Captain Thomas Yale (c. 1647 – 1736) was a British American magistrate, politician and military officer. He was one of the founders of the town of Wallingford, Connecticut. He became

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

, surveyor and moderator for Wallingford, and helped establish its first

Congregational church Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

in 1675. He was also elected, for numbers of years, as deputy to the Connecticut General Assembly. His father, Capt. Thomas Yale, was the cofounder of New Haven Colony, and the first Yale to emigrate to the Thirteen Colonies.

Early life

Thomas Yale was born in New Haven Colony around 1647, to Mary Turner and Capt. Thomas Yale, members of the

Yale family Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, and future namesake of Yale College.Encyclopedia of Connecticut Biography
Vol. 7, Samuel Hart, American Historical Society, New York, 1917, p. 96 His father was one of the cofounders of New Haven Colony with his step-grandfather, Gov. Theophilus Eaton, the colony's first governor, and his step-grand uncle, minister

Samuel Eaton Samuel Eaton (1596?–1665) was an English independent divine. Life Eaton was the third son of Richard Eaton, vicar of Great Budworth, Cheshire, and was born in the hamlet of Crowley in Great Budworth. He was educated at Magdalene College, Cambr ...

. His half-uncle, Samuel Eaton Jr., cofounded the Harvard Corporation in 1650, and his step-grand uncle,

Nathaniel Eaton Nathaniel Eaton (17 September 1609 − 11 May 1674) was the first Headmaster of Harvard, President designate, and builder of Harvard's first College, Yard, and Library, in 1636. Nathaniel was also the uncle of Samuel Eaton (one of the seven fou ...

, had been Harvard's first president designate and builder before being dismissed in 1639.Papers of the New Haven Colony Historical Society
New Haven Colony Historical Society, Library of Congress, New Haven, 1908, p. 12-13The American Genealogist vol. 88 no. 3 (July 2016). A Waggon Load of Eatons: The Great Budworth, Cheshire, Ancestry of Theophilus1 Eaton, Nathaniel1 Eaton, and Frances1 Low (Eaton) of New England (continued, part 3), by Scott G. Swanson, p. 222-235Biographical Sketches of Graduates of Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts
John Langdon Sibley, Volume I, 1642-1658, Charles William Sever, University Bookstore, Cambridge, 1873, p. 171-172Morison, Samuel Eliot. �
The Harvard Presidency
” The New England Quarterly, vol. 31, no. 4, 1958, pp. 435–46. JSTOR, Accessed 7 Mar. 2024., p. 436 Yale's uncle was Gov. Edward Hopkins, 2nd governor of Connecticut, and his other uncle, William Jones, was one of its early deputy governors.The Rise and Fall of the New Haven Colony
Charles M. Andrews, Tercentenary Commission, Yale University Press, Connecticut, 1936, p. 8

Biography

While initially born in New Haven Colony, Yale removed afterwards to Wallingford, Connecticut, with his first wife, and became one of its cofounders, signing the 1668 Wallingford Agreement.History of Wallingford, Conn., from its settlement in 1670 to the Present time, Charles H. Stanley Davis, Meriden, Connecticut, 1870, p 78-81-85-98-114-126-134-328-353-354-544 He was under the direction of the New Haven Committee. Yale became captain of the train-band, also known as the town's militia, and gained influence in the colony. He became deputy to the Connecticut General Assembly in 1684, 1687, 1688 and 1689. He was re-elected as deputy in 1690, 1692 and 1693, and once again from 1694 to 1697 and in 1702. In 1673, at a town meeting, Yale was given charge, with Mr. Moss, Lt. Merriman and Benjamin Lewis, to establish a corn mill with builder Lt. Fowler. In 1675, Yale assisted in the creation of the first

in Wallingford, and helped find its first

minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

s. He also held number of offices for the town, such as

, surveyor, and moderator at public meetings. He was also in charge of keeping the town records and their proceedings for about 20 years. In 1692, Yale was given the command of the city's militia with Lt. Nath. Merriman, under Lt. Col. John Allyn, Secretary of

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 ...

. They were also given commissions by Gov. Robert Treat, the great-grandfather of Founding Father Robert Treat Paine. In 1697, Yale was attorney to Dr. John Hull in a lawsuit against Isaac Curtis. In 1698, Capt. Yale was appointed to lay out the grants awarded to Sgt. Merriman for his father's role in the

Pequot War The Pequot War was an armed conflict that took place between 1636 and 1638 in New England between the Pequot tribe and an alliance of the colonists from the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies and their allies from the Narragans ...

