMAS WELLES, the son of ROBERT WELLES and his wife, ALICE (HUNT) WELLES of Stouton, Wichford, Warwickshire, England, married ALICE TOMES in July of 1615 in Long Marston, Gloucestershire, England. He is known for being the fourth Governor of the Colony of Connecticut elected in 1655 and 1658.

Thomas, his wife and most of his children, arrived in Boston prior to 1636 when he had a land deed witnessed, but he is probably not the Thomas Welles who came in the Susan & Ellen in 1635. He had a relationship with Lords Saye and Sele, but the nature of this relationship is not known.

He was probably one of the group of about 100 settlers who came to Hartford with Thomas Hooker in 1636. He served a total of nineteen years in various offices in the Colony of Connecticut. He is the only man in Connecticut to hold all four top offices: governor, deputy governor, treasurer, and secretary. As Magistrate, he sat on the panel over the witchcraft trials of Mary Johnson, John & Joan Carrington, and Lydia Gilbert. He transcribed the Fundamental Orders into the official colony records as Secretary of the Colony.

The family lived on the same street in Hartford as Governors Edward Hopkins, George Wyllys, John Webster, and Thomas H. Seymour. This street was known as Governor Street but was changed to Popielusko Court and may be called by another name now. After the death of Alice in 1640, he married Elizabeth Deming, sister of John Deming and widow of Nathaniel Foote. At the time of his marriage, they removed to Wethersfield, where he lived until his death. It is said that his remains were transfered to the ancient burial ground in Hartford. Many of the very oldest tombstones in Hartford were used for foundations of homes. Although there is no tombstone remaining, his name appears on the Founders Monument in this cemetery. This is a Cenotaph since his grave is in Wethersfield.

I am descended from two of his known six children:

MARY (WELLES) BALDWIN and JOHN WELLES.

Their other children: Capt. Samuel Welles, Thomas Welles, Sarah (Welles) Chester, and Ann (Welles) Thompson Hawkins.

Family links: Spouses:

1. Alice Tomes Wells (1595 - ____)*
2. Elizabeth Deming Foote Welles (1600 - 1683)*

Children:

1. Mary Welles Baldwin (1618 - 1647)*
2. Ann Welles Hawkins (1619 - 1680)*
3. John Welles (1622 - 1659)*
4. Thomas Wells (1625 - 1668)*
5. Samuel Wells (1628 - 1675)*
6. Sarah Welles Chester (1632 - 1698)*

• Calculated relationship

Burial: Ancient Burying Ground Hartford Hartford County Connecticut, USA Plot: NAME ON FOUNDER'S MONUMENT --THIS IS A CENOTAPH

Created by: Nareen, et al Record added: Aug 16, 2008 Find A Grave Memorial# 29066320

Links

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Welles

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Alternative Birthdates: 1590, 1594 and 1598, with the best information that it was 1594.

http://www.theharmons.us/harmon_t/b1905.htm

Governor Thomas Gideon WELLES was born in 1594 in Stourton, Whichford, Warwickshire, England. He died on 14 January 1659 in Wethersfield, Harford County, Connecticut, USA. He has Ancestral File Number LV2Q-7T. Thomas Welles Governor of the Colony of Connecticut 1655, 1658

Born: ca. 1590 in Stourton, Whichford, Warwickshire, England
College: None Political Party: None

Offices: Member, Court of Magistrates, 1637-1654 Deputy Governor of the Colony of Connecticut 1654, 1656, 1657, 1659 Treasurer of the Colony of Connecticut 1639 Secretary of the Colony of Connecticut 1640-1649 Commissioner of the United Colonies 1649 Governor of the Colony of Connecticut 1655, 1658

Died: January 14, 1659/60 at Wethersfield, CT

Thomas Welles is the only man in Connecticut's history to hold all four top offices: governor, deputy governor, treasurer, and secretary. He was born ca. 1590 in Stourton, Whichford, Warwickshire, England, the son of Robert and Alice Welles.

Thomas arrived in Boston prior to 9 June 1636, when his deed was witnessed, but was probably not the Thomas Welles who was a passenger onthe Susan and Ellen in 1635 as reported in some sources (that Thomas was probably the Thomas Welles who became a resident of Ipswich,Massachusetts). Thomas is said to have been a secretary to Lord Saye and Sele. While no primary evidence for this has been found, the books in his estate suggest that he had a good education and he did have close associations with Saye and Sele, although he had little to do with thedevelopment of the Saybrook Colony. He perhaps lived at Newtown (now Cambridge), MA for a while, and was probably one of the group of about100 to come to Hartford with Thomas Hooker in 1636.

Thomas Welles served a total of nineteen years in various Colony of Connecticut positions. He was a member of the first Court of Magistrates,elected March 28, 1637, and was reelected as a member of the Court of Magistrates from 1638 until 1654. During his terms as magistrate in 1648,1651, and 1654 he sat on the panel hearing the witchcraft trials of Mary Johnson, John and Joan Carrington, and Lydia Gilbert. In 1639 he was elected as the first treasurer of the Colony of Connecticut, and from1640-1649 served as the colony's secretary. In this capacity he transcribed the Fundamental Orders into the official colony records. On May 18, 1654 he was elected as Deputy Governor and became the acting moderator of the General Court, as the elected governor, Edward Hopkins,was in England. He was elected governor in 1655 and 1658 and served again as deputy governor for 1656, 1657, and 1659. He was a commissioner to the New England Confederation in 1649 and in 1654. For a more extensive summary of Thomas Welles' service to the Connecticut Colony, see Appendix B of Siemiatoski's genealogy, below.

Thomas Welles married Alice Tomes soon after July 5, 1615 in Long Marston, Gloucestershire, and the couple had eight children. After her death, he married again about 1646 in Wethersfield. His second wife was Elizabeth (nee Deming) Foote, sister of John Deming and widow of Nathaniel Foote. Elizabeth had seven children by her previous marriage;there were no children from the second marriage.

Thomas Welles lived in Hartford from 1636 until the time of his second marriage. His house was on the same street as Governors Edward Hopkins,George Wyllys, John Webster, and Thomas H. Seymour, a street that was known as Governor Street until more recent times, when the name was changed to Popieluszko Court. He died on January 14, 1660 at Wethersfield and was probably buried there. Some sources indicate that his remains were later transferred to the Ancient Burying Ground in Hartford. In either case, his grave is presently unmarked. His name appears on the Founders Monument in Hartford's Ancient Burying Ground.

Bibliography

National Cyclopedia of American Biography. New York: J. T. White, 1898- ,s.v. "Thomas Welles" [CSL call number Hist Ref E 176 .N27].

Norton, Frederick Calvin. The Governors of Connecticut. Hartford:Connecticut Magazine Co., 1905 [CSL call number HistRef F93 .N 88 1905].

Raimo, John W. Biographical Dictionary of American Colonial andRevolutionary Governors 1607-1789. Westport, CT: Meckler Books, 1980 [CSL call number E 187.5 .R34].

Siematowski, Donna Holt. The Descendants of Governor Thomas Welles of Connecticut, 1590-1658. 1990. Baltimore: Gateway Press, 1990 [CSL call number CS 71 .W55 1990].

Talcott, Mary Kingsley. The Original Proprietors. Reprint. [Hartford?]:Society of the Descendants of the Founders of Hartford, Inc., 1986 [CSL call number Hist Ref F 104 .H353 A26 1986].

Welles, Edmund. The Life and Public Services of Thomas Welles, Fourth Governor of Connecticut 1940.

Welles, Lemuel. "The English Ancestry of Gov. Thomas Welles of Connecticut," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 80 (1926),pp. 279-447 [CSL call number F 1 .N56].

Portrait

No known portrait of Thomas Welles exists.

Prepared by the History and Genealogy Unit, Connecticut State Library,April 1999.

The Descendants of Gov. Thomas Welles of Connecticut of Connecticut1590-1658

By Donna Holt Siemiatkoski

Gateway Press, Inc

Baltimore, Maryland

1990 pp 11-13

1635: Off to America: As has been noted, Thomas and Alice Welles probably became strong Puritans in the late 1620s as they abruptly changed the naming patterns of their children. Welles' neighbors, George Wyllys, the Griswolds, Rev. Ephraim Huit and Daniel Clark were all becoming associated with each other, with Say and Sele, and with the group aroundHooker in and around Braintree. Brook and Say and Sele were making plans to develop the area now known as Connecticut. The religious motivation and the economic opportunities coalesced in the minds and hearts of Thomas and Alice Welles. Although economic considerations would have beenimportant, scholars agree that the religious motivation was paramount,especially in the early years of the Great Migration. People of comfortable means and social standing such as the Welles family usually do not leave a secure living and bring their young children across perils and into perils merely for material gain, but because they are motivated by a very strong conviction that they are doing right and that their activities will be guided and blessed by God. Virtually all the five thousand families who came to New England in the Great Migration had an individual experience with God which they felt enabled them to undertake this great uprooting and transplanting into an entirely new and untried wilderness to fulfill a divine purpose for themselves and their nation.They endured the insecurities and discomforts out on an individual inner conviction that they were pursuing God's will and would be blessed in and through that undertaking. Though no writings survive to tell us of the feelings of Thomas Welles, such thoughts were expressed many times overin the journals of those who kept them, and were a given part of the mindset of the first settlers in southern New England. Welles' close association with Hooker and the high regard in which he was held from the initial days of the colony underscore the degree to which he was held tobe a man of faith in a community where faith was a cherished virtue.While he may have been considering his personal motivations for removal to New England, Fiennes may have been recognizing that Welles' leadership and secretarial skills would be useful in administering the new venture.It has been suggested that although Welles may not have been actually employed as Say and Sele's secretary, the nobleman may have used this notion as a ploy to disguise to other authorities Welles' more religious reasons for removal.

When Thomas and Alice prepared to emigrate to New England, they disposed of the Burmington property over to James Fiennes, and William Sprigg.This action took place 20 Aug 1635. Court testimony shows that Thomas,Alice, and their six children took ship to the new world soon after.

At least one other Thomas Welles came to Boston in 1635. This second man we now know as Thomas Welles of Ipswich. He is probably the Thomas who came on the "Susan and Ellen." If Thomas of Ipswich went immediately to Ipswich upon his arrival, then the Thomas Welles listed as a house holder in Cambridge on 8 Feb 1635/6 is the one who later moved with other residents of Cambridge to Hartford, CT. By 9 Jun 1636, Thomas and Alice were in the Boston area. On that day, they testified in front of John Winthrop and Thomas Dudley pertaining to the deed of the Burmington properly.

No evidence exists that Welles was ever at Saybrook Colony. To have been part of the community at Saybrook Colony, given his presence in Hartford in the winter of 1637 and his presence in Cambridge in Feb 1636, he would have to have been there in the winter months of 1636. At that time Saybrook was only a fort manned by soldiers. The first family there was that of Gov. George Fenwick and his wife a few years later. The most logical conclusion is that Welles joined Hooker, whom he knew either personally or by reputation in England, at Cambridge in 1635, stayed about a year, entering the list of householders, and that he and his family were part of the company of one hundred who trekked to Connecticut in June 1636, journeying over existing Indian trails from the Bay to the River for a period of about ten days to two weeks. The trail had been developed by the Indians to provide passage between the Bay and the Falls about a hundred miles west where the shad spawned their young every spring, and fish could easily be caught and dried. The trail followed the most level terrain and crossed the least number of streams. Parts of the Old Connecticut Path still exists, unpaved, in Ashford and along Lake Shenipsit in Ellington.

