George Gates

See in 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, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1913, page 883.

Born in England, George Gates was sent to America as a small boy to live with the family of Nicholas Olmstead. They lived in Hartford Conn. In 1660 he married Sarah, the daughter in the family with which he lived. In 1661 he was elected chimney viewer of Hartford. In 1662, he was one of a group of 29 men who purchased land along the Connecticut River and started the towns of Haddam and East Haddam, Conn. The site was purchased for 20 coats not exceeding $100 in value. The sellers were the Indians.

GEORGE GATES, born about 1634 in England, came to New England as a youth and settled in Hartford, Connecticut under the care of Captain Nicholas Olmsted/Olmstead of Hartford, Connecticut . According to tradition he came to this country with an older brother, Thomas, who died at an early age, unmarried. George lived in Hartford for eleven years, from about 1652 to 1662, and was reared among the parishioners of Thomas Hooker, the prominent Puritan leader, and he was an active member of the church throughout his entire life.

George married, about 1660, SARAH OLMSTED, daughter of his sponsor and early employer, Captain Nicholas Olmsted (James) and his wife Sarah Loomis (daughter of Joseph Loomis and his wife Mary White). Nicholas Olmsted was a leading man in the town of Hartford. The Olmsteds, Nicholas and his father, James, had emigrated from County Essex, England and were members of Rev. Thomas Hooker’s congregation, which settled, first in New Towne, now Cambridge, Massachusetts, and migrated in 1636 to the Connecticut River Valley and there founded the town of Hartford.

In the early town records of Hartford, Conn. the name of George Gates appears, in 1661, as chimney-viewer, elected to this office at a town meeting in February of that year. Chimney-viewer is the ancient name for a fire-inspector or marshal charged with the responsibility for periodically inspecting chimneys to see that the established regulations as to construction and safety were observed. The laws of the town required that all chimneys should be cleaned and inspected at stated intervals and that a barrel of water and a ladder should be kept in a convenient place near each home. A new settlement at Haddam was first considered in 1660 when the Connecticut General Assembly appointed a committee to survey the area and, if found suitable, to buy land there from the Indians. About two years later, on May 20, 1662, a deed from representatives of the Wangunk tribe was made, for a consideration of thirty coats, conveying lands lying along the Connecticut River, for a distance of about six miles and extending about six miles east and west from it. The soil in the middle Connecticut River Valley was much better than in most other parts of New England and settlers began occupying this land in 1662. Most of the twenty-eight original proprietors were from Hartford.

---

Disputed Origins

https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=48572611 and other sites claim Thomas Gates, of Jamestown and Elizabeth Gate for parents of George Gates with no evidence.

---

Born in England, George was sent to America as a small boy to live with the family of Nicholas Olmstead. They lived in Hartford Conn. In 1660 he married Sarah, the daughter in the family with which he lived. In 1661 he was elected chimney viewer of Hartford. In 1662, he was one of a group of 29 men who purchased land along the Connecticut River and started the towns of Haddam and East Haddam, Conn. The site was purchased for 20 coats not exceeding $100 in value. The sellers were the Indians.

GEORGE GATES, born about 1634 in England, came to New England as a youth and settled in Hartford, Connecticut under the care of Captain Nicholas Olmsted/Olmstead of Hartford, Connecticut . According to tradition he came to this country with an older brother, Thomas, who died at an early age, unmarried. George lived in Hartford for eleven years, from about 1652 to 1662, and was reared among the parishioners of Thomas Hooker, the prominent Puritan leader, and he was an active member of the church throughout his entire life.

George married, about 1660, SARAH OLMSTED, daughter of his sponsor and early employer, Captain Nicholas Olmsted (James) and his wife, Sarah Loomis, daughter of Joseph Loomis and his wife, Mary White. Nicholas Olmsted was a leading man in the town of Hartford. The Olmsteds, Nicholas and his father, James, had emigrated from County Essex, England and were members of Rev. Thomas Hooker’s congregation, which settled, first in New Towne, now Cambridge, Massachusetts, and migrated in 1636 to the Connecticut River Valley and there founded the town of Hartford.