. In 1710, Yale was in charge with John Merriam and Thomas Hall, to sell Indian lands to Bartholomew Foster. Yale died in

on January 26, 1736, at 88 years of age.The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
Biographical, The American Historical Society, New York, 1920, p. 51-52 His son, Thomas Yale Jr., married the daughter of Joseph Benham, and cofounded the first

Congregational Church Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

Meriden, Connecticut Meriden is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located halfway between the regional cities of New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 2020, the population of the city was 60,850.

Marriage

Gilbert Stuart - John Jay - Google Art Project

Yale married to Rebecca Gibbards, daughter of William Gibbards in 1667, by deputy governor William Jones, his uncle. He married secondly to Sarah Nash, daughter of John Nash, Esquire, and thirdly to Mary Beach of Wallingford. He had 8 children with his first wife, and no children with his second and third wives. His son, Capt.

Theophilus Yale Captain Theophilus Yale (1675 – 1760) was a British people, British military officer, magistrate, and one of the early settlers of Wallingford, Connecticut. His grandnephew, Lyman Hall, Dr. Lyman Hall, became one of the Founding Fathers of th ...

, also became a magistrate in Wallingford, and his great-grandson, Capt. Elihu Yale, became one of the first manufacturers of

bayonet A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustr ...

s in Connecticut. His son, Nathaniel Yale, married the daughter of John Peck, Esquire, brother of Rev. Jeremiah Peck, a minister in Saybrook and cofounder of Newark, New Jersey. Nathaniel became the great-grandfather of

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

Ira Newell Yale, a wealthy merchant from Meriden, Connecticut. Ira was also the grandson of Deacon Nathaniel Yale, and the granduncle of Col. Ira Yale Sage, a wealthy railroad constructor. Capt. Yale's grandson, merchant Samuel Yale, married

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

Susanna Abernathy, stepdaughter of Sarah Doolittle, and daughter of Abraham Doolittle,

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

and Deputy to the Connecticut Colony Court.Early Families of Wallingford, Connecticut
Charles H. Davis, p. 7-333-334-335 Her step-uncle, Dr. John Brockett, husband of Elizabeth Doolittle, was a graduate from Oxford University, son of colonist John Brockett, surgeon and Deputy to the General Court of New Haven Colony. One of her brothers, Deputy Joseph Doolittle, was made captain and lieutenant of the train-band by Gov. Gurdon Saltonstall. They were also members of the family of Sir John Brocket of Brocket Hall, and politician

Dudley North Dudley North may refer to: *Dudley North, 3rd Baron North (1581–1666), English nobleman and politician *Dudley North, 4th Baron North (1602–1677), English nobleman and politician, son of the above *Sir Dudley North (economist) (1641&ndas ...

, the son-in-law of Elihu Yale, benefactor of Yale College.

Yale Todd

Another descendant, Yale Todd, a veteran of the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, went in front of Congress under United States vs Yale Todd, regarding the constitutionality of the obtention of his military pension after being disabled by wounds, having served under Gen. David Wooster's regiment. It was examined for the future case of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, but was not used as a precedent, as the case was unofficial at the time. The case involved what is probably the first constitutional question presented to the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. The case was under Hon. Chief Justice and Founding Father John Jay, and Attorney General William Bradford. Yale Todd would be accorded his pension by John Jay, William Cushing, and Richard Law.Wilfred J. Ritz
United States V. Yale Todd (U.S. 1794)
15 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 220 (1958), p. 220-231 This case, with another, gave rise to Marbury v. Madison, a case originating from the rivalry between Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.Miller, David Hunter. �
Some Early Cases in the Supreme Court of the United States
” Virginia Law Review, vol. 8, no. 2, 1921, pp. 108–20. JSTOR, Accessed 12 Mar. 2024, p. 120

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yale, Thomas 1647 births 1736 deaths Yale family People from Wallingford, Connecticut 17th-century American politicians 18th-century American politicians American Puritans People from colonial Connecticut People from New Haven, Connecticut 17th-century Puritans Military and militia personnel of the Thirteen Colonies