Governing Philosophy: Welles' administrative and clerical skills mus thave been well-known to the community as he was chosen as a magistrate and as clerk of the General Court at its first meeting in Mar 1637. That court was the first that met independent of the authority of Massachusetts. In the opening session of their independent General Court,the three river towns were given their current names of Windsor,Hartford, and Wethersfield. That court declared war on the Pequots to avenge the savage murders of several early settlers. In the following year, Rev. Thomas Hooker preached his famous sermon in which he declared that "the foundation of authority is laid in the free consent of the people." He closed his sermon with the challenge, "As God has given us liberty, let us take it" (Register and Manual, State of Connecticut,Hartford, 1984, p. 55). In his years as a pastor in England and in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, he had developed a political philosophy shared by Roger Ludlow and Rev. John Warham, which led to the removal of those parties from the Massachusetts Bay to the Connecticut River. While agreeing on theology, Warham and Hooker differed with Gay. John Winthrop and Rev. John Cotton on the nature of government. Winthrop and Cotton believed that God spoke only through the religious officials. Warham and Hooker believed that God spoke to all believers and that the entire body could therefore make political decisions. Hooker based his theology on the Old Testament incident in which God told Moses to take ten leader selected by each of the twelve tribes of Israel to help him to render judgments. The General Court, including Welles, spent the ensuing year working this theory into a political document under the guidance of attorney Roger Ludlow, an organizer of the Warham party under Rev. JohnWhite of Dorchester in Dorset. The result was the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut. This document was the world's first written Constitution,for the first time placing basing of the authority of the government on the people. It claimed that the basis of government authority lies in the people themselves, not a king or any other source, and that the people have the right to chose their own leaders. The little colony along the river, consisting of perhaps five hundred individuals, had declared itself an independent political entity concerning internal affairs, while owing general allegiance to the British crown.

Government Service in Connecticut: Thomas Welles served for many years onthe General Court which was the ruling body of the Connecticut Colony.During the first three years of his attendance, 1637-1639, the Court had two representatives from each of the three towns that then comprised the colony. These men met without titles or moderators. A new structure wasset for the General Court by the Fundamental Orders of 1639. The General Court consisted of a council of Magistrates and one of Deputies. ThisCourt met twice a year for Spring and Fall sessions.

The Deputies and Magistrates were chosen by the towns whereas the Governor and Deputy Governor were elected by the General Court itself.The Deputies were chosen twice a year in town meetings in the Connecticut Colony. Each town would pick three or four men to represent it in the General Court. Each town also chose one or two Magistrates. What made theelection of Magistrates different from that of Deputies was that Magistrates could only be chosen from a list that the General Court had prepared for the town at the previous session. Thus, each man elected a Magistrate had previous experience in the General Court. Appendix B provides a list of the sessions Thomas attended and the positions within the Court to which he was elected.

In the 1639 session Welles was elected Treasurer of the Colony. Two years later, after his election as Secretary in 1641, he transcribed the Fundamental Orders into the official record book in his own hand. To guard against authority becoming concentrated in one individual, the General Court limited the terms of governors to one year at at time,though a man could serve as governor more than once. For nearly all of the remaining twenty years of his life Welles attended the sessions of the General Court, which both made laws and, sitting as the Particular Court, tried cases under the law. He rotated among the major offices of treasurer, secretary, deputy governor, and governor. He was elected governor in his own right in 1655 and 1658. As noted, he served on the committee to negotiate the merger with Saybrook Colony. He also served as Commissioner from Connecticut to the meeting of the United Colonies of Connecticut, New Haven, Plymouth, and Massachusetts Bay in 1649, 1654,and 1659. As magistrate, he sat on the judge's panel for Connecticut's earliest witchcraft trials in 1648, 1651 and 1654. He heard the cases concerning Mary Johnson, John and Joan Carrington, and Lydia Gilbert. Heis not noted to have had any special role in these proceedings. The trials are well-documented in The Public Records of the Connecticut Colony, Records of the Particular Court of Connecticut 1639-1663, and Richard G. Tomlinson's Witchcraft Trials of Connecticut. Thomas also served on the War Commission for Wethersfield in1653.

He became involved in the establishment of the settlement at Stratford,named for the town near his home village in England. His son John was sent to oversee his interests there. According to tradition, the last child of Thomas and Alice, a son named Joseph, was born shortly after their arrival in Connecticut. Primary documentary evidence for this son has not yet surfaced. He apparently did not survive as he is not mentioned in his father's will. However, he lived long enough to have his memory perpetuated in the name of some of his sibling's descendants. A few years later Alice died, not having reached the age of fifty. in 1646 Thomas married Elizabeth Foote, widow of Nathaniel Foote who died in Wethersfield in 1643, and sister of Joseph Deming of Wethersfield. She was unwilling to leave the homestead of many acres she was managing after her husband's death. As a result, one of the highest officers in thecolony left his home in the center of Hartford and moved to Wethersfield with his younger children, Samuel and Sarah who were raised her younger children Frances, Sarah, and Rebecca.

Thomas wrote his will on 7 Nov 1659. He seemed to be in good health on the evening of 14 Jan 1659/60, being well after supper, but dead by midnight. His will left his wife the use of half his housing and orchard,with her own land to his return to her. His own land and house went to his grandson Robert, the only child of his oldest son to live in Wethersfield. He left land to sons Samuel and Thomas, and to Thomas son of the deceased son John, 20 pounds to Thomas, Samuel, Mary's children,Anne, Sarah, and 10 pounds to Mary Robbins' children. Elizabeth lived another 22 years, leaving her estate to her children and grandchildren by Nathaniel Foote.

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Second Marriage

Gov Thomas Welles - In 1646 Thomas married Elizabeth Foote, widow of Nathaniel Foote who died in Wethersfield in 1643, and sister of Joseph Deming of Wethersfield. She was unwilling to leave the homestead of many acres she was managing after her husband's death.

As a result, one of the highest officers in the colony left his home inthe center of Hartford and moved to Wethersfield with his younger children, Samuel and Sarah who were raised with her younger children Frances, Sarah, and Rebecca.

Thomas wrote his will on 7 Nov 1659. He seemed to be in good health onthe evening of 14 Jan 1659/60, being well after supper, but dead by midnight. His will left his wife the use of half his housing and orchard,with her own land to be returned to her. His own land and house went tohis grandson Robert, the only child of his oldest son to live in Wethersfield.

He left land to sons Samuel and Thomas, and to Thomas son of the deceasedson John, 20 pounds to Thomas, Samuel, Mary's children, Anne, Sarah, and10 pounds to Mary Robbins' children. Elizabeth lived another 22 years,leaving her estate to her children and grandchildren by Nathaniel Foote.

Descendants of Gov. Thomas Welles and Alice Tomes

3. son of Robert Welles

4. of a Warwickshire family for at least four generations

5. a family which owned property but was not listed as gentlemen.

Thomas Welles came to America

6. with his wife and six children in the late summer 1636 and settled first in the Boston area, probably Cambridge

7. and probably came to Hartford with Thomas Hooker's party in June1636

8. with his wife and six children.

Thomas Welles' first wife was

9. named Alice Tomes

10. married him about 1615

11. was descended from a Gloucestershire family

12. died of unknown causes between 1637 and 1646.

The "facts" in that genealogy by no means exhaust the misinformation around the Welles and Tomes families. Errors are made in six areas about Thomas Welles and Alice Tomes and in the identity of the spouses of their children Ann and John. A discussion of each error and the most currentinformation on the state of knowledge of each topic is given here.

1. Thomas Welles has no known connection to an Essex family of Norman descent or to the family of Sir Lionel de Welles, Baron Welles, Governorof Ireland. He has no known connection to any of the Magna Charta sureties. Thomas Welles' ancestry in Warwickshire for four generations is documented by the court proceedings concerning the Burmington land which he inherited, and from the presence of a Robert Wellys, possibly his grandfather's father, on the tax rolls of Whichford in 1527. Though the family owned property and was able to educate Thomas in Latin, they are not known to be of noble or even gentle birth. In Through the Lich Gate,a history of the neighboring parish of Long Compton by Rev. Edward Rainsberry, the presence of people named Wells/Welles in the villages ofthat area as far back at the twelfth century is documented. Nor is thereany basis in fact for Robert Wellys of Whichford, who was taxed in 1523,being descended in six generations from Simon de Welles, a Crusader in1191, and Eustace de Vesce, a Magna Charta surety, as has been circulated on papers in the family. Further study of the ancestry of Thomas Welles must begin where Lemuel Welles left off in 1926 in "The English Ancestry of Gov. Thomas Welles of Connecticut, " New England Historical and Genealogical Register, vol. 80 (1926), pp. 279-447.

2. Thomas Welles was not born in 1598 which would make him seventeen at the time of his marriage. The marriage of Thomas Welles and Alice Tomeshas been established by the court proceedings to have taken place shortly after he received his land in 5 Jul 1615. Moreover, his wife is shown to have been born before 1593, making his birth in 1598 unlikely. Therefore he could not have been born in 1598, but was more likely born around1590, the date the family is using for this event pending further investigation.

3. The name of the wife of Thomas Welles is given in the court proceedings as Alice Tomes of Long Marston, then across the county linein Gloucestershire. The origin of the notion that she was named Elizabeth Hunt may come from a misreading of the court records. Welles's sister's father-in-law, Nicholas Hunt, gave testimony.

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Perhaps some have interpreted this to mean that he was the brother of Welles' wife, whereas, he is the husband of Thomas Welles's sister, whose name is now lost. A death date of 1640 is given for Thomas' first wife,but no documentation for this has yet been seen. The vital records of early Hartford are now lost. Tradition states that Thomas and Alice had as on Joseph in 1637. If Alice did die around 1640, the death may have been related to a late pregnancy, although this idea is purely speculation.Alice's birth date is now known with greater certainty, as a result ofthe production of the Pedigree of Tomes in 1987. The Tomes family papers note that Ellen Gunne died circa 1593. This date, though undocumented,places the birth of Alice, her youngest child, about five years earlier than previously assumed, and definitely moves the birth date of Thomasback from 1598 closer to 1590.

4. Alice Tomes does not have a royal line according to the most recent scholarship on the question. A royal line has been proposed and published in earlier editions of Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists. However,further investigation by Daniel Lines Jacobus published in The American Genealogist, vol. 28, pp. 164-167, shows that this line fails in two places. Walter Lee Sheppard re-studied the problem and dropped this connection from the sixth edition of Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists(1988) where Line 98, Alice Tomes, is published, but with breaks at both points. Margaret Mytton may not be the daughter of John Mytton of Westonwho has not been found to have had a daughter by that name (see Hale House, p. 780). Moreover, examination of early records by JacquelineBeers in The American Genealogist, vol. 56, p. 228, reveals the strong possibility that Ellen Gunne is not the daughter of Anne Fulwood, but of an earlier, and unknown, wife of Richard Gunne. Although the editor's note to the Beers article is careful not to remove Anne Fulwood absolutely, and Sheppard stops short of this also, the link between Anne Fulwood and Ellen Gunne remains to be strengthened. The newly discovered Tomes pedigree is inconclusive on this issue. Any attempt to establish a royal line for Alice Tomes must address the issues raised by Jacobus,Beers, and Sheppard.