In the early town records of Hartford, CT the name of George Gates appears, in 1661, as chimney-viewer, elected to this office at a town meeting in February of that year. Chimney-viewer is the ancient name for a fire-inspector or marshall charged with the responsibility for periodically inspecting chimneys to see that the established regulations as to construction and safety were observed. The laws of the town required that all chimneys should be cleaned and inspected at stated intervals and that a barrel of water and a ladder should be kept in a convenient place near each home. A new settlement at Haddam was first considered in 1660 when the Connecticut General Assembly appointed a committee to survey the area and, if found suitable, to buy land there from the Indians. About two years later, on May 20, 1662, a deed from representatives of the Wangunk tribe was made, for a consideration of thirty coats, conveying lands lying along the Connecticut River, for a distance of about six miles and extending about six miles east and west from it. The soil in the middle Connecticut River Valley was much better than in most other parts of New England and settlers began occupying this land in 1662. Most of the twenty-eight original proprietors were from Hartford.

Parents have never been proven; but some list his father has Sir Thomas Gates - Captain & one of the 1st settlers of Jamestown Va.

Arrival Hartford, Connecticut Arrived with his older brother, Thomas, who died unmarried at a young age. George lived in Hartford from 1652 to 1662 in the home of Captain Nicholas Olmstead (his future father-in-law). Also one of the 1st settlers of East Haddam (across the river). Was 1 of the 1st members of the 1st church in E Haddam; son Thomas was 1st deacon.

Public Offices Haddam Middlesex Co Conn representative of Haddam in Gen Court 1668, attended ~50 General Assemblies; Town Clerk; Justice of Peace; often called upon to assist in probate matters - Magistrate; almost continually in public offices most of his life.

Had 8 children: Joseph 1662-1711, Captain Thomas 1664-1734 (also a deacon & justice of peace for 23 years), John 1688-1742 (a grandson was a surgeon in the Revolutionary War), Sarah 1670-1712, Mary 1674- 1742, George Jr 1677-1756, Daniel 1680-1761,

Military Haddam Middlesex Co Conn commanded the first military company in Haddam in 1688; was appointed Ensign in command of the 9th Company of the militia; in 1689, he was appointed lieutenant of the Haddam trainband; & in 1692, was commissioned captain. Pequot War & King Philip's War.

George & Sarah Olmstead Gates are buried in unmarked graves in Cove Burial Ground. As gravestones were expensive, many of the early settlers had no stones. The Cove graveyard in East Haddam was found to be necessary when ice in the river prevented crossing for burials on the Haddam side. Long in disuse, in 1901-04 it was cleared by the Nathan Hale Memorial Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. http://www.connecticutsar.org/sites/cemeteries/

