Thomas Orton - Research of Joann Saemann re: Thomas Orton (1613-1688)

http://josfamilyhistory.com/htm/nickel/griffin/sheldon/noble/dewey-... Researcher: Joann Saemann, Bountiful, Utah,

Genealogy of the Thomas Orton (b. 1613) family: "Most people of the name Orton in this country descend from THOMAS ORTON, born in England in 1613...The earliest settlement of the Connecticut Valley was begun in 1636 with the founding of Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield. He is recorded as a resident of Windsor, Connecticut, in 1641.There were two routes from Boston to these locales. One of them was to go overland, through the wilderness, which took about two to three weeks. The other was by sea, the sound, and the Connecticut River.

There evidently was another Thomas Orton in Charlestown, Massachusetts, in 1642, and various authors have confused the two, but, according to the Orton genealogy, they were certainly different men." This other Thomas' surname was often seen on documents as "Horton" and as far as this researcher knows, is not related to the Thomas Orton b. 1613 of Connecticut. One record indicates that Thomas Orton was in Windsor as early as 1636, but the church records of the town show that he was married there on June 16th, 1641, to MARGARET PRATT. The name as written in the marriage records looks like Paul or Pall, but since there were none there by that name, and there was a Pratt family, it is more than likely her name was Pratt.