5. Thomas Welles did not come to America as the personal representative of Lord Say and Sele and help establish Saybrook Colony in 1635, then come upriver to Hartford by 1637. Some have claimed that Welles was a secretary to Lord Say and Sele. However, primary evidence for this facthas not been found, although circumstantial evidence would allow for asuch a conclusion. Welles did have a good education, as evidenced by books in English and Latin in his estate. He did have dealings with the Fiennes family... James Fiennes and a partner bought his land in Burmington. Welles would have been acquainted with the family as they were the most prominent lords in the area, seated nearby at Broughton Castle. As a neighboring fellow-Puritan, Welles must have been aware of the Warwick Patent and the plans to develop Saybrook Colony and Saltonstall Park in Windsor as places of refuge for Puritan lords in caseflight from England was necessary. Some have suggested that Say and Sele developed the story of Welles being his secretary in order to mask Welles' removal for religious reasons as a business venture. In any case,Welles did have close associations with Say and Sele and did have the talents of a secretary. However, he had little, if anything, to do with Saybrook Colony. A review of the known facts and literature with Elaine Staplins and Joyce Heckman of the Saybrook Colony Association affirms the belief that no primary evide nce links this Thomas Welles with Saybrook at any time. He was most unlikely to have been at a fort in 1635-1636with a family of six children. The one family who resided there, that of Governor George Fenwick, is noted for being the only such family. The scenario that Welles and his family came to Boston, sailed to Saybrook Colony and lived there for awhile, then sailed upriver to Hartford must be rejected. No primary evidence for his ever having been at Saybrook Colony exists, and his whereabouts can be accounted for between Boston,Cambridge, and Hartford for the time period involved.

Descendants of Gov. Thomas Welles and Alice Tomes

His arrival in Boston in before 9 Jun 1636 when his deed was witnessed by Winthrop and Dudley, his listing as a head of household in the Feb 1635/6Newtown (now Cambridge), MA, town records and his appointment to the General Court in March 1637 indicate that he was part of the group of about 100 people who came to Hartford from Cambridge with Rev. Thomas Hooker in June 1636. This sequence allows only the winter of 1636/7 for residence in Saybrook Fort, not a likely prospect for a young family.Welles association with his former neighbor, Lord Say and Sele, and resulting associations with the Warwick Patentees who operated Saybrook Colony place him in the critical juncture between that group and the governing group of the Connecticut Colony headed by Hooker and Haynes.When Saybrook Colony merged with Connecticut Colony in 1644, Welles was appointed as one of the negotiators, presumably because he was known toand respected by both colonies.

6. Thomas Welles and his family did not come to America on the "Susan and Ellen" in 1635, as stated in Virkus' Compendium of American Genealogy and elsewhere. 'The passenger listings of the "Susan and Ellen" include the passengers ages at embarkation. The Thomas Welles listed on the "Susan and Ellen" is too young and lacks Gov. Thomas Welles' large family whichwe know sailed together because the court witnesses so testified. This Thomas Welles is probably Thomas of Ipswich, born circa 1598, who is apparently traveling on the "Susan and Ellen" as a servant in the household of Sir Richard Saltonstall. The young age and dependent status rule out Thomas of Ipswich as the Thomas Welles who was a head of household in Cambridge in Feb 1636, leaving that identification to the future governor of Connecticut, who was later associated with other residents of Cambridge, the most prominent of whom was the Rev. ThomasHooker.

7. The husband of Anne Welles, Thomas Thompson is not the Thomas Thompson, son of John Thompson and Alice Freeman, of royal lineage, born on 23 Dec 1616 in the Little Preston Parish, Preston Capes,Northamptonshire. His place in the Thompson family of Shropshire is proven by the will of his brother, Samuel Thompson citizen and stationer of London, written 25 Aug 1668, proven 9 Nov 1668. In it he mentions hisnephew Thomas Thompson, now apprenticed to him whose mother went to New England, and his niece, Beatrice, who was named for her grandmother Beatrice Detton who married and returned to England. (New England Historic and Genealogical Register 49:395/6--Jul 1895). Full references for his ancestry are found in Flagg's Genealogical Notes on the Foundingof New England, which is completely accepted by Jacobus in Hale House.The Thomas Thompson of Northampton (son of John Thompson and Alice Freeman) had an entirely different family in New England. The Thompson and Detton families in Burford, Doddington and Neen Savage and can be followed for generations in the parish registers and the Visitations of Shropshire, details of which will be given in Volume II.

8. The wife of John Welles was Elizabeth Bourne, not Elizabeth Curtis;her origins are presently unknown. The designation of Curtis in earlier works comes from a misreading of the term sister-in-law in estate papers.Stiles corrected Goodwin's error in 1904. She is not the daughter of Elisha Bourne and Patience Skiff and therefore the granddaughter of Rev.Richard Bourne of Cape Cod. This Elizabeth Bourne was born circa 1675,not a possibility for the wife of a man who died in 1659. She is said tobe related to the Tomlinson family. Further research on the Tomlinsonfamily background in England may yield more clues on her origin. The name Bourne is prevalent in the Warwickshire area.

Welles and Alice Tomes should be noted by all serious students of the family and laid to rest. The correct information has been discovered and made widely available in all cases for decades and is accepted in every case by serious scholars. The definitive articles on the family,summarized by Jacobus in Hale House, are the Welles/Banks study on the Warwickshire origins published in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register in 1926, and the articles on the alleged Tomes royal an

Parents: . Parents: .

Spouse: Elizabeth DEMING.

Spouse: Alice TOMES. Alice TOMES and Governor Thomas Gideon WELLES were married on 7 July 1615 in Long Marston, Gloucestershire, England. From Families of Old Fairfield, he m. Alice Tomes, they had six children(b. in England): John, Thomas, Samuel, Mary, Ann, Sarah. (Son) Thomas married Hannah Tuttle (widow of John Pantry); their daughter, Rebecca,married James Judson; their son, Samuel, married Ruth Judson, both children of Joseph and Sarah (Porter) Judson.

In this genealogy, other errors have been discovered and corrected asnoted in the text. However, these errors cited above on the ancestry,life, and children of Thomas

Welles and Alice Tomes should be noted by all serious students of thefamily and laid to rest. The correct information has been discovered and made widely available in all cases for decades and is accepted in every case by serious scholars. The definitive articles on the family,summarized by Jacobus in Hale House, are the Welles/Banks study on theWarwickshire origins published in the New England Historical andGenealogical Register in 1926, and the articles on the alleged Tomesroyal ancestry in New England Historic and Genealogical Register in 1930,and in Weis and Sheppards' Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists (sixthEdition). Jacobus also discussed the related families of Thompson,Tuttle, Hollister, Treat, and Chester in Hale House and gives thecitations for all those lines in England. The line of the Baldwins doesnot have a contemporary study done, although the Baldwin genealogy byC.C. Baldwin contains generations of material from Buckinghamshire takenfrom parish records. The ancestry of Anthony Hawkins is currentlyunknown. More full discussions of the origins of these families will beundertaken in Volume Il.

Thomas Welles

WELLES, Thomas, governor of Connecticut, born in England in 1598; died inWethersfield, Connecticut, 14 January, 1660. He came to this countrybefore 1636 and settled in Hartford, Connecticut, where he was magistratefrom 1637 till his death. In 1639 he became first treasurer of thecolony, and he held that office till 1651. He was secretary ofConnecticut in 1640-'8, and was commissioner of the united colonies in1649 and again in 1654. During the absence of Governor Edward Hopkins inEngland in 1654 he was elected moderator of the general court, and in thesame year he was chosen deputy governor. In 1655 he was elected governor,but after two years he returned to the office of deputy governor. He waschosen governor for a second time in 1658, and in 1659 again held theoffice of deputy governor. Governor Welles possessed the full confidenceof the people, and many of the most important of the early laws andpapers pertaining to the founding of the colony were drafted by him. Thesuccessful issue of Connecticut from her difficulty concerning the forterected at Saybrook on one side and the Dutch encroachments on the otherwas largely due to his skill and wisdom.--His descendant, Gideon,secretary of the navy, born in Glastonbury, Connecticut, 1 July, 1802;died in Hartford, Connecticut, 11 February, 1878, entered Norwichuniversity, Vermont, but, without being graduated, began to study law. In1826 he became editor and part owner of the Hartford "Times," with whichhe remained connected till 1854, though he retired from the responsibleeditorship in 1836. He made his paper the chief organ of the Democraticparty in the state. It was the first to advocate the election of AndrewJackson to the presidency, and earnestly upheld his administration. Mr.Welles was a member of the legislature in 1827-'35, and both in that bodyand in his journal attacked with severity the proposed measure to excludefrom the courts witnesses that did not believe in a future state ofrewards and punishments. He also labored for years to secure theabolition of imprisonment for debt, opposed special and privatelegislation, and secured the passage of general laws for the organizationof financial corporations. He began an agitation for low postage beforethe subject had begun to attract general attention, he was chosencomptroller of the state by the legislature in 1835, and elected to thatoffice by popular vote in 1842 and 1843, serving as postmaster ofHartford in the intervening years. From 1846 till 1849 he was chief ofthe bureau of provisions and clothing in the navy department atWashington. Mr. Welles had always opposed the extension of slavery. Heidentified himself with the newly formed Republican party in 1855, and in1856 was its candidate for governor of Connecticut. In 1860 he laboredearnestly for the election of Abraham Lincoln, and on the latter'selection Mr. Welles was given the portfolio of the navy in his cabinet.Here his executive ability compensated for his previous lack of specialknowledge, and though many of his acts were bitterly criticised, hisadministration was popular with the navy and with the country at large.His facility as a writer made his state papers more interesting than suchdocuments usually are. In his first report, dated 4 July, 1861, heannounced the increase of the effective naval force from forty-two toeighty-two vessels. This and the subsequent increase in a few months tomore than 500 vessels was largely due to his energy. In the report thathas just been mentioned he also recommended investigations to secure thebest iron-clads, and this class of vessels was introduced under hisadministration. In the cabinet Mr. Welles opposed all arbitrary measures,and objected to the declaration of a blockade of southern ports, holdingthat this was a virtual acknowledgment of belligerent rights, and thatthe preferable course would be to close our ports to foreign commerce byproclamation. By request of the president, he presented his ideas inwriting; but the cabinet finally yielded to the views of Sec. Seward.Earn in the war, on 25 September, 1861, he ordered that the negrorefugees that found their way to United States vessels should be enlistedin the navy. He held his post till the close of President Johnson'sadministration in 1869. In 1872 he acted with the Liberal Republicans,and in 1876 he advocated the election of Samuel J. Tilden, afterwardtaking strong grounds against the electoral commission and its decision.After his retirement from office he contributed freely to currentliterature on the political and other events of the civil war, andprovoked hostile criticism by what many thought his harsh strictures onofficial conduct. In 1872 he published an elaborate paper to show thatthe capture of New Orleans in 1862 was due entirely to the navy, and in1873 a volume entitled " Lincoln and Seward." Children were: John WELLES, Thomas Gideon WELLS.

