Statue of Henry Whitfield at Henry Whitfield State Museum circa 1639 Oldest house in Connecticut Guilford CT USA

Front of Henry Whitfield State Museum circa 1639 Oldest house in Connecticut Guilford CT USA

Henry Whitfield (c.1590-c.1657) was a

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...

minister who was a founder of

Guilford, Connecticut Guilford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, that borders Madison, Branford, North Branford and Durham, and is situated on I-95 and the Connecticut seacoast. The population was 22,073 at the 2020 census. History Guilfo ...

and the first pastor there. His house, the

Henry Whitfield House The Henry Whitfield House is a historic house located in Guilford, Connecticut, down the street from the town green. This house dates from 1639, having been built just before the town of Guilford was settled. It is the oldest house in Connecti ...

(c. 1639), is one of the oldest surviving American houses. Henry Whitfield was born in

Wadhurst Wadhurst is a market town in East Sussex, England. It is the centre of the civil parish of Wadhurst, which also includes the hamlets of Cousley Wood and Tidebrook. Wadhurst is twinned with Aubers in France. Situation Wadhurst is situated on ...

, England around 1590 and attended

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. He left established Church of England and joined the Puritans and Independents as a pastor. He married Dorothy, daughter of

Thomas Sheafe Thomas Sheafe D.D. (d. 12 December 1639) was a Canon of Windsor from 1614 to 1639. Family He was the son of Thomas Sheafe, clothier of Cranbook in Kent. He married firstly to Mary Wilson, by whom at least, his daughter Dorothy who married the min ...

, by his first wife Mary Wilson (contract dated 1617). He migrated to New Haven, Connecticut in 1639 and signed the Guilford Covenant creating the town of Guilford on what was then called Menuncatuck with a deed from

Wequash Cooke Wequash Cooke (also known as: Wequash Cook or Weekwash or Weekwosh or Wequashcuk) (died 1642) was allegedly one of the earliest Native American converts to Protestant Christianity, and as a sagamore he played an important role in the 1637 Pequot ...

. Construction of his fortified stone house the

began around 1639 with assistance from the local Native Americans, and it is now the oldest stone house in the original thirteen states. Although Whitfield's family remained in Connecticut, Whitfield himself returned to England in 1650 died in Winchester in 1657.Edward Elias Atwater, ''History of the Colony of New Haven to Its Absorption Into Connecticut'' (1902), p. 637

References

{{reflist People from Guilford, Connecticut