Thomas Upson, of Farmington

Thomas Upson. Probably born in England. Died July 19, 1655, Farmington, Connecticut.

Parents unknown.

Possibly married (1) (???), in England.

Married (2) January 23, 1646, Hartford, Connecticut, Elizabeth Fuller. She married (2) Edmund Scott.

Children, possibly by first wife, birthplace unknown:

1. Mary, 'eldest daughter'; m. John Welton;

2. Thomas, 'eldest son'; d. Dec. 9, 1672, Saybrook; unm;

Children, by second wife, born Farmington:

3. Hannah, m. Sergeant Samuel Hickox;

4. Elizabeth, d. July 20, 1655, Farmington;

5. Stephen, b. about 1650; m. Mary Lee.

Charts

Virginia Wayne

    Thomas Upson was born at England.1 He died on 19 July 1655 at Farmington, Hartford County, Connecticut.1,2 He was buried in July 1655 at Memento Mori Cemetery, Farmington, Hartford County, Connecticut,, and his stone reads: A Memorial to THOMAS UPSON founder of the Upson Family in America who settled in Hartford Connecticut in 1638, A proprietor of Farmington Connecticut in 1640 where he died July 19 1655.3

Children of Thomas Upson

o Mary Upson d. 18 Oct 1716

o Thomas Upson d. 9 Dec 1672

Children of Thomas Upson

o Hannah Upson+ b. c 1648, d. 1705

o Elizabeth Upson d. 20 Jul 1655

o Stephen Upson b. c 1650, d. 1735

Notes:

Savage's Genealogical Dictionary states that some of Thomas Upson's children were certainly born in England. What was evidently his second marriage is recorded as follows: "Thomas Upsunn was maryed to Elisibeth Fuller Jenneuary the twenty and three, one thousand six hundred forty and six." The name of the port from which he sailed, the name of his first wife and the record of the births of his children have not been discovered, after much research.

Thomas Upson. Probably born in England. Died July 19, 1655, Farmington, Connecticut. Possibly married (1) (???), in England. Married (2) January 23, 1646, Hartford, Connecticut, Elizabeth Fuller. She married (2) Edmund Scott. Children, possibly by first wife, birthplace unknown: Mary, 'eldest daughter'; m. John Welton; Thomas, 'eldest son'; d. Dec. 9, 1672, Saybrook; unm; Children, by second wife, born Farmington: Hannah, m. Sergeant Samuel Hickox; Elizabeth, d. July 20, 1655, Farmington; Stephen, b. about 1650; m. Mary Lee.

Sources:

The Upson Family Association of America. The Upson Family in America (New Haven, CT: Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, 1940).

avail online: http://www.rumblefische.com/ancestors/sources_S592.html

Biographical Summary:

Thomas Upson, Hartford, 1639, one of the inhabitants who received land "by the courtesie of the town;" his home-lot in 1639 was on the west side of the present Albany Avenue. He removed very early to Farmington, where he was an original proprietor; he married in Hartford, Jan. 23, 1646-7, Elizabeth Fuller, who was a second wife. He died July 19, 1655. Inventory £108. 8. His widow married (2) Edmund Scott, of Farmington.

SOURCE: James Hammond Trumbull, editor, The memorial history of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884, Volume 1 (Boston, Massachusetts: Edward L. Osgood, 1886), page 264. Retrieved: 3 May 2011 from Google Books

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http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=9901768

More:

Thomas Upson of Hartford, Connecticut was in America at an early date. He is believed to have been born about 1625 in England. It is believed that Thomas married in England 1st and they had two children. His first wife may have died giving birth to their daughter, Mary. On the 23 of January 1646 Thomas Upson married 2nd Elizabeth Fuller in Hartford. Elizabeth Fuller was born in Fairstead, Essex County, England 1624 or 26. This family later moved to Farmington, Connecticut.

It is likely that Thomas was the brother of Stephen Upson, who came to Boston aboard the ship, "Increase" on 15 April 1635. Robert Lea mastered the Increase. These passengers had to swear allegiance to England and the Church of England. Stephen Upson was 23 years of age and was listed as a "sawyer". Thomas Upson died 19 Jul 1655.

Thomas Upson's children were:

Thomas Upson b. 1639 d. 1672

Mary Upson b. 1645 d. 1716

Hannah Upson b. 1646
she married Samuel Hickox

Elizabeth Upson b. 1650 d. 1655

Stephen Upson b. 1655 d. 1735

(probably others)

There was a large group of the Upson name in Waterbury, Connecticut at an early date.

