A Hooker Moves William Kelsey

Rev. Thomas Hooker, Center Church, Hartford, by Louis Comfort Tiffany, ca. 1900s. “The foundation of authority is laid in the free consent of the people.”

William Kelsey, my 9th great paternal grandfather, arrived in New England in 1632 and was one of the original founders (proprietors) of Hartford, Connecticut. He was a member of the Braintree Company (Congregation) and a follower of Reverend Thomas Hooker.

White Monkey: A Journey Upstream by R. Thomas Collins p.139

Note: William Goodwin, mentioned above, is the brother of my 9th great-grandfather Ozias Goodwin (1595-1683). Ozias was also a Hartford founder.

Bits and Pieces about William Kelsey:

Granted one rood for a cowyard in Cambridge, 5 August 1633
Listed as a freeman in 1634.
Sold a meadow at Cambridge in 1635
William was among the “Adventurers Party” of twenty-five men who set out to from Massachusetts to explore the area that would become Hartford, in October 1635.
His daughter Hester is said to be the first female (European) born in Hartford. Hester is my 8th great-grandmother and was married to James Eggleston.
In March 1663, William and 26 others migrated to the “Hammonossit Plantation” and founded the town of Killingworth, Connecticut.
He was one of the original members of the First Congregation Church in Hartford, Ct. (presently known as Center Church)

Great Resources for information on William Kelsey and Rev. Hooker:

The Digital Puritan – Thomas Hooker

Miller-Anderson Histories

Janet and Robert Wolfe Genealogy – Notes

A genealogy of the descendants of William Kelsey who settled at Cambridge, Mass. in 1632, at Hartford, Conn. in 1636, and at Killingworth, Conn. in 1663 / by Edward A. Claypool and Azalea Clizbee.