John Gregory (also John Griggorie) (1612 – August 15, 1689), a cobbler and tanner, was a founding

settler A settler is a person who has human migration, migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a ...

of Norwalk,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. He was a deputy of the General Court of the

Connecticut Colony The ''Connecticut Colony'' or ''Colony of Connecticut'', originally known as the Connecticut River Colony or simply the River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636 as a settl ...

in the sessions of October 1659, October 1662, May 1663, May 1665, October 1667, May 1668, May and October 1669, October 1670, October 1671, May 1674, May 1675, October 1677, May 1679, October 1680, May 1681, October 1695.

Emigration and residence in New Haven

He was born in

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1612, the son of Henry Gregory and Mary Goody. He emigrated with his father in the early 1630s. He is known to have lived in the

New Haven Colony The New Haven Colony was a small English colony in North America from 1638 to 1664 primarily in parts of what is now the state of Connecticut, but also with outposts in modern-day New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. The history o ...

between 1639 and 1646. In 1644 he was admitted to the New Haven Court. His sons Joseph and Thomas were born in New Haven in 1646 and 1648, respectively.

Settlement of Norwalk

Roger Ludlow Roger Ludlow (1590–1664) was an English lawyer, magistrate, military officer, and colonist. He was active in the founding of the Colony of Connecticut, and helped draft laws for it and the nearby Massachusetts Bay Colony. Under his and John Mas ...

purchased the land that would become Norwalk in 1640. Ludlow contracted with fourteen men for the original planting of Norwalk. In 1649, Richard Olmsted and

Nathaniel Ely Nathaniel Ely (also Nathaniel Eli) (1605 – December 25, 1675) was a founding settler of Hartford and Norwalk, Connecticut. He served as a deputy of the General Court of the Connecticut Colony from Norwalk in the October 1656 session. He was ...

became the first two settlers. One of the fourteen was Richard Webb, whose wife was John Gregory's sister. John Gregory lived in the East Norwalk section of Norwalk, along what is now East Avenue. He was an active member of the community, holding office almost continuously during his life in Norwalk. He is listed on the Founders Stone bearing the names of the founding settlers of Norwalk in the

East Norwalk Historical Cemetery __NOTOC__ Established in , the East Norwalk Historical Cemetery is Norwalk's oldest cemetery, and many of the area's first settlers are buried there. The cemetery is owned and maintained by the Third Taxing District, formally known as the East Nor ...

Settlement of Newark

When the

was absorbed into the

in 1662, many of the Puritan settlers were displeased at the fact that the new colony's constitution didn't include certain restrictions on non-Puritan settlers.History of Newark
/ref> The New Haven colonists believed that only members of the Puritan church should be allowed to vote, and that only the children of church members could be baptized. In response, the New Haven Puritans sent

Robert Treat Robert Treat (February 23, 1624July 12, 1710) was a New England Puritan colonial leader, militia officer and governor of the Connecticut Colony between 1683 and 1698. In 1666 he helped found Newark, New Jersey. Biography Treat was born in Pitm ...

and John Gregory to meet with

Philip Carteret Rear-Admiral Philip Carteret, Seigneur of Trinity (22 January 1733, Trinity Manor, Jersey – 21 July 1796, Southampton) was a British naval officer and explorer who participated in two of the Royal Navy's circumnavigation expeditions in 1764� ...

, the new Royal Governor of New Jersey. The group chose the present day site of Newark for a new settlement. In May 1666, the Puritan settlers, led by Treat, purchased the land directly from the Hackensack Indians.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory, John 1612 births 1689 deaths American Puritans Burials in East Norwalk Historical Cemetery Deputies of the Connecticut General Assembly (1662–1698) Deputies of the Connecticut General Court (1639–1662) History of Newark, New Jersey Politicians from New Haven, Connecticut People from Nottinghamshire Founding settlers of Norwalk, Connecticut Shoemakers Tanners