Source: UPSON, Genealogy.com

https://familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/25839012

ICHARD UPSON (1588-1635)
MRS. UNKNOWN UPSON

RICHARD UPSON was born about 1588 in England.  He married to unknown wife.  He died at Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1635.

Child of Richard and Mrs. Upson:

1.Thomas Upson was born in Stonham, Aspal, Suffolk, England in about 1617 to Richard Upson (1588-1635; born in England and died in Plymouth, Massachusetts) and unknown mother. He was the founder of the Upson family in American. He married in England, Mary. She either died or stayed in England. He sailed from London, England, in the good ship Increase landing in Boston in 1635 or 1638, and who afterward removed to Hartford, Connecticut. He married (2) *Elizabeth Fuller 20, January 1647. Died of small pox or fever 19 July 1655, age 48. His daughter, Elizabeth, died the next day. +

2. THOMAS UPSON (1617-1655) ELIZABETH FULLER (1626-1690)

THOMAS UPSON was born in Stonham, Aspal, Suffolk, England in about 1617 to Richard Upson (1588-1635; born in England and died in Plymouth, Massachusetts) and unknown mother.  He was the founder of the Upson family in American. He sailed from London, England, in the good ship Increase landing in Saybrook, Connecticut, with his son Thomas Upson Jr., 1635 or 1638, and who afterward removed to Hartford, Connecticut. 

The name of his first wife and his children’s birth records have never been discovered. Savage’s Genealogical Dictionary states that some of his children were certainly born in England. He left his wife and daughter, Mary, in England, when he sailed to America in 1635 or 1638 with his son, Thomas Upson, Jr. They landed at Saybrook, Connecticut. Thomas was one of 163 listed in the Book of Distribution of Land in Hartford, having settled in Hartford before February 1640.

Thomas’s name appears in “ye Towne Book of Hartford” on the 3rd of January 1639, as one of those “who received land by courtesy of the town with liberty to fetch wood and keep swine and cows by proportion on the Common.” In February of 1639 he owned “several parcells of land in Hartford upon ye river of Connecticut.” His home stood on the Main Highway on the property later owned by the Porter School.

In Particular Court Records of Connecticut (vol. 22), it reads: “Hartford, August 1, 1639, Fined for unseasonable and immoderate drinking at the ‘Pinnace’ [a boat then anchored in the river or at the town wharf in Hartford,] Thomas Upson, 20 shillings.” In these early days intemperance was a prevailing vice, social drinking was universal and even countenanced by the ministry.

In 1640 the Tunxis Indians conveyed land to the English which included Farmington. Immediately Thomas sold his Hartford lands and removed from his property to Tunxis, and he became an original proprietor of the town, later called Farmington. For some time the new settlers continued to attend the First Church of Christ in Hartford.

We know that Thomas Upson married, as his second wife, Elizabeth Fuller, early in 1647 by the following record: “Thomas Upsunn was maryed to Elisibeth Fuller Jenneuary the twenty and three, one thousand six hundred forty and six.” The marriage date was actually in 1647, due to the earlier form of calendar dating.

In a list of members of the First Church at Hartford, the date of the death of Thomas Upson is entered as 1665 instead of 1655. But he did die in Farmington on 19 July 1655, his age not given. The fever and smallpox epidemic that swept through New England in 1655 took so many. (He was age 55.) His daughter Elizabeth died the day after he did. Because of the young age of the Upson children, it was many years before the estate was settled.

His wife Elizabeth, remarried (Edmund Scott, the children called him “Father Scott.”) The Court ordered a distribution of the estate on 7 September 1671, in the amount of 7 pounds to the eldest son, Thomas; 5 pounds to Stephen; 4 pounds to the eldest daughter, Mary; and 4 pounds to Hannah Upson Hickox. On 20 September 1680, Hannah’s brother Stephen discharged “Father Scott” of both his portion and that of their deceased brother, Thomas, who had died in December 1672. In June and April of 1681, the husbands of both Mary (John Welton) and Hannah (Samuel Hickox) discharged the “Father Scott” (the girls’ step-father) “on account of Father Upson’s Estate.” So, in effect the Upson children forewent their inheritances.

First Church of Hartford in Upson’s Day.

