George Wyllys, Governor of Connecticut

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: Abt 1591, of Fenny Compton, Warwickshire, England

Notes:

Member of the Massachusetts general court, 1634; one of the framers of the Connecticut constitution, 1639; assistant governor of Connecticut, 1639-40; deputy governor of Connecticut, 1641; governor of Connecticut, 1642. His name is on the Founders Monument in Hartford, Connecticut.

From Timothy Lester Jacobs at the Founders of Hartford site:

George Wyllys was the wealthiest, and one of the most powerful and influential men in the early Connecticut Colony. Son and heir of Richard Wyllys, Lord of Fenny Compton, Warwickshire, England, he sent in 1636 his steward, Hartford Founder William Gibbons, with 20 men, servants and workers, to purchase and prepare his estate, erect a dwelling house and have everything in readiness for him and his family. This estate, at seven acres and three roods, was one of the largest in Hartford, and was the site of the famous Charter Oak. (When Sir Edmund Andros attempted to seize the Connecticut Colony in 1687, Capt. Joseph Wadsworth, son of William Wadsworth, Hartford Founder, hid the Charter for the Colony in this tree.)

George Wyllys left Fenny Compton for Hartford soon after 6 April 1638, when he conveyed his lands in Old Stratford, Wellcombe, and Bishopston to Richard Smarte. He left the manor in Fenny Compton to the care of his son George, who remained in England and became Lord of the Manor at Fenny Compton.

In the Hartford land inventory of February 1639/40 he held: the seven acre, three rood parcel with dwelling house, other outhouses, and yards, gardens or orchards mentioned above; one hundred-ten acres and two roods lying partly in the South Meadow, partly in the Swamp and partly in the Oxpasture; twenty five acres, one rood and twenty perches lying in Hockanum; another nine acres, two roods and thirty perches also in Hockanum; three acres and two roods of swamp by the Great River; another four acres of swamp by the Great River; five acres of meadow again in Hockanum; another twelve acres in the swamp in Hockanum; and five acres in the South Meadow. On 25 September 1668 he also acquired six hundred acres of upland on the east side of the Great River.

He was chosen magistrate in 1639, 1640, 1643 and 1644; was Deputy Governor in 1641; and became Governor of the Connecticut Colony in 1642. He was also Commissioner of the United Colonies.

Family/Spouse: Mary Smith. Mary (daughter of Francis Smith and Alice) died after 9 Mar 1645. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Samuel Wyllys was born in 1632 in Fenny Compton, Warwickshire, England; died on 30 May 1709 in Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut; was buried in Ancient Burying Ground, Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut.

Family/Spouse: Bridget Yonge. Bridget died before 11 Mar 1629; was buried on 11 Mar 1629 in Fenny Compton, Warwickshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Amy Wyllys was born about 1625; died on 9 Jan 1698 in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts.

Richard married Hester Chambers. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ambrose married Amy Coles. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: Abt 1511, of Preston Capes, Northamptonshire, England

Richard married Jane Bond in 1527. Jane (daughter of Robert Bond) was born in of Northampton, Northamptonshire, England; died between 22 Aug 1577 and 14 Sep 1584. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Aft 1575