GEORGE GATES AND SARAH OLMSTED 1. GEORGE GATES, born about 1634 in England, came to New England as a youth and settled in Hartford, Connecticut under the care of Captain Nicholas Olmsted of Hartford, Connecticut. According to tradition he came to this country with an older brother, Thomas, who died at an early age, unmarried. George lived in Hartford for eleven years, from about 1652 to 1662, and was reared among the parishioners of Thomas Hooker, the prominent Puritan leader, and he was an active member of the church throughout his entire life. George married, about 1660, SARAH OLMSTED, daughter of his sponsor and early employer, Captain Nicholas Olmsted (son of James) and his wife, Sarah Loomis, daughter of Joseph Loomis and his wife, Mary White. Nicholas Olmsted was a leading man in the town of Hartford. The Olmsteds,Nicholas and his father, James, had emigrated from County Essex, England and were members of Rev. Thomas Hooker’s congregation, which settled, first in New Towne, now Cambridge, Massachusetts, and migrated in 1636 to the Connecticut River Valley and there founded the town of Hartford.In the early town records of Hartford, CT the name of George Gates appears, in 1661, as chimney viewer, elected to this office at a town meeting in February of that year. Chimney-viewer is the ancient name for a fire-inspector or marshal charged with the responsibility for periodically inspecting chimneys to see that the established regulations as to construction and safety were observed. The laws of the town required that all chimneys should be cleaned and inspected at stated intervals and that a barrel of water and a ladder should be kept in a convenient place near each home.A new settlement at Haddam was first considered in 1660 when the Connecticut General Assembly appointed a committee to survey the area and, if found suitable, to buy land there from the Indians. About two years later, on May 20, 1662, a deed from representatives of the Wangunk tribe was made, for a consideration of thirty coats, conveying lands lying along the Connecticut River, for a distanceof about six miles and extending about six miles east and west from it. The soil in the middle Connecticut River Valley was much better than in most other parts of New England and settlers began occupying this land in 1662. Most of the twenty-eight original proprietors were from Hartford. The settlement was first called Thirty Mile Island, from the belief that this location was that distance from the sea, but the name Haddam, was adopted in 1668. At first, all of the settlers located in a series of adjacent lots on the west side of the Connecticut River. Each family had a home lot facing the river plus an additional lot to the west, on the other side of the common highway. George Gate’s home lot contained four acres and his western lot, five acres.George Gates was closely associated with the Haddam church from its inception. He was on the committee that authorized the establishment of a church, or “meeting house” as it was called, and he and Daniel Brainerd were chosen to go to New London to ask Mr. John James to be their minister. The first meetinghouse was only twenty-four by twenty-eight feet in size.For some time, the early residents of Haddam remained together on the west bank of the Connecticut River for their mutual defense against Indians. It was not until their numbers had increased that it was considered safe to divide their strength by occupying lands across the river. In 1671, it was voted that property on the east side of the river should be apportioned on the basis of twenty acres for every£100 of the estimated value of the inhabitants’ estates. George Gates and another were chosen to appraise the estates. After the appraisals were made, the settlers drew lots to establish the order of selection for the new lands and George drew second choice. Between 1670 and 1685, several Haddam families, including George Gates and his family, moved east of the river and built homes in what was first called Creek Row and later, East Haddam. Other early residents of Creek Row werethe Bates, Cone, Brainerd, Ackley, and Spencer families. The East Haddam residents remained members of the Haddam church and crossed the river forchurch services each Sunday. In 1697 George Gates, his eldest son Joseph Gates, and Samuel Olmsted petitioned the Connecticut General Assembly for permission to establish an ecclesiastical society separate from that of Haddam. This was in protest against the settling of Rev. Jeremiah Hobart as pastor of the Haddam church. George Gates appeared in court to plead his case, but he was unsuccessful, and the two groups of settlers remained as one religious society until shortly after 1700when those on the east side of the river were finally permitted to establish their own separate ecclesiastical society. The first meetinghouse in East Haddam, built in 1705 to accommodate the first few families, was only thirty-two square feet in size. In May 1734, Haddam was officially divided into two separate towns--Haddam and East Haddam--conforming to the separation of the religious societies. Until the separation of church and state in 1794, the churches served both as town meeting halls and as places of worship.For many years after the settlement of East Haddam, the people carried their dead across the river to Haddam for burial. About 1700, icy winter conditions made the river impassable and the first burial was made near a cove on the east side of the river. This became the Cove Burial Ground, later known as Grave Yard Point, where many early members of the Gates family were buried. George Gates was of great service to his community. Between 1668 and 1702, he attended at least fifty-two sessions of the Connecticut General Assembly as a representative for Haddam, from 1690 to 1698 was commissioner from that