• Govenor Thomas Welles

   * Birth

*
o 1594
o in Whichford, Warwickshire, , England
* Death
*
o 14 Jan 1660
o in Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut, United States
*
Thomas Welles Compact Disc #38 Pin #872846 Pedigree

Sex: M

Event(s)

Birth: 10 Jul 1594

Stourton, Whichford, Warwickshire, England

Christening: 10 Jul 1594

Stourton, Whichford, Warwickshire, England

Death: 14 Jan 1659

Wethersfield, Fairfield, Connecticut

Burial: Jan 1659

Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut

Parents

Father: Robert Welles Disc #38 Pin #872845

Mother: Alice Disc #38 Pin #872842

Marriage(s)

Spouse: Elizabeth Hunt Disc #38 Pin #888654

Marriage: abt 1539

Stourton, Whichford, Warwickshire, England

Spouse: Alice Tomes Disc #38 Pin #872841

Marriage: 1619

<Stourton, Whichford, Warwickshire, England>

Spouse: Elizabeth Deming Disc #38 Pin #872211

Marriage: 1646

, , Connecticut

Spouse: Alice Deming Disc #38 Pin #888657

Marriage:

, Connecticut

Spouse: Elizabeth Welles Disc #38 Pin #888655

Marriage: 1535/40

, Warwickshire, England

Spouse: Elizabeth Bryan Disc #38 Pin #888656

Marriage: 28 Oct 1553

Whichford, Warwickshire, England

//////////////////////////////////////////////

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Stulen/Foster Family Tree
*
* Owner: dunverkin
+ Govenor Thomas Welles
+ Birth
+
# 1594
# in Whichford, Warwickshire, , England
+ Death
+
# 14 Jan 1660
# in Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut, United States
+
*
*
Spouse & Children
o
o Alice Tomes (1595-1646)
o
o Mary Welles (1618-1647)
o
o Ann Welles (1619-1680)
o
o John Welles (1621-1659)
o
o Mary Wells (1622-1655)
Timeline

   *

1594
*
Birth
Whichford, Warwickshire, , England
1 source citation

Hide source citations

   *

o
o U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900
*
1615
7 Jul
Age: 21
*
Marriage to Alice Tomes
Long Marston, Gloucestershire, , England
1 source citation

Hide source citations

   *

o
o U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900
*
1660
14 Jan
Age: 66
*
Death
Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut, United States
*
No Father
*
*
No Mother
Spouse & Children

   *

*
Alice Tomes
1595 – 1646
*
*
Mary Welles
1618 – 1647
*
*
Ann Welles
1619 – 1680
*
*
John Welles
1621 – 1659
*
*
Mary Wells
1622 – 1655
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

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Craw - Rodgers FAMILY HISTORY
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* Owner: helen_craw
+ Thomas Welles
+ Find out how you're related
+ Your great-great grandfather
o
+ Birth
+
# 1594
# in Stourton,Whichford,Warwickshire,England
+ Death
+
# 1660-01-14
# in Wethersfield,Hartford,Connecticut,USA
+
*
Parents & Siblings
o
o Robert Welles (1540-1617)
o
o Alice Hunt (1543-1615)
*
Spouse & Children
o
o Alice Tomes (1595-1646)
o
o Ann Welles (1619-1680)
Timeline

   *

1594
*
Birth
Stourton,Whichford,Warwickshire,England
*
1615
7 Jul
Age: 21
*
Marriage to Alice Tomes
Long Marston,,Gloucestershire,England
*
1660
14 Jan
Age: 66
*
Death
Wethersfield,Hartford,Connecticut,USA
Family Members

Parents

   *

*
Robert Welles
1540 – 1617
*
*
Alice Hunt
1543 – 1615
Show siblings Hide siblings

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Spouse & Children

   *

*
Alice Tomes
1595 – 1646
*
*
Ann Welles
1619 – 1680

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Thomas Welles (1598 – January 14, 1660) is the only man in Connecticut's history to hold all four top offices: governor, deputy governor, treasurer, and secretary. In 1639, he was elected as the first treasurer of the Colony of Connecticut, and from 1640-1649 served as the colony's secretary. In this capacity, he transcribed the Fundamental Orders into the official colony records on January 14, 1638 OS, (January 24, 1639) NS.

Contents

[hide]

   * 1 Biography

* 2 Notes
* 3 Sources
* 4 References
* 5 External links
[edit] Biography

Welles was born in Essex County, England circa 1598 and married Alice Tomes soon after July 5, 1615 in Long Marston, Gloucestershire. The couple had eight children and came to Boston in 1636. After his first wife's death, he married again about 1646 in Wethersfield to Elizabeth, sister of John Deming and widow of Nathaniel Foote.[1] Elizabeth had seven children by her previous marriage; there were no children from the second marriage.

The first appearance of Governor Thomas Welles's name in Hartford was on March 28, 1637, according to the Connecticut Colonial Records. Welles came to Hartford with Reverend Thomas Hooker in June 1636. Some believe a copy of a grant in which he is named confirms this statement. He was chosen a magistrate of the Colony of Connecticut in 1637, an office he held every successive year until his death in 1660, a period of twenty-two years. He was elected deputy governor in 1654, and governor of the Connecticut Colony in 1655, and in 1656 and 1657 was deputy governor to John Winthrop, Jr.; in 1658 governor, and in 1659 deputy governor, which position he held at his death on January 14, 1660.

Welles' eldest son, John, settled in Stratford in 1645, serving as a magistrate and a probate judge there before his death in 1659. Another son, Thomas, settled in Hartford; his daughter Rebecca married Captain James Judson and settled in Stratford in 1680. James and Rebecca's son David, also a Captain, built the Captain David Judson House, located on the same spot where his great grandfather William had built his first house, made of stone, in 1639. Welles' other son, Samuel, became a Captain and settled in Wethersfield. Samuel's daughter Sarah married Ephraim Hawley of Stratford and settled in what is now Trumbull in 1683.

Thomas Welles (as the name was then spelled), born in Essex county, England, in 1598, during the latter part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and died at Wethersfield, Hartford county, Connecticut, January 14, 1660. He was descended from the Lincolnshire branch of the de Welles family of England, one of those Norman-English families who were the founders of English liberty, and have ever been the strength and glory of the English realm. in 1636 Thomas, his wife and seven children sailed for America, where they arrived early in the spring. He is first of record in Hartford, Connecticut, May 1. 1637, where on that day he was chosen magistrate, so continuing until his death, a quarter of a century later. In 1639 he was chosen the first treasurer of the colony of Connecticut, under,the consitution, serving until 1651. In 1641 he had been elected secretary of the colony. In 1649 he was one of the commissioners of the United Colonies, and a member of the first federal congress. Upon the death of Governor Hayes, he was placed at the head of the government with the title of moderator of the general court. In 1654 he was chosen deputy governor, but discharged all the duties of governor, the elected Governor Hopkins remaining in England. In 1655 he was elected the fourth governor of the colony. In 1656-57-59 he was deputy governor, and in 1658 governor for the second term. By a law of the colony no one could be chosen governor two terms in succession. He married, in England, about 1618, Elizabeth Hunt, who died in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1640. She bore him nine children. He married (second) Elizabeth Deming, widow of Nathaniel Foote, of Wethersfield, Connecticut, and sister of John Deming, of England. She died July 28, 1683, without issue.

Children of first wife:

1. Ann, married (first) Thomas Thompson; (second) Anthony Hawkins. (born about 1619 in Essex, England)

2. John, married Elizabeth Curtis. (born in Essex, England, about 1621. His will was dated October 19, 1659, and he died soon after)

3. Robert, died about 1658. (born about 1624)

4. Thomas, married Hannah Tuttle; he was killed in 1668 by falling from a tree; he was the largest and tallest man in Hartford, where he resided. (born in 1627)

5. Samuel, was born in Northamptonshire, England, about 1630, and died at Wethersfield, Connecticut, July 15, 1675. He was a lad of six years when his parents brought him to America.

6. Sarah, married Captain John Chester. (born 1631, died 12-12-1698)

7. Mary, died about 1656. (Mary, born about 1634 in Essex)

8. Joseph, born at Hartford, 1637.

SOURCE: "Hudson-Mohawk genealogical and family memoirs" by: Cuyler Reynolds. Published: Lewis historical publishing company, 1911 (pages 1143 - 1144)

Additional data on the children in ( ) is from "New England families, genealogical and memorial: a record of the achievements of her people in the making of commonwealths and the founding of a nation, Volume 2" by: William Richard Cutter. Published: Lewis historical publishing company, 1913 (pages 594 - 595) and "Historic homes and places and genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Volume 1" by: William Richard Cutter. Published: Lewis historical publishing company, 1908 (pages 274 - 275)

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WIKIPEDIA:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Welles

Thomas Welles (1590–14 January 1659, OS/1660, NS) is the only man in Connecticut's history to hold all four top offices: governor, deputy governor, treasurer, and secretary. In 1639, he was elected as the first treasurer of the Colony of Connecticut, and from 1640–1649 served as the colony's secretary. In this capacity, he transcribed the Fundamental Orders into the official colony records on 14 January 1638, OS, (24 January 1639, NS)

Biography

[edit] Life

Welles was born in Stourton, Whichford, Warwickshire, England around 1590, the son of Robert Welles and Alice (unknown) of Stourton, Warwickshire, England, born about 1543 [2]. He married Alice Tomes soon after 5 July 1615 in Long Marston, Gloucestershire, England. She was born around 1593 in Long Marston, Gloucestershire, England, the daughter of John Tomes and Ellen (Gunne) Phelps. A brother of Alice Tomes-Welles, also named John Tomes like his father, was a faithful royalist who during the escape of Charles II sheltered him in his home on the night of 10 September 1651 when the king was a fugitive after the Battle of Worcester.

After the death of Alice, Welles married again about 1646 in Wethersfield, Connecticut. His second wife was Elizabeth (Deming) Foote,[3] who was a sister of John Deming[3] and the widow of Nathaniel Foote. Elizabeth had seven children by her previous marriage; there were no children from the second marriage.

The first appearance of Governor Thomas Welles's name in Hartford was on 28 March 1637, according to the Connecticut Colonial Records. Welles came to Hartford with Reverend Thomas Hooker in June 1636. Some believe a copy of a grant in which he is named confirms this statement. He was chosen a magistrate of the Colony of Connecticut in 1637, an office he held every successive year until his death in 1660, a period of twenty-two years. He was elected deputy governor in 1654, and governor of the Connecticut Colony in 1655, and in 1656 and 1657 was deputy governor to John Winthrop the Younger; in 1658 governor, and in 1659 deputy governor, which position he held at his death on January 14, 1660 at Wethersfield, Connecticut.[4]

It is thought that he was buried in Wethersfield, Connecticut. Some sources indicate that his remains were later transferred to the Ancient Burying Ground in Hartford. In either case, his grave is presently unmarked. His name appears on the Founders of Hartford, Connecticut Monument in Hartford's Ancient Burying Ground.

