Matthew Allyn, of Braunton & Windsor

Matthew Allyn

• Baptized: Apr 17 1605 - Braunton, Devon, , England
• Death: Feb 1 1670 Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut
• Parents: Richard Allen, Margaret Wyatt
• Married: Margaret Wyott Another name for Matthew Allyn was Matthew Allen

Children, born probably in England:

1. Hon. John;
2. Captain Thomas, mentioned below;
3. Mary, married June 11, 1646, Captain Benjamin Newberry.

Biography

Matthew was a man of high stature in the colony of Windsor, CT. He was made a freeman on 4 March 1635. He was a juror, deputy, assistant, magistrate and member of the congress of the United Colonies in 1660 and 1664. He willed all of his lands in Hartford to his son John Allyn. He lived in Charleston, MA in 1633; Cambridge in 1635; and Hartford, CT in 1637. In his own signature his name usually appears as Allyn though occasionally as Allen. In virtually all printed material and record books of the period it appears as Allen.

"...few men in the Colony (of Connecticut) had more influence, or received more honors from the people than Mr. Allyn."

Allyn: There were three immigrants by the name of Allyn, named Thomas, Samuel, and Matthew, brothers. They first came to Cambridge, Massachusetts, from Brampton, county Devon, England, and they are thought to have been the sons of Samuel Allyn, of Chelmsford, county Essex, England.

Matthew Allyn or Allyne, the immigrant ancestor of this branch of the family, came from Brampton, county Devon, England, with his brothers, Deacon Thomas and Samuel. If he was son of Samuel of Chelmsford, England, he was baptized in April, 1604. He came with the original Briantree company in 1632, to Charlestown, Massachusetts, where in 1633 he received forty-five acres in the division of lands at "the Common Pales," much the largest share of any settler, and he had an acre for his cow and three acres for planting ground "on the Neck."

In 1635 he received a grant, or purchased five acres at Wigwam Neck, six acres of meadow land near Watertown, and five acres at Charlestown lane. In 1635 he owned five houses on the town plot at Cambridge, where he was the largest landholder. He lived near the meeting house. He was made a freeman of Massachusetts, March 4, 1635, and was a representative at the general court, March session, in 1636.

He moved to Hartford probably in 1637, and was an original proprietor there, having his house lot on the road to the Neck, now on Windsor street. He owned one hundred and ten acres of land there and built the first mill at Hartford, at the foot of what is now West Pearl street. In May, 1638, he was lodging with Roger Williams, and in 1640 was a proprietor of Windsor. He owned large amounts of land in Killingworth and Simsbury, Connecticut.

He was a member of Rev. Mr. Hooker's church at Hartford, but was excommunicated, doubtless for a doctrinal difference. On June 3, 1644, he appealed to the general court for redress, but the records do not show how the affair was settled, and the trouble may been the cause of his removal to Windsor, where in 1638 he had purchased all the lands, "houses, servants, goods, and chattels" of the New Plymouth Company. This purchase took away the last right Plymouth had on the Connecticut river. His homestead at Windsor was near the company's old trading house.

Soon after his removal to Windsor he set up a claim, that, since he had purchased his land from Plymouth, Connecticut had no right to tax his property in Windsor, and a committee decided that he should pay taxes only to Connecticut.

He was representative to the general court every year except 1653, from 1648 to 1658 inclusive, and from 1657 to 1667 inclusive he was a magistrate of the colony. In 1660-64 he was commissioner for the United Colonies of New England. In 1649, when the general court decided to begin hostilities against the Indians, Mr. Allyn was first of three deputies chosen to raise troops.

In 1657 he and Joseph Gilbert were appointed to announce to the Indians at Pacomtuck the decision of the commissioners. In 1659 he and his son John were on the committee for dividing Indian lands at Podunk. In 1660, when the governor and the deputy governor were choosing commissioners for 1661, he was chosen as a reserve, and also to act as moderator in their absence. In 1661 he was moderator and on the committee to petition for the charter, in which he was named one of the grantees, when it was granted to Connecticut by Charles II.