place, in 1698 was town clerk, and in 1701-4 was a Justice of the Peace for Hartford County.In 1688, he was appointed Ensign in command of the 9th Company of the militia. In 1689, he was appointed lieutenant of the Haddam trainband, and, in 1692, was commissioned captain, holding that position until October 14, 1697, when upon his own request, “in consideration of age and infirmities of body” he was “discharged of his Captainship.”Throughout his life, George Gates was frequently asked to assist in probate matters and he was called “magistrate.” The most prominent man of early Haddam, he and his descendants were town clerks for eighty-three years. He outlived all the other original Haddam settlers, dying November 12, 1724, at the age of ninety, with an estate of nearly 1500 pounds, a very large property at that time. Mrs. Sarah (Olmsted) Gates died, November 7, 1709, in East Haddam. She and her husband are buried in unmarked graves in Cove Burial Ground.SARAH3 OLMSTED (James1, Nicholas2), wife of George Gates, was born in 1641 in Hartford. Her grandfather, James Olmsted, son of James and Jane (Bristow) Olmsted, was baptized, December 4,1580 at Great Leighs, Essex County, England, and married there, October 26, 1605, Joyce Cornish, born about 1580 at Fairsted, Essex County, England, and buried there April 21, 1621. James Olmsted was a Puritan who, with his sons Nicholas and Nehemiah, and probably two nephews and a niece, sailed in the Lyon, Captain William Pierce, Master, and arrived at Boston, September 16, 1632, aftera voyage of twelve weeks. Fellow passengers on that voyage included Henry Adams, ancestor of two U.S. Presidents and Rev. John Eliot, “Apostle to the Indians.” The Olmsted family first settled at Mount Wollaston, later called Braintree, and now Quincy, Massachusetts, but within a year they moved to New Towne, now Cambridge, where with their neighbors they were known as “The Braintree Colony.” The land in Cambridge where James had his house lot later became the site of theHouse of the Harvard Presidents, now called Wadsworth House at Harvard University. James Olmsted was made a freeman there on November 6, 1632 and was elected constable on November 3, 1634.On February 3, 1634/5, he was one of seven men selected to transact the business of the town and one of five to survey the town lands. The Braintree Colony wrote to Reverend Thomas Hooker in Holland, urging him come over to be their pastor. Hooker, a Puritan and graduate of Queens College,Cambridge and Emmanuel College had been cited to appear in court for nonconformist preaching in England and had fled to Holland in 1630. He answered the call from America and came to New Towne in the fall of 1633. In the summer of 1634, James Olmsted was one of six men, called the “Adventurers” who were sentto examine the lands on the Connecticut River. They returned with favorable reports, and the Braintree Colony, led by the Reverend Thomas Hooker, made plans to relocate there. In 1636, Hooker led his congregation, young and old alike, with their livestock and provisions, about one hundred miles through the wilderness to reestablish their homes and their church in Hartford. James Olmsted was one of the original proprietors of Hartford, and his name appears on the Founder’s Monument in that city as well as on the Adventurer’s Boulder plaque dedicated to “the courageous Adventurers, who, inspired and directed by Thomas Hooker, journeyed through the wilderness from Newton (Cambridge) . . . to Suckiaug (Hartford)—October, 1635.” Olmsted’s name also appears on the list of the original members of the first church of Hartford. He died about September 28, 1640 and is believed to have been buried in the Ancient Burying Ground adjacent to the Center Church inHartford where his leader, Reverend Thomas Hooker, was buried after his death on July 7, 1647. At the time of James Olmsted’s death, Reverend Hooker said “he slept sweetly in the Lord, having carried himself graciously in his sickness.”Nicholas2 Olmsted (James1), baptized February 15, 1612 at Fairsted, Essex County, England, married first, Sarah2 Loomis (Joseph1) and, second, after 1667, Mary ______, widow of Dr. Thomas Lord. He emigrated with his father from England to Massachusetts, received land grants at New Towne, and later moved to Hartford where he spent the rest of his life. He served in the Pequot War in 1637 whenthe colonists defeated the Pequot Indian tribe that had attacked Wethersfield, killing nine men and taking two girls captive. He received a grant of land for his services and another, in 1673, probably as a bounty for other military activities. He was surveyor of highways in 1646 and 1647, townsman for the North side for nine years, deputy to the General Court in 1672 and 1673, and he became a freeman of Hartford before 1669. He served as corporal of the Hartford Troop of Horse in 1658 and was ensign of that troop from 1662 to 1673 when he was made a lieutenant. In 1675, he was in command of a troop of dragoons sent to defend Stonington and New London during King Phillip’s War, and in August of that year he was promoted to captain. His will, signed August 20, 1683, and proved November 25, 1684, left his property to his second wife and children. His daughter, Sarah (Olmsted) Gates, received forty shillings. Children of George and Sarah (Olmsted) Gates are:2. i. JOSEPH2 GATES, born November 7, 1662.3. ii. THOMAS GATES, born January 21, 1663/64.4. iii. JOHN GATES, born April 5, 1668.5. iv. SARAH GATES, born March 16, 1669/70.6. v. MARY GATES, born March 16, 1673/4.vi. GEORGE GATES, born August 16, 1677 in Haddam. His father provided for his care in a deed to Samuel, from which it appears he was concerned that he could not take care of himself. He probably never married. [1]7. vii. DANIEL GATES, born May 4, 1680.
8. viii. SAMUEL GATES, born November 8, 1681