[edit] Children

   * John (1622–7 August 1659), settled in Stratford in 1645, serving as a magistrate and a probate judge there before his death in 1659.[5][6][4] His son, John, married Mary Hollister the daughter of Lt, John Hollister and Joanna Treat,[7][8] the daughter of Richard Treat.[9]

* Thomas, settled in Hartford, Connecticut; his daughter Rebecca married Captain James Judson and settled in Stratford, Connecticut in 1680[2] James and Rebecca's son David, also a Captain, built the Captain David Judson House, located on the same spot where his great grandfather William had built his first house, made of stone, in 1639.
* Samuel, became a Captain and settled in Wethersfield, Connecticut.[2]. He married as his first wife, Elizabeth Hollister, the daughter of Lt, John Hollister and Joanna Treat,[7][8] the daughter of Richard Treat.[9] Elizabeth and Samuel were the parents of six children. Elizabeth died in 1659 and he married as his second wife,Hannah, the daughter of George Lamberton of the New Haven Colony. There were no children by the second marriage.
* Captain Samuel's daughter Sarah married Ephraim Hawley of Stratford and settled in what is now Trumbull in 1683. Sarah and Ephraim 's Great-Granddaughter was Abigail Wolcott, (8 February 1756–4 August 1818) who married on 10 December 1772, Oliver Ellsworth (29 April 1745–26 November 1807), Princeton University 1764, who was an American lawyer and politician, a drafter of the United States Constitution, and the third Chief Justice of the United States.[10]
Descendants

Thomas Welles's descendants number in the thousands today. Some of his notable descendants include;

   * James Phinney Baxter III,[11] Ph.D., Litt.D., L.H.D., D.Sc., LL.D., (1893-1975), American historian, educator and academic, He won the 1947 Pulitzer Prize for history, for his book Scientists Against Time. He was the Director of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) (1942–1943). He also served as president of Williams College from 1937—1961.

* Lyman Beecher, [12]was a Presbyterian clergyman, temperance movement leader, and the father of many noted leaders, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry Ward Beecher, Charles Beecher, Edward Beecher, Isabella Beecher Hooker, and Catharine Beecher, and a leader of the Second Great Awakening of the United States.
* Robert Foster "Bob" Bennett,[13] is the junior senator from Utah, who is a member of the Republican Party. He is the son of Frances Marion Grant and U.S. Senator Wallace F. Bennett.
* Emily Newell Blair, [14][15][16]a U.S. political activist, American feminist, suffragist and writer. From 1925 to 1934 she was an Editor of Good Housekeeping magazine.
* William Welles Bosworth, a prominent American architect of the 20th Century.
* Dr. C. Loring Brace IV,[17][18][19] Biological anthropologist.
* Gerald Warner Brace,[17][18][19] was an American writer, educator, sailor and boat builder.
* Lydia Cornell,[20] (born July 23, 1953) is an American actress, writer, novelist, comedienne, blogger and talk-radio host.
* Bruce Dern,[21] is an Academy Award-nominated American film actor.
* Laura Dern, [21] is an American actress, film director and producer.
* Henry Leavitt Ellsworth (1791–1858),The first Commissioner of the U.S. Patent Office, a major donor to Yale College, founded what became the United States Department of Agriculture.
* Gerald R. Ford,[22] was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974.
* Stephen Foster (1826–1864) known as the "father of American music", was the pre-eminent songwriter in the United States of the 19th century.
* Dr. John Franklin Gray,[17][18][19] the first practitioner of Homeopathy in the United States.
* Dr. Jethro A. Hatch,[23][18] was the first physician in Kentland, Indiana and a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's10th district.
* William Welles Hollister,[24][25] (1818-1886), a Californian rancher, entrepreneur and founder of Hollister, California.
* Gertrude Sanford Legendre (1902-2000) was an American socialite who served as a spy during World War II. She was also a noted explorer, big-game hunter, environmentalist, and owner of Medway plantation in South Carolina.
* Archibald MacLeish, [21] was an American poet, writer and the Librarian of Congress. He is associated with the Modernist school of poetry. He received three Pulitzer Prizes for his work.
* Helen Schermerhorn Morris,[26] 5th wife of American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian, Martin Scorsese.
* Sarah Palin,[27] is an American politician, author, speaker, and political commentator who served as the Governor of Alaska from 2006 until she resigned in 2009. She was the Republican nominee for Vice President of the United States in 2008.
* Raphael Pumpelly, was an American geologist and explorer
* Nancy Davis Reagan,[28] is the widow of former United States President Ronald Reagan and served as an influential First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989.
* Henry Shelton Sanford (June 15, 1823 – May 21, 1891) was an American diplomat and businessman who founded the city of Sanford, Florida.
* Gideon Welles,[1] the United States Secretary of the Navy, 1861–1869.
* Rear Admiral Roger Welles, Jr. (1862–1932) San Diego”s First “Navy Mayor” and Director of Office of Naval Intelligence, during World War I. He was also the first commander of the USS Oklahoma (BB-37).
* Sumner Welles,[29] U.S. Undersecretary of State, 1937–1943.
* Utica Welles, 1st wife of Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, CH was a British conductor and impresario. From the early twentieth century until his death, Beecham was a major influence on the musical life of Britain and, according to Neville Cardus, was the first British conductor to have a regular international career.
* Daniel H. Wells, [13] (1814–1891) was an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and the third mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, United States.
* Henry Wells,[30] (12 December 1805–10 December 1878) founded the American Express Company, Wells Fargo & Company and Wells College, a nationally recognized private coeducational liberal arts college located in Aurora, Cayuga County, New York, on the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake.
* Wilford Woodruff, [31] (1 March 1807–2 September 1898) was the fourth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1889 until his death in 1898.
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=29066320

Birth: 1590

Willenhall, England

Death: Jan. 14, 1659

Wethersfield

Hartford County

Connecticut, USA

GOVERNOR THOMAS WELLES, the son of ROBERT WELLES and his wife, ALICE (HUNT) WELLES of Stouton, Wichford, Warwickshire, England, married ALICE TOMES in July of 1615 in Long Marston, Gloucestershire, England. He is known for being the fourth Governor of the Colony of Connecticut elected in 1655 and 1658.

Thomas, his wife and most of his children, arrived in Boston prior to 1636 when he had a land deed witnessed, but he is probably not the Thomas Welles who came in the Susan & Ellen in 1635. He had a relationship with Lords Saye and Sele, but the nature of this relationship is not known.

He was probably one of the group of about 100 settlers who came to Hartford with Thomas Hooker in 1636. He served a total of nineteen years in various offices in the Colony of Connecticut. He is the only man in Connecticut to hold all four top offices: governor, deputy governor, treasurer, and secretary. As Magistrate, he sat on the panel over the witchcraft trials of Mary Johnson, John & Joan Carrington, and Lydia Gilbert. He transcribed the Fundamental Orders into the official colony records as Secretary of the Colony.

The family lived on the same street in Hartford as Governors Edward Hopkins, George Wyllys, John Webster, and Thomas H. Seymour. This street was known as Governor Street but was changed to Popielusko Court and may be called by another name now. After the death of Alice in 1640, he married Elizabeth Deming, sister of John Deming and widow of Nathaniel Foote. At the time of his marriage, they removed to Wethersfield, where he lived until his death. It is said that his remains were transfered to the ancient burial ground in Hartford. Many of the very oldest tombstones in Hartford were used for foundations of homes. Although there is no tombstone remaining, his name appears on the Founders Monument in this cemetery.

I am descended from two of his known six children:

MARY (WELLES) BALDWIN and JOHN WELLES.

Their other children: Capt. Samuel Welles, Thomas Welles, Sarah (Welles) Chester, and Ann (Welles) Thompson Hawkins.

Family links:

Children:

Mary Welles Baldwin (1618 - 1647)*

Ann Welles Hawkins (1619 - 1680)*

John Wells (1622 - 1659)*

Thomas Wells (1625 - 1668)*

Samuel Wells (1628 - 1675)*

Spouses:

Alice Tomes Wells (1595 - 1665)*

Elizabeth Deming Wells (1600 - 1683)*

Burial:

Ancient Burying Ground

Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut, USA

Created by: Nareen Lake

Record added: Aug 16, 2008

Find A Grave Memorial# 29066320

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IMM: Came on ship "SUSAN and ELLEN" in 1635 from ENG. to Saybrook, Conn., 1636, to Hartford , 1637; magistrate, 1637-60; treas., 1639-51; sec., 1640-48; gov. pro tem., 1651; dep. gov. , 1654, et seq.; gov. Colony of Conn., 1655-58; commr. for United Colonies, 1659; m 1st Alice (d 1646) dau. of John TOMES; m 2d, Elizabeth DEMING, widow of Nathaniel FOOTE. An original prop. of Hartford; his home lot in 1639 was on the east side of the street now Governor St. He removed to Wethersfield, where he was also an original prop. He became a member of the Court of Magistrates Mar 28, 1637, and continued a magistrate until he was chosen dep-Gov. May 18, 1654-56,57,59; was the first treasurer 1639; Sec. of the Colony 1640, and held the office until 1649. In 1649 he was a Comm. of the United Colonies; Gov. 1655 and 1648; inv . L1069-9.

DOCUMENTS: WILL=dated 7 Nov 1659 and recorded 11 Apr 1660 probably Wethersfield, CT. SEE: New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol either 84 page 289-230 OR Vol. 80, page 301, Boston: published by the Society, 1930 ALSO Court Record, page 153, Vol III dated 7 Sept 1676 for petition by wife. SEE: Digest of the Early CT Probate Records, Vol. I, Charles Wm. Manwaring, R.S. Peck & Co, 1904 pp. 161-163.

I Tho. Welles of Wethersfield, being in health of body but fynding the Symptoms of Mortality uppon me, am called to set in order that little Estate committed to me. As I have recea ved what I am or have from the devine hand of allmighty God, so I comitte my soull to him, resting uppon his ffree grace and favor manifest through the Lord Jesus, any my body to a comely buriall. My will is that my wife annum out of my Estate during her life, she keeping the said houseing in Repair, and that the land wch I head of hers should return to her agayne; also I give her the bay mare & two kine, to be Sett forth by my Overseers, and that howsehold stuffe wch remaynes that was formerly hers, and the use of such Implements of household during the tyme she remaynes a wyddowe as my Overseers shall sett forth. Alsoe I give to my grand child Robert Welles, the sonne of my sonne John diceased, the House & Lott I live uppon, wch I bought of Mr. Plume & Pennywise to the cross fence on the south side, during his life, an d wn he shall have attayned the age of one & twenty years, & after his Decease to his heirs for ever. And whereas ther yet remayneth a little household stuff wch I thought to have divided betwixt my Children, I now conceive yt more convenient that it remayne to my heire Rober t Welles, he paying in convenient tyme, as my overseers shall find him able, Twenty pound apiece to my Children, vi.., Tho. L20, Samuel L20, My daughter Mary s Children L20, Anne L20 , & Sarah L20, & ten pound to my Cossen Robbins Children. My just debts being first paid , I give my ffarme on the East side of the great River to be divided betwixt my sonne Samuel & my gran child Tho. Welles, sonne to my sonne John deceased; and I give to my sonne Tho. W elles my meadows and swamp in Pennywise on the north side the fence, and also the fower acres of Swamp wch I bought of Nath. Willett, & my upland on the East side the great River by Mr . Hopkins ffarme, wth the ffence, having sold that wthhin the fence to Capten Cullick & given Six rodde in breadth & the whole length to Ed. Andrews. And I desire my Loveing ffriends Mr John Talcoat & Mr. Cotton, Techer att Wethersfield, to be overseers of this my will, & give them five pound apeece out of my Estate. And so long as my wife remaynes a widdow Shee may injoy & Improve my whole Estate if my overseers Findye yt meet, they (discharging) out of it my just debts & takeing in the debts oweing to mee & manteining my heirs, in Lewe of her twelve pounds,--and that shee may keepe the better (words not readable.)

