Thomas Willett: Difference between revisions

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Willett's parents and siblings were evidently left behind when he emigrated to Plymouth in 1629. His family life thereafter centered around that of his wife's family. Willett married Mary, daughter of John Browne (Sr.)<ref>[https://archive.org/details/johnbrownegentle00brow/page/n4/mode/1up Brown, George Tilden (1919). ''John Browne, Gentleman of Plymouth.'' Providence: Remington Press.]</ref>, a leading citizen of the Plymouth Colony, and Browne's wife, Dorothy, in 1636. He moved with the Brown(e) family from Plymouth westward, originally to the Taunton area by the 1650s, and later to the eastern shores of [[Narragansett Bay]] to Wannamoisett, near present-day Barrington, Rhode Island. Willett had substantial business dealings with Browne (Sr.) and later increasingly, especially between 1656 and 1660 when Browne (Sr.) is believed to have been in England<ref>[https://archive.org/details/johnbrownegentle00brow/page/19/mode/1up Brown, p 19.]</ref>, with Browne's two sons, John (Jr.) and James. Another family connection was with Willett's early co-worker in the fur trade, [[John Howland]]. Howland's daughter, Lydia, married James Browne and Howland's widow, [[Elizabeth Tilley|Elizabeth]], was living with James and Lydia Broowne's family when she died. Both John Browne (Sr.) and John Browne (Jr.) died in 1662, the son ten days before the father.
 
The children of Thomas and Mary Willet, as compiled from several sources, were<ref>[https://www.colonialsociety.org/node/58#paper-p358 Saffin, John. ''Personal Manuscript.'' (As reported by Abner C. Goodell, Jr.), Colonial Society of Massachusetts '''I''': Transactions (1892-1894), (April 1894), (58): 358-60.]</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/newenglandhisto11unkngoog/page/n390/mode/1up?view=theater "The Willet Family".] ''New England Historical and Genealogical Register''. Boston: Samuel G. Drake. '''II''' (October 1848):
''New England Historical and Genealogical Register''. Boston: Samuel G. Drake. '''II''' (October 1848):
376. 1848.</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/johnbrownegentle00brow/page/27/mode/1up Brown, pp. 27-8.]</ref><ref>[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/54940423/mary-willett Find a Grave Memorial: Mary Willett]</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/genealogicaldict00aust/page/428/mode/1up Austin, p. 428]</ref>:
 
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*Rebecca, b. December 2, 1644, d. April 2, 1652.
*Thomas, b. October 1, 1646, d. before 1671(?).
*Hester, b. July 6, 16471648, d. July 26, 1737<ref>[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/209866308/esther-flint Find a Grave Memorial: Esther Flint]</ref>, married Rev. Josiah Flint.
*James, b. November 24, 1649, married Elizabeth Hunt (daughter of Peter Hunt) in 1673, remarried Grace Frinck in 1677.
*Hezekiah, b. June 20, 1651, d. July 26, 1651.
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(?) Sons John, Thomas, and David are not mentioned in Willett's will which calls James the "eldest son"<ref>[https://archive.org/details/newenglandhistor1907wate/page/159/mode/1up Burgess, p. 159 (Will of Thomas Willett).]</ref>.
 
There is disagreement over Thomas Willett's date and place of birth. The ''Dictionary of National Biography''<ref>[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnati61stepuoft/page/292/mode/1up Stephen, Leslie, Sir (1900-5). "Willett, Thomas". ''Dictionary of National Biography''. New York: Macmillan. '''LXI''': 292.]</ref> states that he was born in England in 1605. Willett's will, dated April 26, 1671, says he was then "being going in the sixty-fourth year of my age"<ref>[https://archive.org/details/newenglandhistor1907wate/page/159/mode/1up Burgess, p. 159 (Will of Thomas Willett).]</ref> (i.e., he was 63 years old, born between April 27, 1607, and April 27, 1608, prior to the migration to the Netherlands later in 1608<ref>Bradford (for year 1608), pp. 11-5.</ref><ref>Bunker, pp. 188-201.</ref> which included those who later became the Leyden congregation). His original gravestone also stated that he died "in the 64th year of his age" in 1674<ref>[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8890542/thomas-willett Find a Grave Memorial: Thomas Willett, Sr.]</ref> (i.e., he was born in 1610 or 1611)<ref>[https://archive.org/details/newenglandhistor1907wate/page/158/mode/1up Burgess, p. 159.]</ref> and this is in agreement with the range given in Dexter's listing for the Willet family in Holland<ref>[https://archive.org/details/englandhollandof00dextuoft/page/639/mode/1up Dexter, p. 639.]</ref>. The respective merits of these opinions are discussed by Burgess<ref>[https://archive.org/details/newenglandhistor1907wate/page/158/mode/1up Burgess, pp. 158-9.]</ref>. Willet died August 4, 1674, and was buried in the [[Little Neck Cemetery]] at Bullock's Cove, Riverside area of East Providence, Rhode Island<ref>[https://archive.org/details/johnbrownegentle00brow/page/26/mode/1up Brown, p. 26.]</ref>.
 