---

Born in England, George was sent to America as a small boy to live with the family of Nicholas Olmstead. They lived in Hartford Conn. In 1660 he married Sarah, the daughter in the family with which he lived. In 1661 he was elected chimney viewer of Hartford. In 1662, he was one of a group of 29 men who purchased land along the Connecticut River and started the towns of Haddam and East Haddam, Conn. The site was purchased for 20 coats not exceeding $100 in value. The sellers were the Indians.

GEORGE GATES, born about 1634 in England, came to New England as a youth and settled in Hartford, Connecticut under the care of Captain Nicholas Olmsted/Olmstead of Hartford, Connecticut . According to tradition he came to this country with an older brother, Thomas, who died at an early age, unmarried. George lived in Hartford for eleven years, from about 1652 to 1662, and was reared among the parishioners of Thomas Hooker, the prominent Puritan leader, and he was an active member of the church throughout his entire life.

George married, about 1660, SARAH OLMSTED, daughter of his sponsor and early employer, Captain Nicholas Olmsted (James) and his wife, Sarah Loomis, daughter of Joseph Loomis and his wife, Mary White. Nicholas Olmsted was a leading man in the town of Hartford. The Olmsteds, Nicholas and his father, James, had emigrated from County Essex, England and were members of Rev. Thomas Hooker’s congregation, which settled, first in New Towne, now Cambridge, Massachusetts, and migrated in 1636 to the Connecticut River Valley and there founded the town of Hartford.

In the early town records of Hartford, CT the name of George Gates appears, in 1661, as chimney-viewer, elected to this office at a town meeting in February of that year. Chimney-viewer is the ancient name for a fire-inspector or marshall charged with the responsibility for periodically inspecting chimneys to see that the established regulations as to construction and safety were observed. The laws of the town required that all chimneys should be cleaned and inspected at stated intervals and that a barrel of water and a ladder should be kept in a convenient place near each home. A new settlement at Haddam was first considered in 1660 when the Connecticut General Assembly appointed a committee to survey the area and, if found suitable, to buy land there from the Indians. About two years later, on May 20, 1662, a deed from representatives of the Wangunk tribe was made, for a consideration of thirty coats, conveying lands lying along the Connecticut River, for a distance of about six miles and extending about six miles east and west from it. The soil in the middle Connecticut River Valley was much better than in most other parts of New England and settlers began occupying this land in 1662. Most of the twenty-eight original proprietors were from Hartford.