In 1662 he was moderator and chairman to treat with New Haven to consider a union in 1662-63. In October, 1663, he was chairman of a committee to treat with the Dutch envoys from New Amsterdam, and with Mr. Willis he was chosen to settle the government of the English towns on the West end of Long Island.

In 1664 the committee of the government of the towns was renewed with more members with authority to establish courts, etc. Also, in 1664, he was on the committee to settle bounds between "the Bay" and Rhode Island, and the south bounds; also, with three others he was "desired to accompany the Gov. to N. Y. to congratulate His Majesty's commissioners."

In 1665, when the Connecticut and New Haven colonies were united, he and his son, Lieutenant John, were chosen assistants, and again in 1666, when he was moderator, and in 1667. In 1666 they were both on the committee having the authority to levy troops, etc., in case of war. The Killingworth land records name him as a large landowner and first settler, though he probably never lived there.

Hon. Matthew Allyn was one of the most prominent men in the colony, as can be seen from his many offices of trust. Hinman says, "Few men had more influence, or received more honors fom the people, than Mr. Allyn." There are many evidences that he was always respected highly in Hartford, despite the fact that he was excommunicated from the church, and Mr. Hinman seems to hint that the Hartford church encouraged him to move because of his "influence with the settlers."

In 1638 when there was again trouble in Hartford church, he was chairman of the committee of the general court to conduct a correspondence on the subject.

He died February 1, 1670-71, and his will dated January 30, 1670-71, makes his wife executrix, giving her the use of the estate; to his son John he left his Killingworth lands, confirming to him those lands in Hartford which he had already given him. He had already deeded his house in Windsor to his son Thomas, subject to life use by himself and his wife, and he gave him also a large estate. "Old Mrs. Allyn," probably his mother, was admitted to the Windsor church August 5, 1649, and "Old Mr. Allyn," died September 12, 1675.

family notes

From Find A Grave Memorial# 36041339 by Linda Mac:

• Baptized Braunton, Devonshire, 17 April 1605, son of Richard and Margaret (Wyott) Allen.
• Married at Braunton, Devonshire, 2 February 1626/7, "Mris. Margret Wyot;" admitted to Windsor church 5 August 1649 (and she had probably also been a member of the Cambridge/Hartford church); died Windsor 12 September 1675.
• Brother of Thomas Allyn of Barnstable, Plymouth Colony, as may be seen by following carefully the many entries for both Matthew and Thomas in Lechford, especially p. 418 which explicitly links the Barnstable man with Braunton in Devonshire. (Matthew Allyn's extensive litigation of 1650 was with his brother Thomas Allyn of Barnstable, and not with Thomas Allen of Wethersfield.)
• Thomas Allen of Wethersfield was a different man and not related to this family,
• nor was Samuel Allen of Windsor any relation [ Hale, House 447-48].
• Matthew Allyn was in some way related to WILLIAM SPENCER of Cambridge and Hartford, or, more probably, to his wife, Agnes Harris. 

notes

Matthew first appears on a grant of land in Cambridge in 1633. He was excommunicated by the Church in Hartford in 1644.

Educated in Watertown, Middlesex, MA in the 1630's. He is listed on the Monument located in the Ancient Burying Ground of Hartford, CT dedicated to the "First Settlers of Hartford." It was erected by the Descendants of the Founders of Hartford in A.D. 1986 to Commemorate the 350th Anniversary of the City, replacing an older stone.

Charter of Connecticut 1662 mentions him:

CHARLES the Second, by the Grace of GOD, KING of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c. To all to whom these Presents shall come, Greeting.
Whereas by the several Navigations, Discoveries, and Successful Plantations of divers of Our loving Subjects of this Our Realm of England, several lands, Islands, Places, Colonies, and Plantations have been obtained and settled in that Part of the Continent of America called New-England, and thereby the Trade and Commerce there, hath been of late Years much increased: And whereas We have been informed by the hirable Petition of our Trusty and Well beloved John Winthrop, John Mason, Samuel Wyllys, Henry Clarke, Matthew Allyn.....

Matthew Allyn's first appearance in New England was in the grant of land in Cambridge on 4 November 1633 to seven men, of whom three others (JOHN HAYNES, THOMAS HOOKER and SAMUEL STONE) are known to have arrived 4 September 1633 on the Griffin.

