Walter Hoyt (also seen as Haite, Hayte, Hoit, Haight) (September 6, 1618 – 1698) 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 served as 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 ...

from Norwalk between 1658 and 1662, and, when it was renamed, as a deputy of the Connecticut General Assembly between 1662 and 1681. He was a Norwalk selectman in 1672.

Early life

He was the son of Simon Haite (1595–1657) and Deborah Stowers. He came to America in 1628, with his father and brother, Nicholas Hoyt (b. 1620), at the age of ten.Norwalk v.1
/ref>

Career

In 1640, he was known to own about 64 acres of land in

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

. In 1653, Walter came to Norwalk, among the first settlers. He served in the General Court of the Connecticut Colony in the sessions of October 1658, May and October 1661, May and October 1667, October 1668, May 1670, May 1671, May 1672, October 1673, October 1674, May 1676, May 1678, and October 1681. In May 1672, Walter Hoyte was among those whose names were given to the General Court "for the beginning of a plantation neare the backside of Norwalke." He, along with

Ralph Keeler Ralph Keeler (also Keiler) (1613 – September 10, 1672) was a founding settler of both Hartford, and Norwalk, Connecticut, United States. Early life Ralph Keeler is thought have been born in Lawford, Essex, England in 1613, perhaps the son of a ...

, was contracted by the settlement to cut the timber and build a house for Reverend

Thomas Hanford Thomas Hanford (July 22, 1621 – 1693) was a founding settler of Norwalk, Connecticut. He was the first minister in Norwalk, and continued in charge of the settlement's church for forty-one years, until his death in 1693. In addition to his spir ...

.An Historical Discourse in Commemoration of the Two-hundredth Anniversary of the Settlement of Norwalk
/ref> He voted in the town meetings in Norwalk, and was confirmed by the General Court as one of the proprietors of Norwalk in 1685.

Personal life

His first wife is unknown. After her death, he married Rhoda Tinker Hobbs Taylor (1611–1698) in 1653 in Windsor, Connecticut. He and Rhoda had one child, Zerubbabel Hoyt. His other three children were from his previous marriage. * John Hoyt (1644–1711), who married Mary Lindall, daughter of Henry Lindall * Elizabeth Hoyt, who married Samuel Sension, son of his sister-in-law, Mary Tinker Sension and brother-in-law Mathias Sension(St. John, Senchon) * Hannah Hoyt, who married Judah Gregory * Zerubbabel Hoyt (1652–1739), who married Hannah Knapp (1642–1696)

Honors

Hoyt's Hill, named after Walter Hoyt, is the historical name of the hill in the Green at the northeast corner of East Avenue and Willow Street. The place name dates back at least as early as 1679.Malcolm Hunt, ''Names and Places of Old 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoyt, Walter 1618 births 1698 deaths American Puritans Connecticut city council members Deputies of the Connecticut General Assembly (1662–1698) Deputies of the Connecticut General Court (1639–1662) People from Taunton Deane (district) People from Windsor, Connecticut Founding settlers of Norwalk, Connecticut