---

Born in England, George was sent to America as a small boy to live with the family of Nicholas Olmstead. They lived in Hartford Conn. In 1660 he married Sarah, the daughter in the family with which he lived. In 1661 he was elected chimney viewer of Hartford. In 1662, he was one of a group of 29 men who purchased land along the Connecticut River and started the towns of Haddam and East Haddam, Conn. The site was purchased for 20 coats not exceeding $100 in value. The sellers were the Indians.

GEORGE GATES, born about 1634 in England, came to New England as a youth and settled in Hartford, Connecticut under the care of Captain Nicholas Olmsted/Olmstead of Hartford, Connecticut . According to tradition he came to this country with an older brother, Thomas, who died at an early age, unmarried. George lived in Hartford for eleven years, from about 1652 to 1662, and was reared among the parishioners of Thomas Hooker, the prominent Puritan leader, and he was an active member of the church throughout his entire life.

George married, about 1660, SARAH OLMSTED, daughter of his sponsor and early employer, Captain Nicholas Olmsted (James) and his wife, Sarah Loomis, daughter of Joseph Loomis and his wife, Mary White. Nicholas Olmsted was a leading man in the town of Hartford. The Olmsteds, Nicholas and his father, James, had emigrated from County Essex, England and were members of Rev. Thomas Hooker’s congregation, which settled, first in New Towne, now Cambridge, Massachusetts, and migrated in 1636 to the Connecticut River Valley and there founded the town of Hartford.

In the early town records of Hartford, CT the name of George Gates appears, in 1661, as chimney-viewer, elected to this office at a town meeting in February of that year. Chimney-viewer is the ancient name for a fire-inspector or marshall charged with the responsibility for periodically inspecting chimneys to see that the established regulations as to construction and safety were observed. The laws of the town required that all chimneys should be cleaned and inspected at stated intervals and that a barrel of water and a ladder should be kept in a convenient place near each home. A new settlement at Haddam was first considered in 1660 when the Connecticut General Assembly appointed a committee to survey the area and, if found suitable, to buy land there from the Indians. About two years later, on May 20, 1662, a deed from representatives of the Wangunk tribe was made, for a consideration of thirty coats, conveying lands lying along the Connecticut River, for a distance of about six miles and extending about six miles east and west from it. The soil in the middle Connecticut River Valley was much better than in most other parts of New England and settlers began occupying this land in 1662. Most of the twenty-eight original proprietors were from Hartford.

---

Biography

George Gates was born about 1634 in England. He migrated to New England as a youth and settled in Hartford, Connecticut under the care of Captain Nicholas Olmsted of Hartford, Connecticut. According to tradition he traveled with an older brother, Thomas, who died at an early age, unmarried. George lived in Hartford for eleven years, from about 1652 to 1662, and was reared among the parishioners of Thomas Hooker, the prominent Puritan leader, and remained an active member of the church throughout his life.[1]

In about 1660, George married Sarah Olmsted, daughter of Capt. Nicholas Olmsted and Sarah Loomis. In the early town records of Hartford, CT the name of George Gates appears, in 1661, as chimney viewer, elected to this office at a town meeting in February of that year.[2]

A new settlement at Haddam was first considered in 1660 when the Connecticut General Assembly appointed a committee to survey the area and, if found suitable, to buy land there from the Indians. About two years later, on May 20, 1662, a deed from representatives of the Wangunk tribe was made, for a consideration of 30 coats, conveying lands lying along the Connecticut River, for a distance of about six miles and extending about six miles east and west from it. The soil in the middle Connecticut River Valley was much better than in most other parts of New England and settlers began occupying this land in 1662. Most of the 28 original proprietors were from Hartford. The new settlement was initially called Thirty Mile Island, from the belief that this location was 30 miles from the sea. The name Haddam was adopted in 1668. At first, all of the settlers located in a series of adjacent lots on the west side of the Connecticut River. Each family had a home lot facing the river plus an additional lot to the west, on the other side of the common highway. George Gates's home lot contained four acres and his western lot, five acres. [1]

