John Webster (governor)
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John Webster (bef August 16, 1590 – April 5, 1661) was an early colonial settler of
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
, serving one term as governor of the
Colony of Connecticut 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 1656.


Early life

Webster was born in Cossington, Leicestershire, England, the son of Matthew Webster (1548–1623) and his wife, Elizabeth Ashton.


Career

In the early 1630s, he traveled to the
Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...
with his wife and five children, settling in the area of Newtowne (now
Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
). He left in 1636, in all probability with
Thomas Hooker Thomas Hooker (July 5, 1586 – July 7, 1647) was a prominent English colonial leader and Congregational minister, who founded the Connecticut Colony after dissenting with Puritan leaders in Massachusetts. He was known as an outstanding spea ...
and his adherents, to settle
Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
. His first public office was as a member of a committee that joined with the Court of Magistrates in determining the course of war with the
Pequot The Pequot () are a Native American people of Connecticut. The modern Pequot are members of the federally recognized Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, four other state-recognized groups in Connecticut including the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation, or th ...
Indians. He was chosen from 1639 to 1655 to be magistrate, and in 1655 he was chosen as Deputy Governor of the
Colony of Connecticut 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 1656 he was elected governor, and he served as first magistrate from 1657 to 1659. In addition to his service as Governor of the Connecticut Colony, John Webster was one of the nineteen men representing the towns of Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windsor in 1638-39 who participated in the drafting and adoption of the
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut The Fundamental Orders were adopted by the Connecticut Colony council on . The fundamental orders describe the government set up by the Connecticut River towns, setting its structure and powers. They wanted the government to have access to the op ...
, a document that is widely acknowledged as establishing one of the earliest forms of constitutional government.


Communion controversy

A split amongst the church members in Hartford grew when the current minister at the First Church in Hartford,
Samuel Stone Samuel Stone (July 18, 1602 – 20 July 1663) was a Puritan minister and co-founder of Hartford, Connecticut. Biography Stone was born in Hertford, the county town of Hertfordshire, England. The name of the town is pronounced "Hartford". ...
, declared that the requirement that stated only parents that had both taken communion should be allowed to have a child baptized would be removed, and non-communicants would be allowed to vote. John Webster, among others, were a part of a council that agreed that this was not acceptable. Reverend Stone chose to ignore this sentiment, and the issue was taken up with the General Court in Massachusetts. The Court ruled that although Reverend Stone had been too strict in ignoring the majority of his parishioners, he was right in liberalizing the baptism ritual. It was also found that those who disagreed with Stone could remove themselves to a location in Massachusetts to practice how they saw fit. This eventual location chosen was
Hadley, Massachusetts Hadley (, ) is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,325 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The area around the Hampshire and Mountain Farms Ma ...
, and in 1659, a new community was built there. Webster lived there for less than two years, for in 1661 he contracted a fever and died.


Personal life

On November 7, 1609, Webster married Agnes Smith (born August 29, 1585 in Cossington, Leicestershire, England) at Cossington. She died in Hadley,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
in 1667. They had nine children (all born in England): * Matthew Webster (b. 1608/09), who married Sarah Waterbury and Mary Reeve * Margaret Webster (b. 1609/10), who married William Bolton and Thomas Hunt * William Webster (1614–1688), who married Mary Reeve (1617–1698) ("Half-Hanged Mary": accused witch who survived being hanged in 1683) * Thomas Webster (1616–1686), who married Abigail Sage Alexander (1647–1688) * Robert Webster (1619–1676), who married Susanna Treat (1629–1705) * Anne Webster (1621–1662), who married John Marsh (1618–1688) * Elizabeth Webster (1622/23–1688), who married William Markham (1621–1690) * Mary Webster (b. 1623), who married Jonathan Hunt (or died before April 15, 1623) * Faith Webster (1627–1627), who died 10 days after her birth


Notable descendants

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References

Notes Sources * * * * * * *


External links


Ray's Place for the genealogy of John Webster


* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070607222251/http://www.cslib.org/gov/websterj.htm The Connecticut State Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, John 1590 births 1661 deaths American Puritans Colonial governors of Connecticut Founders of Hartford, Connecticut Politicians from Hartford, Connecticut English emigrants Magistrates of the Connecticut General Court (1636–1662) People from Cossington, Leicestershire