In witness to this my will I have hereunto sett my hand the day & yeare above written.

Tho. Welles.

No witnesses.

The Will of Tho. Welles Esq. within speified was exhibited and proved and ordered to be recorded 11 April 1660. The Court doth judge yt those words the 1/2 in reference to ye house should have relation to ye orchard likewise. Will Wadsworth and John Deming are appointed by the Colurt to Assist Mr. John Cotton as Supervisors of ye Will and Adms. to ye Estate of Mr. Thomas Welles Esq., and wt any two of them shall doe shall be accounted Authentick respecting the Execution of the Will of the sd. Esq. deceased. 11 April 1660.

Daniel Clarke, Secretary.

Court Record, Page 153 (Vol. III) 7 Sept, 1676: Mrs. Welles petitioning this Court for some relief respecting what was allowed her by her husband. This Court ordered that Mr. Robert Welles doe set her part of her house in repayre according to the order of the General Court, & that what he hath damnyfyed her Barne by parting with the other part of the Barn that did adjoyn to it, he shall repayre, & make up the annuity of Twelve pounds Prannum that By the will the sayd Mr. Welles is to pay his grandmother. He shall pay to her in wheat, pease & Indian Corn by equally proportion at prise Current. And the orchard Mr. Welles had Layd out to her by Mr. Wadsworth & Mr. Demmon as her part of the orchard, she is to possesse it according to his will, & is not to be molested in it by Mr. Robert Welles; & in case of blasting of wheat, then to pay some in porck.

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He was Magistrate, afterward Governor of the Colony.

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Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Welles

Governor of Connecticut 1655 & 1658: http://www.cslib.org/gov/wellest.htm

2nd Secretary of the State of Connecticut 1641-1648

From: http://www.langeonline.com/ and the article "The Descendents of Gov. Thomas Welles of Connecticut, of Connecticut 1590-1658, By Donna Holt Siemiatkoski, Gateway Press, Inc, Baltimore, Maryland 1990 pp 11-13

Gov Thomas Welles - In 1646 Thomas married Elizabeth Foote, widow of Nathaniel Foote who died in Wethersfield in 1643, and sister of Joseph Deming of Wethersfield. She was unwilling to leave the homestead of many acres she was managing after her husband's death.

As a result, one of the highest officers in the colony left his home in the center of Hartford and moved to Wethersfield with his younger children, Samuel and Sarah who were raised with her younger children Frances, Sarah, and Rebecca.

Thomas wrote his will on 7 Nov 1659. He seemed to be in good health on the evening of 14 Jan 1659/60, being well after supper, but dead by midnight. His will left his wife the use of half his housing and orchard, with her own land to be returned to her. His own land and house went to his grandson Robert, the only child of his oldest son to live in Wethersfield.

He left land to sons Samuel and Thomas, and to Thomas son of the deceased son John, 20 pounds to Thomas, Samuel, Mary's children, Anne, Sarah, and 10 pounds to Mary Robbins' children. Elizabeth lived another 22 years, leaving her estate to her children and grandchildren by Nathaniel Foote.

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Born Essex Co. England 1594 (or 1598), Rothwell, Northamptonshire, England.

Came to America in 1636

Died Wethersfield, 1/14/1660

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Thomas Welles (1598 – January 14, 1660) is the only man in Connecticut's history to hold all four top offices: governor, deputy governor, treasurer, and secretary. In 1639, he was elected as the first treasurer of the Colony of Connecticut, and from 1640-1649 served as the colony's secretary. In this capacity, he transcribed the Fundamental Orders into the official colony records on January 14, 1638 OS, (January 24, 1639) NS.

Biography Welles was born in Essex County, England circa 1598 and married Alice Tomes soon after July 5, 1615 in Long Marston, Gloucestershire. The couple had eight children and came to Boston in 1636. After his first wife's death, he married again about 1646 in Wethersfield to Elizabeth, sister of John Deming and widow of Nathaniel Foote.[1] Elizabeth had seven children by her previous marriage; there were no children from the second marriage.

The first appearance of Governor Thomas Welles's name in Hartford was on March 28, 1637, according to the Connecticut Colonial Records. Welles came to Hartford with Reverend Thomas Hooker in June 1636. Some believe a copy of a grant in which he is named confirms this statement. He was chosen a magistrate of the Colony of Connecticut in 1637, an office he held every successive year until his death in 1660, a period of twenty-two years. He was elected deputy governor in 1654, and governor of the Connecticut Colony in 1655, and in 1656 and 1657 was deputy governor to John Winthrop, Jr.; in 1658 governor, and in 1659 deputy governor, which position he held at his death on January 14, 1660.

Welles' eldest son, John, settled in Stratford in 1645, serving as a magistrate and a probate judge there before his death in 1659. Another son, Thomas, settled in Hartford; his daughter Rebecca married Captain James Judson and settled in Stratford in 1680. James and Rebecca's son David, also a Captain, built the Captain David Judson House, located on the same spot where his great grandfather William had built his first house, made of stone, in 1639. Welles' other son, Samuel, became a Captain and settled in Wethersfield. Samuel's daughter Sarah married Ephraim Hawley of Stratford and settled in what is now Trumbull in 1683.

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Welles came to Hartford with Reverend Thomas Hooker in June 1636. Some believe a copy of a grant in which he is named confirms this statement. He was chosen a magistrate of the Colony of Connecticut in 1637, an office he held every successive year until his death in 1660, a period of twenty-two years. He was elected deputy governor in 1654, and governor of the Connecticut Colony in 1655, and in 1656 and 1657 was deputy governor to John Winthrop the Younger; in 1658 governor, and in 1659 deputy governor, which position he held at his death on 14 January 1660 at Wethersfield, Connecticut.

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Thomas Welles Gov. was born about 1590 in Stourton, Whichford, Warwick, Eng. (1)(31) He died on 14 Jan 1659/60 in Wethersfield, Hartford, CT. (1)(31) The following is taken directly from the "Biographical Directory of American Colonial and Revolutionary Governors 1607-1789", by John W. Raimo, Meckler Books:

• *******************

Immigrated to New England, probably in late 1635, and had settled in Boston, Massachusetts by June 1636. Moved to Hartford, Connecticut a short time later, where he lived until he moved to Wethersfield following his second marriage. Named an Assistant of the Connecticut Beneral Court in 1637, an office which he held until his death. Chosen Treasurer of Connecticut in 1639, and served for two years; also acted as treasurer from 1648 to 1652. Served as Secretary of the colony from April 1640 to 1648. Became a Commissioner of the United Colonies in 1649 and again in 1659, filling that office on each occasion for a term of one year. Elected Deputy Governor of Connecticut on a yearly basis in 1654 (when he also served as chief executive in the absence of Bovernor Hopkins), 1656, 1657 and 1659; elected Governor in 1655 and 1658.

During the 1650's Welles was perhaps the most prominent political figure in Connecticut, especially after the death of John Haynes in January 1654 and the departure of Edward Hopkins for England a short time earlier. Welles' years as chief executive were most noeworthy for the divisions which disrupted several of the colony's Congregational churches. Indeed, in the 1650's a schism had split the church in the governor's own home town of Wethersfield. Although the General Court was unsuccessful in its attempt to restore peace, the matter had resolved itself by the end of Welles' second period in office, when dissenting members from the affected congregations united to establish their own church in Hadley, Massachusetts, further up the Connecticut River.

Following his service as chief executive, Welles was reelected deputy governor in the spring of 1659, but he did not live to complete the term. He died in Wethersfield, Connecticut on January 14, 1660, and was probably buried in that community.

• *******************

From the Welles genealogy (see date references), when King Charles II fled for his life from Cromwell's forces across the country to eventual exile in France, he stayed one night at Alice's half brother's Inn, desguised as a servant and accompanied by a few friends. He nearly revealed himself in his clumsiness with the roasting jack, but spent the night in peace at the Tomes' home and pursued their flight in the morning.

The Welles family in Warwicshire extended back at least four generations and owned property, but were not listed as gentlemen (or landed gentry). The information in the Welles genealogy referenced herein, appears to be of the highest quality research on the Welles family and provides information regarding significant genealogical errors in previous works on this family.

IMMIGRATION: English property confiscated, escaping from Star Chamber sentence as non-conformist. In Massachusetts 1635.

OCCUPATION: Secretary of Lord Say and Seal

GOVERMENT: Assistant, Connecticut Colony 1637-1654; Deputy Governor 1654,56,57,59; Governor 1655, 1658; Treasurer 1639, 1648, 1649, 1650; Secretary 1641, 1643, 1644, 1645, 1647; Commissioner to United Colonies 1649, 1654, 1659; War Committee for Wethersfield, May 1653, Oct 1654; Magistrate in Hartford 1637.

RESIDENCE: Boston/Cambridge 1635, Saybrook, 1636, Hartford 1637. Wethersfield 1646

DEATH: Sudden, "being very well at supper and dead before midnight."