George Gates was closely associated with the Haddam church from its inception. He was on the committee that authorized the establishment of a church, or "meeting house" as it was called, and he and Daniel Brainerd were chosen to go to New London to ask Mr. John James to be their minister. The first meeting house was only 24 by 28 feet in size. For some time, the early residents of Haddam remained together on the west bank of the Connecticut River for their mutual defense against Indians. It was not until their numbers had increased that it was considered safe to divide their strength by occupying lands across the river. In 1671, it was voted that property on the east side of the river should be apportioned on the basis of twenty acres for every £100 of the estimated value of the inhabitants' estates. George Gates and another were chosen to appraise the estates. After the appraisals were made, the settlers drew lots to establish the order of selection for the new lands and George drew second choice. Between 1670 and 1685, several Haddam families, including George Gates and his family, moved east of the river and built homes in what was first called Creek Row and later, East Haddam. Other early residents of Creek Row were the Bates, Cone, Brainerd, Ackley, and Spencer families.[3]

The East Haddam residents remained members of the Haddam church and crossed the river for church services each Sunday. In 1697 George Gates, his eldest son Joseph Gates, and Samuel Olmsted petitioned the Connecticut General Assembly for permission to establish an ecclesiastical society separate from that of Haddam. This was in protest against the settling of Rev. Jeremiah Hobart as pastor of the Haddam church. George Gates appeared in court to plead his case, but he was unsuccessful, and the two groups of settlers remained as one religious society until shortly after 1700 when those on the east side of the river were finally permitted to establish their own separate ecclesiastical society. The first meeting house in East Haddam, built in 1705 to accommodate the first few families, was only 32 square feet in size. In May 1734, Haddam was officially divided into two separate towns--Haddam and East Haddam--conforming to the separation of the religious societies. Until the separation of church and state in 1794, the churches served both as town meeting halls and as places of worship. For many years after the settlement of East Haddam, the people carried their dead across the river to Haddam for burial. About 1700, icy winter conditions made the river impassable and the first burial was made near a cove on the east side of the river. This became the Cove Burial Ground, later known as Grave Yard Point, where many early members of the Gates family were buried. [4]

George Gates represented his community in at least 52 sessions of the Connecticut General Assembly between 1668 and 1702. From 1690 to 1698 he was commissioner from Haddam, in 1698 he was town clerk, and in 1701-4 he was a Justice of the Peace for Hartford County. In 1688, he was appointed Ensign in command of the 9th Company of the militia. In 1689, he was appointed lieutenant of the Haddam train-band, and, in 1692, was commissioned captain, holding that position until October 14, 1697, when upon his own request, "in consideration of age and infirmities of body" he was "discharged of his Captainship." Throughout his life, George Gates was frequently asked to assist in probate matters and he was called "magistrate." The most prominent man of early Haddam, he and his descendants were town clerks for eighty-three years. He died November 12, 1724, at the age of 90, having outlived all the other original settlers of Haddam settlers. He left an estate of nearly 1500 pounds, a very large property for that time.[4]

Mrs. Sarah (Olmsted) Gates died, November 7, 1709, in East Haddam. She and her husband are buried in unmarked graves in Cove Burial Ground. [4]

Children

All born in Haddam, Middlesex, Connecticut:[5]

Joseph b 7 November 1662, d 18 Mar 1712 Capt Thomas b 21 January 1663/4, d 20 Apr 1734 John b 5 April 1668, d 4 Oct 1742 Sarah b 16 March 1669/70, d abt 1712 Mary b 16 March 1673/4, d 12 May 1742 George born 16 August 16, 1677. Deacon Daniel b 4 May 1680, d 24 Nov 1761 Samuel b 8 November 1681, d 31 Jul 1737