Simon Willard (1605–1676) was an early Massachusetts

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

r, colonial militia leader, legislator, and judge.

Early life

Willard was born in

Horsmonden Horsmonden ( ) is a village in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The village is located in the Weald of Kent. It is situated on a road leading from Maidstone to Lamberhurst, three miles north of the latter place. The nearest railw ...

, Kent, England and baptized on April 7, 1605. He emigrated to

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, ...

in 1634 with his first wife Mary Sharpe and their daughters Mary and Elizabeth. He was a founder of

Concord, Massachusetts Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is near where the co ...

and served it as clerk from 1635 to 1653 and helped negotiate its purchase from the Native American owners. Willard represented Concord in the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...

from 1636 to 1654, and was assistant and councilor from 1654 to 1676.

Work with settlement and Native Americans

Willard served as an advisor to the Nashaway Company which founded

Lancaster, Massachusetts Lancaster is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. Incorporated in 1653, Lancaster is the oldest town in Worcester County. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 8,441. History In 1643 Lancaster was first ...

, in the 1640s and 1650s, and he settled in Lancaster by 1660. In 1651 Willard laid out 1,000 acres for settlement along the Assabet River which may have included parts of what is now Maynard, Massachusetts when a Native American leader, Tantamous (Old Jethro), defaulted on a mortgage for a debt due to Concord gunsmith,

Herman Garrett Herman Garrett (also known as Harman Garrett) (c. 1607 – c.1656/57) was an early American gunsmith, blacksmith, and landowner in colonial Massachusetts. Herman Garrett was from Wickham Market in England and in 1628 he married Susan Tofts in I ...

, for an unpaid debt. In 1654–55, Willard led an expedition against Ninigret in southern New England, and removed Ninigret's Pequot wards and placed them with Niantic Sachem Harman Garrett in what is now

Westerly, Rhode Island Westerly is a town on the southwestern shoreline of Washington County, Rhode Island, first settled by English colonists in 1661 and incorporated as a municipality in 1669. It is a beachfront community on the south shore of the state with a popula ...

. In Massachusetts, Willard served as an advisor to the Nashaway Indians and provided guns to them by order of the Massachusetts General Court. He served as a major of militia in

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...

in 1676 at age 70, and he was the Chief Military Officer of

Middlesex County, Massachusetts Middlesex County is located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,632,002, making it the most populous county in both Massachusetts and New England and the 22nd most populous cou ...

and repelled a

Nipmuc The Nipmuc or Nipmuck people are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who historically spoke an Eastern Algonquian language. Their historic territory Nippenet, "the freshwater pond place," is in central Massachusetts and nearby part ...

force that was besieging Brookfield. He became a magistrate and died aged 71 on April 24, 1676, in

Charlestown, Massachusetts Charlestown is the oldest neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Originally called Mishawum by the Massachusett tribe, it is located on a peninsula north of the Charles River, across from downtown Boston, and also adjoins ...

while holding court. Th
Willard Elementary School
in

, is named after Willard. The

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Ma ...

0743 ''Simon Willard'' was also named after him.

Founding of Old Saybrook, Connecticut

Simon Willard has been chronicled as one of the founders of Old Saybrook,

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 (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

. Willard, then a Sergeant, and Lieutenant Edward Gibbons, were sent by

John Winthrop John Winthrop (January 12, 1587/88 – March 26, 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and one of the leading figures in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led t ...

(1606–1676) — son of

(1587–1649), Governor of 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 th ...

— to occupy the mouth of what is now the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Islan ...

(

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...

) with 20 carpenters and workmen. On November 24, 1635, the group landed on the west bank at the mouth of the

. They located the Dutch coat of arms and replaced it with a shield that had a grinning face painted on it. The group established a small fort with a cannon. When the Dutch returned to the mouth of the river, they spotted the English fort and withdrew. The fort was one of the first military establishments in 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 ...

Bibliography

Notes

References linked to notes

* (vols. 51–148); (vols. 51–148); ; . * ; . * ; . * ; ; . *

* ; . * ; . * ; . * * ; (Vol. 6); (Vol. 1–6).

General references

* ; .