Sept: 6th: 1655 Tho: Upsuns of ffarmington his Inventory: The Invitory of thomas Upsuns Goodes and Chattells of fermington now deceased & dyed inteasstate. Description£ - s. - d. His house, Orchard & other Land20 - 00 - 00 Two Cowes09 - 00 - 00 Two Hifers04 - 00 - 00 one yock of oxen16 - 00 - 00 Two Mares30 - 00 - 00 Two Callves01 - 15 - 00 for Swine06 - 00 - 00 for bedding & linen03 - 10 - 00 for Thre keettells & one pott02 - 00 - 00 for pewter & Tinn00 - 16 - 00 a frying pan00 - 05 - 00 a wheel00 - 05 - 00 for plow Iron Chaynes & Sithes02 - 13 - 00 for one payer of wheels01 - 00 - 00 for Bees03 - 00 - 00 one musket00 - 16 - 00 For Corne06 - 00 - 00 Sum is —£ 108-08-00 Debts due from the estate068-16-16 Debts wh appeare since 3: 12: 8039-11-06 The court 17 Jany: (55) orders ye widow to administer the Estate and they doe at the request of ye widow desire Tho: Judd & Steph: Harte Senior to bee Assistant to the widdow in ye (settling?) The Estate for the good of shee & her children & payment of the Debts.(Signed) Stephen Hart Thomas (mark) Newell John (mark) Coles John Harte

Thomas Upson died 19 July 1655, in Farmington, Hartford, Connecticut, from a fever or small pox. His daughter Elizabeth died the next day of the same illness.

A memorial to the founds of Hartford, Connecticut reads as follows: “Thomas Upson founder of the Upson Family in America who settled in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1638, a proprietor of Farmington, Connecticut in 1640 where he died.”

Founder’s Monument, Thomas Upson Headstone Hartford, Connecticut (1600-1655) Thomas Upson (1600-1655)

ELIZABETH FULLER was born 4 April 1626 in Fairstead, Essex, England, to unknown parents. (She is not the “Elizabeth Fuller” who is a descendant of Edward Fuller of the Mayflower.) She arrived in Hartford in 1646. She married (1) *Thomas Upson, 23 January 1646 in Hartford, Connecticut.  She married (2) Edmund Scott.  

In a court dated 21 August 1646, Elizabeth Fuller was sentenced to be severely corrected for an offense against morality. This was probably due to her first child, Hannah, being born illegitimately. This is not mentioned by the Upson Genealogy.

Elizabeth died 20 July 1690, in Farmington, Hartford, Connecticut, at the age of 64. (Sometimes the death date is listed the same as her daughter Elizabeth Upson’s death date—20 July 1655, which is wrong. Elizabeth Fuller Upson married Edmund Scott after her husband, Thomas Upon, died.)

Children of Thomas Upson and his first wife:

1.Mary, eldest daughter, was married in 1667 to John Welton of Wales while crossing the Atlantic. Upon reaching this country, they were in Saybrook, and in 1672 removed to Farmington where John was one of the proprietors of that town. They had 12 children. Mary died at Waterbury on 18 October 1716; and John on 18 June 1726. 2.Thomas Upson, eldest son, removed to Saybrook. The town records show what he died unmarried at Saybrook, when, on 9 December 1672, he was “killed by an ox-cart going over his head.”

• Children of Thomas Upson and Elizabeth Fuller:

1.Hannah Upson was born about 1647, in Farmington, Hartford, Connecticut, daughter of Thomas Upson (1617-1655) and Elizabeth Fuller (1626-1690.) She married Sergeant Samuel Hickox, 25 October 1644. She died 20 July 1707, at Waterbury, New Haven, Connecticut, at about age 60. 2.Elizabeth Upson, b. 1650; d. 20 July 1655 as a child, the day after her father died with the same fever. 3.Stephen Upson, b. about 1650 in Farmington. He married 29 Dec 1682 Mary Lee. Stephen was 5 when his father died. His older brother died in 1672 when he was 22, and he inherited his estate. Stephen became the only lineal descendant to carry on the Upson name. He died 5 November 1735 in Waterbury, New Haven, Connecticut.

Source: http://josfamilyhistory.com/htm/hopkins/bronson/bronson-upson.htm

Little is known of the first generation of the Upson family, though much research of the early records of Massachusetts and Connecticut has been performed by family historians. Because his eldest daughter married a Welshman, there is a tradition in one branch of the family that Thomas Upson was a Welshman. It is more probable that he came from England because he was closely associated with men from that country, added to which, the frequent occurrence of the name Upson in England show that this name was a common one there centuries ago.

The name of THOMAS UPSON's first wife and his children's birth records have never been discovered. Savage's Genealogical Dictionary states that some of his children were certainly born in England. He left his wife and daughter, Mary, in England, when he sailed to America in 1638 with his son, Thomas Upson, Jr. They landed at Saybrook, Connecticut.

From Saybrook, the family made its way to Hartford, Connecticut, at the time when the Rev. Thomas Hooker preached his famous sermon which resulted in the adoption of the Fundamental Orders.