Matthew Allyn seems out of place in Cambridge, as all others who arrived at about this time were from East Anglia; based on his English origin, one would expect Allyn to have resided first in Dorchester. This unusual residence for Allyn is probably tied up in some way with his relationship with WILLIAM SPENCER.

Besides being a man who was highly respected and who served society well, Matthew Allyn was a highly contentious man. He had lengthy legal disputes with his brother, and not long after he left Massachusetts he was wanted for "debt and damage" he had left behind [7 October 1641: "It is ordered, that a letter shal be sent to Mr. Haynes & the rest of the magistrates at Connectecot, to send back the prisoner Mathewe Alleyn, or satisfy the debt & damage"]. Further evidence of his litigiousness may be found throughout the Connecticut court records.

[Hatte Blejer April 2011]

From http://www.foundersofhartford.org/founders/allyn_matthew.htm

Matthew Allyn,1 Cambridge, 1632; he came from Brampton, Co. Devon; freeman, Mass., March 4, 1635; representative at March General Court, 1636; removed probably next year to Hartford, where he was an original proprietor; his house-lot was on the road to the Neck, now Windsor St., and he owned 110 acres in that and other lots. He was excommunicated by the church in Hartford, and June 3, 1644, he appealed to the General Court for redress; the records do not show how the affair was settled, but it may have been one cause of his removal to Windsor. Nevertheless few men in the Colony had more influence, or received more honors from the people than Mr. Allyn. He was Deputy from Windsor, 1648 to 1657; Assistant, 1658 to 1667; commissioner for the United Colonies, 1660 and 1664; frequently appointed upon important committees by the General Court. He d. Feb. 1, 1670-1; his wife, Margaret, was the sole executrix of his will, dated Jan. 30, 1670-1. Inv. £466. 18. - Ch.: i. John, m. (1) Nov. 19, 1651, Ann, dau. of Henry Smith, of Springfield, and gr.-dau. of William Pynchon; his father gave him his lands in Hartford, Jan. 3, 1653, for a marriage portion; townsman, 1655; was chosen cornet of the troop, March, 1657-8; town clerk of Hartford, 1659-1696; deputy, 1661 ; magistrate, 1662 and many following sessions; Secretary of the Colony, 1663-1665; again elected 1667, and held the office until 1695; he was chosen, with Samuel Wyllys and John Talcott, by the freemen of the Colony, Oct. 9, 1662, to take the Charter into their custody for safe-keeping. He m. (2) after 1675, Hannah, widow of Samuel Welles, of Hartford, and dau. of George Lamberton, of New Haven. He d. Nov. 11, 1696, according to 'town Record. “Here lies interred the body of the Honourable Lt. Col. John Allyn, who served His Generation in the Capacity of a Magistrate, Secretary of the Colony of Connecticut, 34 years, who dyed Nov. 6, in the year 1696.”2 The ancient records of the Colony and Town furnish ample evidence of his intelligence and industry."3 ii. Capt. Thomas, settled in Windsor, where his father gave him land and a house, at the time of his marriage, Oct. 21, 1658, to Abigail, dau. of Rev. John Warham; d. Feb. 14, 1695-6. iii. Mary, m. June 11, 1646, Capt. Benjamin Newberry, of Windsor; d. Dec. 14, 1703.

1. Lechford's Note-Book, p. 416: “Matthew Allen of Hartford upon the river of Connecticut merchant otherwise called Matherum Allen, nup. de Brampton in Com. Devon, infra Reg. Anglie summoned to answer Thomas Harwood & James Gamon of Barnstable, Co. Devon; his brothers, Thomas Allen of Barnstable in N. E. k Richard Allen, yeoman, of Brampton, are mentioned also.”-p. 418.
2. Tombstone in old burying-ground.
3. Hinman, p. 36.

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References

1. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register,: Volume 51 1897, Volume 51. Page 212-214
2. http://awt.ancestrylibrary.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=flakey&id=...
3. http://www.foundersofhartford.org/founders/allyn_matthew.htm