WILL: dated 7 Nov 1659, File # 5860 Hartford Probate, proved 11 apr 1660; executors Mr. John Talcott, Sr and Rev. John Cotton of Wetheresfield, William Wadsworth and John Deming, Sr added by the court

Sources: 1.Title: Welles: The Descendants of Governor Thomas Welles of Connecticut 1590-1660 and his wife Alice Tomes Publication: The Welles Family Association, 1990, www.wellesfamily.com Abbrev: Welles: The Descendants of Governor Thomas Welles of Connecticut 1590-1660 and his wife Alice Tomes 2.Repository: Name: Ancestry.com

Title: History of Ancient Wethersfield, Connecticut: comprising the present towns of Wethersfield, Rocky Hill, and Newington Author: Adams, Sherman W. Publication: Grafton Press, New York, 1904 Abbrev: History of Ancient Wethersfield, Connecticut: comprising the present towns of Wethersfield, Rocky Hill, and Newington Page: vol. 2 p. 760 Text: 1598 Essex England 3.Repository: Name: Ancestry.com

Title: Botsford: An American Family; Botsford-Marble ancestral lines Author: Jacobus, Donald Lines Publication: New Haven, CT 1933 Abbrev: Botsford: An American Family; Botsford-Marble ancestral lines Page: 31 4.Repository: Name: Newtown Library-Genealogy Dept Newtown, CT

Title: Foote: Genealogy and History of Nathaniel Foote of Wethersfield, CT ... Author: Foote, Abram William Publication: 1907-1932 Abbrev: Foote: Genealogy and History of Nathaniel Foote of Wethersfield, CT ... Page: vol. 1 p. 21 5.Title: New England Historical & Genealogical Register Publication: New England Genealogical & Historical Society, 101 Newbury St., Boston, MA Abbrev: New England Historical & Genealogical Register Page: Vol 80, p 279-305, 446-447 6.Repository: Name: Ancestry.com

Title: Hale, House, and Related Families, Mainly of the Connecticut River Valley Author: Jacobus, Daniel Lines Publication: Hartford, CT, (Connecticut Historical Society) 1952 Abbrev: Hale, House, and Related Families, Mainly of the Connecticut River Valley Page: 778 7.Repository: Name: Newtown Library-Genealogy Dept Newtown, CT

Title: History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport, 1886 Author: Rev. Samuel B. Orcutt Publication: Fairfield County Historical Society, 1886 Abbrev: History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport, 1886 Page: vol. 2 p. 1202, 1325 8.Repository: Name: Newtown Library-Genealogy Dept Newtown, CT

Title: History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield Author: Jacobus, Daniel Lines, MA Publication: 1930 Abbrev: History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield Page: vol. 1 p. 438, 655 9.Repository: Name: Ancestry.com

Title: Families of Early Milford Author: Susan Woodruff Abbott; Edited and Prepared for Publication by Jacquelyn L. Ricker Publication: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. Baltimore, 1979 Abbrev: Families of Early Milford Page: 60 10.Repository: Name: Newtown Library-Genealogy Dept Newtown, CT

Title: Foote: Genealogy and History of Nathaniel Foote of Wethersfield, CT ... Author: Foote, Abram William Publication: 1907-1932 Abbrev: Foote: Genealogy and History of Nathaniel Foote of Wethersfield, CT ... Page: vol. 1 p. 17a 11.Repository: Name: Ancestry.com

Title: Kellogg: The Kelloggs in the Old World and the New Author: Hopkins, Timothy Publication: Sunset Press and Photo Engraving Co., San Francisco, California, 1903 Abbrev: Kellogg: The Kelloggs in the Old World and the New Page: vol. 1 p. 55 12.Repository: Name: Ancestry.com

Title: History of Stratford, CT 1639-1939 Author: Wilcoxson, William Howard Publication: Stratford Tercentenary Commission, 1939 Abbrev: History of Stratford, CT 1639-1939 Page: 79 13.Repository: Name: Ancestry.com

Title: New England Families: Genealogical and Memorial Author: Cutter, William Richard Publication: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., New York, NY 1913 Abbrev: New England Families: Genealogical and Memorial Note: Jacobus cites this source as "notoriously unreliable" Page: p. 583, 1395 14.Repository: Name: Ancestry.com

Title: Seymour: A History of the Seymour Family: descendants of Richard Seymour of Hartford, Connecticut Author: Jacobus, Donald Lines Publication: New Haven, Connecticut 1939 Abbrev: Seymour: A History of the Seymour Family: descendants of Richard Seymour of Hartford, Connecticut Page: 167 15.Repository: Name: Ancestry.com

Title: Marvin: Descendants of Reinold and Matthew Marvin Author: Marvin, George Franklin and William T.R. Marvin Publication: T.R. Marvin & Son, Publishers, Boston, MA 1904 Abbrev: Marvin: Descendants of Reinold and Matthew Marvin Page: 307 16.Repository: Name: Ancestry.com

Title: Welles and Allied Families Author: Welles, Catherin J. and Frances S. Welles Publication: The American Historical Society, Inc, New York, 1927 Abbrev: Welles and Allied Families Page: 6 17.Repository: Name: Ancestry.com

Title: Lord: Genealogy of the Descendants of Thomas Lord, Original Proprietor of Hartford Author: Lord, Kenneth Publication: New York, 1946 Abbrev: Lord: Genealogy of the Descendants of Thomas Lord, Original Proprietor of Hartford Page: 8 18.Repository: Name: Ancestry.com

Title: History of Ancient Wethersfield, Connecticut: comprising the present towns of Wethersfield, Rocky Hill, and Newington Author: Adams, Sherman W. Publication: Grafton Press, New York, 1904 Abbrev: History of Ancient Wethersfield, Connecticut: comprising the present towns of Wethersfield, Rocky Hill, and Newington Page: vol. 2 p. 211, 327, 429, 760

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All six children of Thomas and Alice were born in England and traveled with their parents on the "Susan and Ellen" to America in 1635.

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Thomas Welles (1590–14 January 1659, OS/1660, NS) is the only man in Connecticut's history to hold all four top offices: governor, deputy governor, treasurer, and secretary. In 1639, he was elected as the first treasurer of the Colony of Connecticut, and from 1640–1649 served as the colony's secretary. In this capacity, he transcribed the Fundamental Orders into the official colony records on 14 January 1638, OS, (24 January 1639, NS)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Welles

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Thomas Welles From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "Welles" redirects here. For other uses, see Welles (disambiguation). For those of a similar name, see Thomas Wells (disambiguation).

Thomas Welles 1st Treasurer of the Colony of Connecticut In office 1639–1641 Succeeded by William Whiting 2nd Secretary of the Colony of Connecticut In office 1641–1648 Preceded by Edward Hopkins Succeeded by John Cullick Deputy Governor of the Colony of Connecticut In office 1654–1655 In office 1656–1657 In office 1659–1660 17th Governor of the Colony of Connecticut In office 1655–1656 Preceded by Edward Hopkins Succeeded by John Webster 20th Governor of the Colony of Connecticut In office 1658–1659 Preceded by John Winthrop the Younger Succeeded by John Winthrop the Younger

Personal details Born 1590 Stourton, Whichford, Warwickshire, England Died 14 January 1659/1660 Wethersfield, Connecticut Nationality British Spouse(s) Alice Tomes Elizabeth Deming Foote

Children John Welles (1622–1659) Thomas Welles Samuel Welles Anne Welles Sarah Welles Mary Welles

Religion Congregationalist

Thomas Welles (1590–14 January 1659, OS/1660, NS) is the only man in Connecticut's history to hold all four top offices: governor, deputy governor, treasurer, and secretary. In 1639, he was elected as the first treasurer of the Colony of Connecticut, and from 1640–1649 served as the colony's secretary. In this capacity, he transcribed the Fundamental Orders into the official colony records on 14 January 1638, OS, (24 January 1639, NS).[1] Contents [hide]

   1 Biography

   2 Descendants

   3 See also

   4 Notes

   5 References

   6 External links

[edit] Biography

Life

Welles was born in Stourton, Whichford, Warwickshire, England around 1590, the son of Robert Welles and Alice (unknown) of Stourton, Warwickshire, England, born about 1543.[2] He married Alice Tomes soon after 5 July 1615 in Long Marston, Gloucestershire, England.

She was born around 1593 in Long Marston, Gloucestershire, England, the daughter of John Tomes and Ellen (Gunne) Phelps. A brother of Alice Tomes-Welles, also named John Tomes like his father, was a faithful royalist who during the escape of Charles II sheltered him in his home on the night of 10 September 1651 when the king was a fugitive after the Battle of Worcester.

After the death of Alice, Welles married again about 1646 in Wethersfield, Connecticut. His second wife was Elizabeth (Deming) Foote,[3] who was a sister of John Deming[3] and the widow of Nathaniel Foote. Elizabeth had seven children by her previous marriage; there were no children from the second marriage.

The first appearance of Governor Thomas Welles's name in Hartford was on 28 March 1637, according to the Connecticut Colonial Records. Welles came to Hartford with Reverend Thomas Hooker in June 1636. Some believe a copy of a grant in which he is named confirms this statement.

He was chosen a magistrate of the Colony of Connecticut in 1637, an office he held every successive year until his death in 1660, a period of twenty-two years. He was elected deputy governor in 1654, and governor of the Connecticut Colony in 1655, and in 1656 and 1657 was deputy governor to John Winthrop the Younger; in 1658 governor, and in 1659 deputy governor, which position he held at his death on January 14, 1660 at Wethersfield, Connecticut.[4]

It is thought that he was buried in Wethersfield, Connecticut. Some sources indicate that his remains were later transferred to the Ancient Burying Ground in Hartford. In either case, his grave is presently unmarked. His name appears on the Founders of Hartford, Connecticut Monument in Hartford's Ancient Burying Ground.

Children

   John (1622–7 August 1659), settled in Stratford in 1645, serving as a magistrate and a probate judge there before his death in 1659.[4][5][6] His son, John, married Mary Hollister the daughter of Lt, John Hollister and Joanna Treat,[7][8] the daughter of Richard Treat.[9]

Thomas, settled in Hartford, Connecticut; his daughter Rebecca married Captain James Judson and settled in Stratford, Connecticut in 1680[2] James and Rebecca's son David, also a Captain, built the Captain David Judson House, located on the same spot where his great grandfather William had built his first house, made of stone, in 1639.
Samuel, became a Captain and settled in Wethersfield, Connecticut.[2] He married as his first wife, Elizabeth Hollister, the daughter of Lt, John Hollister and Joanna Treat,[7][8] the daughter of Richard Treat.[9] Elizabeth and Samuel were the parents of six children. Elizabeth died in 1659 and he married as his second wife,Hannah, the daughter of George Lamberton of the New Haven Colony. There were no children by the second marriage. His third marriage was on 20 June 1683 to Ruth Rice, daughter of Edmund Rice, and they had six children.[10]
Captain Samuel's daughter Sarah married Ephraim Hawley of Stratford and settled in what is now Trumbull in 1683. Sarah and Ephraim 's Great-Granddaughter was Abigail Wolcott, (8 February 1756–4 August 1818) who married on 10 December 1772, Oliver Ellsworth (29 April 1745–26 November 1807), Princeton University 1764, who was an American lawyer and politician, a drafter of the United States Constitution, and the third Chief Justice of the United States.[11]
[edit] Descendants

Thomas Welles's descendants number in the thousands today. Some of his notable descendants include;

   James Phinney Baxter III,[12] Ph.D., Litt.D., L.H.D., D.Sc., LL.D., (1893–1975), American historian, educator and academic, He won the 1947 Pulitzer Prize for history, for his book Scientists Against Time. He was the Director of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) (1942–1943). He also served as president of Williams College from 1937—1961.

Lyman Beecher,[13] was a Presbyterian clergyman, temperance movement leader, and the father of many noted leaders, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry Ward Beecher, Charles Beecher, Edward Beecher, Isabella Beecher Hooker, and Catharine Beecher, and a leader of the Second Great Awakening of the United States.
Robert Foster "Bob" Bennett,[14] is a former United States Senator from Utah and a member of the Republican Party. He is the son of Frances Marion Grant and U.S. Senator Wallace F. Bennett.
Emily Newell Blair,[15][16][17] a U.S. political activist, American feminist, suffragist and writer. From 1925 to 1934 she was an Editor of Good Housekeeping magazine.

Dr. C. Loring Brace IV,[18][19][20] Biological anthropologist.

   Gerald Warner Brace,[18][19][20] was an American writer, educator, sailor and boat builder.

Lydia Cornell,[21] (born July 23, 1953) is an American actress, writer, novelist, comedienne, blogger and talk-radio host.