Thomas did not make the historic journey with the Rev. Thomas Hooker from Newtown, Massachusetts to Hartford. So when the Hartford citizens erected the first monument to the original settlers, Thomas's name wasn't on it.

Three hundred years later, the city of Hartford voted to honor as Founders all "the men who received land by the courtesy of the town." Thomas was one of 163 listed in the Book of Distribution of Land, having settled in Hartford before February 1640.

When the original monument deteriorated beyond repair, a replacement was rebuilt and Thomas Upson's name was added. The monument sits in Hartford's Ancient Burying Ground. His name is the 21st on the left side.

All Thomas Upson descendants are eligible to be members of the Society of the Descendants of the Founders of Hartford. http://www.foundersofhartford.org/index.htm

Land was one of the most important necessities of the early settlers. Thomas's name appears in "ye Towne Book of Hartford" on the 3rd of January 1639, as one of those "who received land by courtesy of the town with liberty to fetch wood and keep swine and cows by proportion on the Common." His home-lot in 1639 was on the west side of the present Albany Avenue.

Hartford Land Distribution (pg. 41), shows that in February of 1639, Thomas Upson owned "several parcells of land in Hartford upon ye river of Connecticut, including:

   one parcell lyinge on the west field containing by estimacon two roods (more or less) wherof two roods was given for a house lott abbuttinge upon the Cow Pasture on the north and on Thomas Barns his land on the east and on the highway leading from the Cow Pasture to Mr. Allen's land on West.

One parcell lyinge on the East side of the Great River containing by estimacon four acres more or less abbuttinge upon the great river on the west and on the land now common on the East and on Nicholas Guerny's land on the south and on John Purchase land on the North.
One parcell lying on the Cow Pasture containing by estimacon four acres, two rodds and 16 inches more or less abbuttinge on the little River on the West and on a highway on the East and on William Killfear's land on the South and on the widow bettses land on the North."
His home stood on the Main Highway on the property later owned by the Porter School. The Farmington, Connecticut, land records also disclose that he owned a tract of land on the Main Highway north of the present Porter Road, near where the Farmington Bank now stands. It's unknown if this piece of land is one of the three mentioned above from the book of land distribution. There are numerous land records that mention Thomas Upson as being bordering neighbors.

In Particular Court Records of Connecticut (vol. 22), "Hartford, August 1, 1639, Fined for unseasonable and immoderate drinking at the Pinnace, Thomas Upson, 20 shillings." The President of Yale College, Noah Porter, wrote in the mid-19th century: "In these early days intemperance was a prevailing vice, social drinking was universal and even countenanced by the ministry."

In 1640, Hartford land records show a conveyance of land by the Tunxis Indians to the English which included what became many great New England towns, including Farmington. At the time, the village was called Tunxis. Immediately Thomas sold his Hartford lands to William Disbrow and William Goodwin and removed from his property to Tunxis, and he became an original Proprietor of the town, later called Farmington.

For some time the new settlers continued to attend the First Church of Christ in Hartford.

The "Ould Town Book," in which the records of early Farmington Town Meetings were kept, was passed from hand to hand as clerks were elected. It finally fell to pieces, so no record of the first forty years exists today. The few items in Savage's Genealogical Dictionary of New England, Colonial Records, and the Land Records of Farmington, and the inventory and distribution of his estate are all we have with which to frame the life of Thomas Upson.

In a court dated August 21, 1646, Elizabeth Fuller was sentenced to be severely corrected for an offense against morality. This was probably due to her first child, Hannah, being born illegitimately. This is not mentioned by the Upson Genealogy.

We know that Thomas Upson married, as his second wife, ELIZABETH FULLER early in 1647 by the following record:

   "Thomas Upsunn was maryed to Elisibeth Fuller Jenneuary the twenty and three, one thousand six hundred forty and six."

The marriage date was actually in 1647, due to the earlier form of calendar dating.

In a list of members of the First Church at Hartford, the date of the death of Thomas Upson is entered as 1665 instead of 1655. But he did die in Farmington on 19 July 1655, his age not given. The fever and smallpox epidemic that swept through New England in 1655 took so many. His daughter Elizabeth died the day after he did.

The value of Thomas Upson's estate was £108. 8 [see below].

The widow, Elizabeth Upson remarried, Edmund Scott of Farmington, possibly in 1690/91. After a few years, the Scotts moved to Waterbury where they all remained until 1732, when the sons of Stephen, Thomas and John, "crossed the muntain" and settled in Southington.

Source: http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&d... id=I0391

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