Matthias Sention Sr. (also spelled Sangins, Sension, Senchion, and later as St. John) (August 9, 1601 – October 19, 1669) was a founding

settler A settler is a person who has 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 pioneer. Settl ...

of Dorchester,

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, of

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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 capita ...

, of Wethersfield, Connecticut and of Norwalk, Connecticut.Norwalk Vol. 1
/ref> Matthias was the son of Christopher St. John (c. 1581 – June 19, 1629) and Joane (Nee?) St. John. He was the grandson of Thomas St. John, Esquire (1564–1625) and Jane Mathew and great-nephew to Sir William St. John, Knight of Highlight and his wife Eleanor (de Port-St. John) St. John of

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. He was the great-grandson of Christopher St. John, Esquire (1547–1616), Lord of Uchel-olau until his death, and his wife Elizabeth Bawdrip. This St. John family came from a small, now abandoned, feudal village called Uchel-olau (High-light in English), Glamorganshire,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. Thomas St. John, Esquire removed to

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after he was admitted to

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, one of the four

Inns of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court – Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have ...

in 1577. Mathias' father, Christopher St. John was raised in London no later than 1584 and married about 1600. Matthias appears to be his first born child. Sir William St. John, Knight his great uncle was a member of the

Virginia Company of London The London Company, officially known as the Virginia Company of London, was a division of the Virginia Company with responsibility for colonizing the east coast of North America between latitudes 34° and 41° N. History Origins The territor ...

and recorded in the early census records of

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. Sir William was back and forth between London and Colonial America until Matthias and his uncle Matthew came to America permanently. Sir William was a Vice Admiral in the English Royal Navy and had his own ships. Matthias' occupation as a chandler likely refers to ship chandler a service he probably provided for his great uncle, lord of Uchel-olau. Matthias and his uncle Matthew have been merged into 1 person in the 1907 St. John Genealogy book.

Settlement in Massachusetts Bay Colony

He came to Dorchester, in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1632. He was named a

freeman Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to: * a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm * Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies * Free ...

on September 3, 1634. He received a grant of twenty acres of land there on January 14, 1635. In 1638, he sold his house to a Mr. Withington, and in 1639, he sold his land to Withington too.

Settlement in Connecticut Colony

He moved to

, Connecticut Colony in 1640. He was granted land ten rods wide and 18 rods deep adjacent to the palisades (the protective fence of the settlement). In 1643 and 1644, he served as a member of a Grand jury. Matthias is listed as a settler in Wethersfield as early as 1648. Jonas Weede sold Matthias his land in Wethersfield in 1640. On several occasions he served on a jury, and was also himself challenged in court in Hartford. In some cases, the issue was either a debt owed of or to him. On one occasion, he was brought before the court accused of selling "syder to Indians by which they was Drunke". On another occasion he won a judgment against Stephen Beckwith for defamation. In February 1658, Thomas Wickham bought Matthias' land in Wethersfield. He moved to Norwalk in 1654. In 1657, he is recorded as working with Isacke More, and Edward Nash to "make and provide a good and sufficient wolfe-pit." The record states that Matthias was chosen in 1660, as a townsman "to act and agitate all such affairs and occasions as the orders of the court authoriseth and that for the Yere ensuinge." He is listed on the Founders Stone bearing the names of the founding settlers of Norwalk in the East Norwalk Historical Cemetery.

Notable descendants

Matthias Sension is the ancestor of many people with the surname St. John in America. The name was changed in the early 1700s. * John St. John (Governor of Kansas) * Matthias Sention Jr., founding settler of Norwalk * Mark Sension (1630–1693), deputy of the

Connecticut General Assembly The Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member House of Representatives and the 36-member Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford. Th ...

from Norwalk (1672, 1676, 1678, 1684) * Stephen St. John (1735–1785), member of the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an equal number of districts, with ...

from Norwalk (1778, 1780–1785) * Stephen St. John, member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from Norwalk (1805, 1806) * Frederick St. John Lockwood, member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from Norwalk (1865, 1866, 1872)

References

External links

St. John Family Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sention, 1, Matthias 1601 births 1669 deaths American people of Welsh descent American Puritans Burials in East Norwalk Historical Cemetery Founding settlers of Norwalk, Connecticut Kingdom of England emigrants to Massachusetts Bay Colony Matthias People from the City of London