Mary Willett, the first wife of Thomas, died on January 8, 1669, at about 55 years old<ref>[https://archive.org/details/johnbrownegentle00brow/page/26/mode/1up Brown, p. 26.]</ref> making her birthdate about 1614, almost certainly in England. Her grave is next to that of Thomas Willett. Little mention is found of her in the records; what is there includes her marriage to Thomas on July 6, 1636<ref>[https://archive.org/details/recordsofcolonyo0102newp/page/n64/mode/1up Shurtleff, '''I''' (July 6, 1636): 43.]</ref>, and she is also mentioned in connection with her father's will which was hastily written while he was ill in the short period between his son's death and his own. The will of John Browne (Sr.) made scant reference to his daughter, Mary, no significant bequest to her, and none at all to her offspring. Browne's objective may have been to leave his property to the relatively more needy members of his family rather than to those of Mary's branch, as she was married to one of the wealthiest men in the colony. However this might have been, Browne's intent could have been better expressed and the result was an unusual mention in the colony's records regarding Mary Willett's good relationship with her father<ref>[https://archive.org/details/johnbrownegentle00brow/page/22/mode/1up Brown, p. 22.]</ref>.
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Hezekiah Willett was killed during King Philip's War in spite of the special consideration which was supposed to be extended to the Browne/Willett family by Philip's followers. This was a source of great sorrow to Philip as reported by the servant captured when Hezekiah was killed<ref>Philbrick, pp. 315-6.</ref> (this probably was the slave later ordered freed by the colony's court<ref>[https://archive.org/details/recordsofcolonyo05newp/page/216/mode/1up Shurtleff, '''V''' (November 1, 1676): 216.]</ref>). This incident also exasperated the Plymouth colonists; special punishments were eventually meted out to Hezekiah's killers<ref>[https://archive.org/details/johnbrownegentle00brow/page/27/mode/1up Brown, pp. 27-8.]</ref>.
 
Andrew Willett spent most of his adult life near what is now Kingston, Rhode Island<ref>[https://archive.org/details/genealogicaldict00aust/page/428/mode/1up Austin, p. 428.]</ref>. He married Ann Coddington, daughter of William Coddington, a governor of Rhode Island. Thomas Willett's interests in the Atherton Company led to ownership of land in this area of Rhode Island, then know as the "Boston Neck", along with other company shareholders who over time banded together as merchants<ref>Martin, pp.68-70, and 80-1.</ref>, which included Thomas Willett's son, Andrew<ref>Austin, p.428.</ref>. Some confusion exists in the records distinguishing between the Boston Neck area of Rhode Island and Boston, Massachusetts.
 
Some have claimed that one of Willett's great-grandsons was [[Marinus Willett]], who also served as Mayor of New York from 1807 to 1808<ref>[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnati61stepuoft/page/292/mode/1up Stephen, Leslie, Sir (1900-5). "Willett, Thomas". ''Dictionary of National Biography''. New York: Macmillan. '''LXI''': 292.]</ref>, assuming that Willett's son, Samuel, settled on Long Island where he became Sheriff of Queens County and Marinus' grandfather. This claim has been refuted by E. Haviland Hillman in an article published in ''The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record'', Volume 47 at 119, published in April 1916<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=jNcUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA119 Hillman, E. Haviland. "Ancestry of Colonel Marius Willett". ''The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record''. '''XLVII''' (April 1916): 119-23.]</ref>.