Bruce Dern,[22] is an Academy Award-nominated American film actor.

   Laura Dern,[22] is an American actress, film director and producer.

Gerald R. Ford,[23] was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974.

Dr. John Franklin Gray,[18][19][20] the first practitioner of Homeopathy in the United States.

Dr. Jethro A. Hatch,[19][24] was the first physician in Kentland, Indiana and a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's10th district.

William Welles Hollister,[25][26] (1818–1886), a Californian rancher, entrepreneur and founder of Hollister, California.

Archibald MacLeish,[22] was an American poet, writer and the Librarian of Congress. He is associated with the Modernist school of poetry. He received three Pulitzer Prizes for his work.

Helen Schermerhorn Morris,[27] 5th wife of American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian, Martin Scorsese.

Raphael Pumpelly,[9][28] was an American geologist and explorer

Nancy Davis Reagan,[29] is the widow of former United States President Ronald Reagan and served as an influential First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989.

Henry Shelton Sanford,[30][31][32][33][34] was an American diplomat and businessman who founded the city of Sanford, Florida.

Gideon Welles,[1] the United States Secretary of the Navy, 1861–1869.

   Sumner Welles,[35] U.S. Undersecretary of State, 1937–1943.

   Daniel H. Wells,[14] (1814–1891) was an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and the third mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, United States.

   Dr. Henry Wells, was an American author, professor and leading expert on Latin America politics.

   Henry Wells,[36] (12 December 1805–10 December 1878) founded the American Express Company, Wells Fargo & Company and Wells College, a nationally recognized private coeducational liberal arts college located in Aurora, Cayuga County, New York, on the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake.

Wilford Woodruff,[37] (1 March 1807–2 September 1898) was the fourth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1889 until his death in 1898.

Utica Celestia Welles,[38] Lady Beecham, 1st wife of Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, CH was a British conductor and impresario. From the early twentieth century until his death, Beecham was a major influence on the musical life of Britain and, according to Neville Cardus, was the first British conductor to have a regular international career.

[edit] See also

   Wells–Bennett–Grant family

[edit] Notes

   ^ a b Norton, pp. 19-21

   ^ a b c Siemiatkoski, Donna H (1990). The Descendents of Governor Thomas Welles of Connecticut, 1590-1658, and His Wife, Alice Tomes. Gateway Press.

   ^ a b Deming, pp. 3-8

   ^ a b Mathews, Barbara J. (April 2000). "The Wills of John Welles and his Father, Governor Thomas Welles". Welles Family Association. Retrieved 2010-03-19.

   ^ Raymond, Marcius D, p. 17

   ^ Case, L. W., p. 35

   ^ a b Treat, p. 31

   ^ a b Treat, p. 33

   ^ a b c Treat, pp. 20-31

   ^ "Ruth Rice (1659-1742)". Edmund Rice (1638) Association. Retrieved 19 March 2011.

   ^ Buchanan, James M. (1991). The Supreme Court Justices: Illustrated Biographies, 1789–1995 (2nd ed.). Supreme Court Historical Society.

   ^ Johnson, pp. 163-175

   ^ Mathews, Barbara J. (november 2006). "Ancestry of The Rev. Lyman Beecher and His daughters Catherine Beecher and Harriet (Beecher) Stowe". Wellesprings. Welles Family Association. Retrieved 2010-03-19.

   ^ a b Mathews, Barbara J. (April 2002). "Daniel Hanmer Wells, Father of the Utah Branch of our Family". Welles Family Association. Retrieved 2010-03-19.

   ^ Raymond, Marcius D., 64

   ^ Jordan, 372

   ^ Laas, 10–12

   ^ a b c Raymond, pp. 20-22

   ^ a b c d Raymond, M D., pp. 84-97

   ^ a b c Raymond, Marcius D., pp. 34-35

   ^ Cornell, Lydia (2005). "The Official Website of Lydia Cornell". Lydia Cornell. Retrieved 2010-04-15.

   ^ a b c Roberts, Gary Boyd. "The New England Ancestry of Archibald Mac Leish". New England Historic Genealogical Society. Retrieved 2010-03-14.

   ^ Mathews, Barbara J. (Autumn 2004). "Ancestry of President Gerald R. Ford". Wellesprings. Welles Family Association. Retrieved 2010-03-19.

   ^ Raymond, Marcius D., 18

   ^ Case, pp. 247

   ^ Case, pp. 473

   ^ Roberts, Gary Boyd (April 18, 2008). "#83 Royal Descents, Notable Kin, and Printed Sources: A Third Set of Ten Hollywood Figures (or Groups Thereof), with a Coda on Two Directors". NewEnglandAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society. Retrieved 2010-04-14.

   ^ Pumpelly, p. 783

   ^ Reitwiesner, William Addams (2007). "Ancestry of Sen. Gary Hart". Retrieved 2010-03-18.

   ^ McGhan, p.385

   ^ "Mr. Sanford's Services". New York Times. 6 November 1877. Retrieved 2010-08-21.

   ^ "Henry Shelton Sanford". New York Times. 23 May 1891. Retrieved 2010-08-21.

   ^ "General Henry S. Sanford.". Sanford Historical Society. Retrieved 2010-08-21.

   ^ "Find a Grave: Gen. Henry Shelton Sanford". Retrieved 2009-07-14.

   ^ Welles, p. 7

   ^ Mathews, Barbara J. (November 2003 and April 2004). "Henry Wells, Founder of Wells Fargo and American Express". Welles Family Association. Retrieved 2010-03-19.

   ^ Mathews, Barbara J. (November 2005). "Wilford Woodruff, a Welles Descendant, Fourth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints And Founder of the Genealogical Society of Utah". Welles Family Association. Retrieved 2010-03-19.

   ^ Roberts, Gary Boyd. "#61 Royal Descents, Notable Kin, and Printed Sources: Notable Descendants of the Stanleys of Hartford". New England Historic Genealogical Society. Retrieved 2010-07-19.

[edit] References

   Case, L. W. The Hollister family of America: Lieut. John Hollister, of Wethersfield, Conn., and his descendants Publisher Fergus printing company, 1886

   Case, Lafayette Wallace. The Hollister family of America: Lieut. John Hollister, of Wethersfield, Conn., and his descendants Publisher Fergus printing company, 1886

   Cutter, William Richard. New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial, Lewis Historical Publishing, NY, 1914

   Deming, Judson Keith. Genealogy of the descendants of John Deming of Wethersfield, Connecticut: with historical notes University of Wisconsin - Madison: Publisher Press of Mathis-Mets Co., 1904

   Johnson, Alfred. The Hon. James Phinney Baxter, A.M., LITT.D. The New England historical and genealogical register, Volume 75. Publisher New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1921

   Jordan, John W. Genealogical and personal history of the Allegheny Valley, Pennsylvania. New York: Lewis Historical Pub. Company 1913.

   Laas, Virginia Jeans Bridging two eras : the autobiography of Emily Newell Blair, 1877-1951. Columbia, Missouri : University of Missouri Press 1999.

   McGhan, Judith. Genealogies of Connecticut families: from the New England historical and genealogical register Baltimore: Publisher Genealogical Publishing Company, 1983 ISBN 0806310308.

   Norton, Frederick Calvin The governors of Connecticut: biographies of the chief executives of the commonwealth that gave to the world the first written constitution known to history, Publisher Connecticut Magazine Co., 1905.

   Pumpelly, Raphael. My Reminiscences, Raphael Pumpelly. Publisher: H. Holt and Company, 1918.

   Raymond, Marcius Denison. Gray genealogy : being a genealogical record and history of the descendants of John Gray, of Beverly, Mass., and also including sketches of other Gray families. New York: Higginson Book Company, 1887.

   Raymond, M D. Souvenir of the Sherburne Centennial Celebration and Dedication of Monument to the Proprietors and Early Settlers, held on Wednesday, June 21, 1893. New York: M.D. Raymond, 1892.

   Raymond, Marcius D. Sketch of Rev. Blackleach Burritt and related Stratford families : a paper read before the Fairfield County Historical Society, at Bridgeport, Conn., Friday evening, Feb. 19, 1892. Bridgeport : Fairfield County Historical Society 1892.

   Siemiatkoski, Donna Holt. The Descendants of Governor Thomas Welles of Connecticut, 1590–1658, and His Wife, Alice Tomes Baltimore: Publisher, Gateway Press, 1990.

   Treat, John Harvey. The Treat family: a genealogy of Trott, Tratt, and Treat for fifteen generations, and four hundred and fifty years in England and America, containing more than fifteen hundred families in America Publisher The Salem press publishing & printing company, 1893.

   Welles, Benjamin. Sumner Welles: FDR's global strategist : a biography. New York: M.D. Raymond, 1892. Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 1997. ISBN 0-312-17440-3.

[edit] External links

   Welles Family Association, Inc.

   Biographical sketch of Thomas Welles Connecticut State Library

   Stratford Historical Society

   The Society of the Hawley Family, Inc.

   National Archives biograph

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Thomas Welles is the only man in Connecticut's history to hold all four top offices: governor, deputy governor, treasurer, and secretary. In 1639, he was elected as the first treasurer and from 1640-1649 served as the colony's secretary. In this capacity, he transcribed the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut into the official colony records in 1639. The first appearance of Governor Thomas Welles's name in Hartford was on March 28, 1637, according to the Connecticut Colonial Records. Welles came to Hartford with Reverend Thomas Hooker in June 1636. Some believe a copy of a grant in which he is named confirms this statement. He was chosen a magistrate of the Colony of Connecticut in 1637, an office he held every successive year until his death in 1660, a period of twenty-two years. He was elected deputy governor in 1654, and governor of the Connecticut Colony in 1655, and in 1656 and 1657 was deputy governor to John Winthrop, Jr.; in 1658 governor, and in 1659 deputy governor, which position he held at his death on January 14, 1660.

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Thomas Welles (abt 1594 - January 14, 1660) is the only man in Connecticut's history to hold all four top offices: governor, deputy governor, treasurer, and secretary. In 1639, he was elected as the first treasurer and from 1640-1649 served as the colony's secretary. In this capacity, he transcribed the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut into the official colony records in 1639.

Welles was born in Essex County, England circa 1590-4. The marriage of Thomas Welles and Alice Tomes in Long Marston, Gloucestershire has been established by the court proceedings to have taken place shortly after he received his land in 5 Jul 1615. His wife is shown to have been born before 1593, making his birth in 1598 unlikely. Therefore he could not have been born in 1598, but was more likely born around 1590, the date the family is using for this event pending further investigation. The couple had eight children and came to Boston in 1636. Thomas arrived in Boston prior to 9 June 1636, when his deed was witnessed, but was probably not the Thomas Welles who was a passenger on the Susan and Ellen in 1635 as reported in some sources (that Thomas was probably the Thomas Welles who became a resident of Ipswich, Massachusetts).

The first appearance of Governor Thomas Welles's name in Hartford was on March 28, 1637, according to the Connecticut Colonial Records. Welles came to Hartford with Reverend Thomas Hooker in June 1636. Some believe a copy of a grant in which he is named confirms this statement. He was chosen a magistrate of the Colony of Connecticut

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Born: ca. 1590 in Stourton, Whichford, Warwic