Walter Palmer (1585–1661) was an early

Separatist Puritan Historians have produced and worked with a number of definitions of Puritanism, in an unresolved debate on the nature of the Puritan movement of the 16th and 17th century. There are some historians who are prepared to reject the term for historical ...

settler in 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 ...

who helped found Charlestown and

Rehoboth, Massachusetts Rehoboth is a historic town in Bristol County, Massachusetts. Established in 1643, Rehoboth is one of the oldest towns in Massachusetts. The population was 12,502 at the 2020 census. Rehoboth is a mostly rural community with many historic sites i ...

and

Stonington, Connecticut The town of Stonington is located in New London County, Connecticut in the state's southeastern corner. It includes the borough of Stonington, the villages of Pawcatuck, Lords Point, and Wequetequock, and the eastern halves of the villages of ...

Early life

Palmer was likely born in England about 1585. He married in England and fathered five children. Recent research suggests that he was probably from Frampton, Dorset, England
Walter Palmer of the Great Migration: Probable Origins in Frampton, Dorset
" ''New England Historical and Genealogical Register'', ol. 174 Winter 2020; pages 21-25.

Emigration

On April 5, 1629, Palmer sailed on the ''Four Sisters'' from

Gravesend, England Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Rochester, it is th ...

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the ...

, arriving that June. The next year, he was indicted on manslaughter charges for allegedly beating a man to death, but was acquitted in November 1630. His close friend

William Chesebrough William Chesebrough (c.1594–1667) was a farmer and trader in the colonies of Massachusetts and Connecticut. He was one of the four co-founders of Stonington, Connecticut, along with Thomas Stanton, Thomas Miner, and Walter Palmer. Chesebrough ...

stood as a witness. Serving jurors/peers: William Rocknell, William Balsten, William Phelps, John Page, William Gallant, John, Balshe, John Hoskins & Lawrence Leach in the trial."Biography of Walter Palmer". Walter Palmer Society

Accessed 31 July 2007. Palmer and Chesebrough took the

Oath of a Freeman The “Oath of a Freeman” was a loyalty pledge required of all new members of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1630s. Printed as a broadside by Stephen Daye in 1639, it is the first document from a printing press known to have been produced i ...

on May 18, 1631. In 1633, Palmer married Rebecca Short, his second wife, and they eventually had seven children together. In 1635, he was elected a selectman of Charlestown and the next year became

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

Founding Rehoboth

On August 24, 1643, Palmer and Chesebrough left Charlestown and started a new settlement called Seacuncke (later renamed Rehoboth). Palmer was among the first selectmen. When the settlement assigned itself to

Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes Plimouth) was, from 1620 to 1691, the first permanent English colony in New England and the second permanent English colony in North America, after the Jamestown Colony. It was first settled by the passengers on the ...

, the deputy elected to represent Rehoboth at the Plymouth court refused to serve because he preferred attachment to the

. Palmer was then appointed in his place.

Founding Stonington

Palmer and Chesebrough were also dissatisfied with the Plymouth alignment and, sometime prior to 1653,

John Winthrop, Jr. John Winthrop the Younger (February 12, 1606 – April 6, 1676) was an early governor of the Connecticut Colony, and he played a large role in the merger of several separate settlements into the unified colony. Early life Winthrop was born ...

persuaded Chesebrough to relocate to southern

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 ...

. Chesebrough obtained a land grant from the settlement in

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decade ...

; Palmer and his son-in-law Thomas Miner followed him and purchased land on the east bank of Wequetequock Cove, across from Chesebrough.Caulkins, Frances Manwaring. ''History of New London, Connecticut: From the First Survey of the Coast in 1612 to 1860''. Compiled by Ceclia Griswold. H. D. Utley, New London, CT, 1950, 102. In August 1652, Miner built his father-in-law and himself a house on their land; the next year, both their families joined them, and other settlers soon followed. The group struggled for years for self-rule. During that time, Palmer served as constable and again as a selectman. It took until 1661 to build a church meetinghouse due to resistance from the General Court of Connecticut, which preferred that the colonists travel across the river to New London. Palmer died two months after the meetinghouse was first used. The 300-year Stonington Chronology describes Palmer as the

...patriarch of the early Stonington settlers...(who) had been prominent in the establishment of Boston, Charlestown and Rehoboth ...a vigorous giant, 6 feet 5 inches tall. When he settled at Southertown (Stonington) he was sixty-eight years old, older than most of the other settlers.

Notable descendants

* Thomas T. Minor * Asaph Hall *

William Adams Palmer William Adams Palmer (September 12, 1781December 3, 1860) was an American lawyer and politician. A prominent of the Anti-Masonic Party in the 1830s, he was most notable for his service as a US Senator from Vermont (1818–1825) and the 13th gover ...

, Governor of and Senator from VermontBrown, John Howard. ''The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans''. The Biographical Society, 1904. *

Thomas Witherell Palmer Thomas Witherell Palmer (January 25, 1830 – June 1, 1913) was a U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan. He is considered to be one of the most significant figures in the history of Detroit, Michigan. Palmer was born in Detroit, where his mo ...

, U.S. Senator from Michigan *

Nathaniel Brown Palmer Nathaniel Brown Palmer (August 8, 1799June 21, 1877) was an American seal hunter, explorer, sailing captain, and ship designer. He gave his name to Palmer Land, Antarctica, which he explored in 1820 on his sloop ''Hero''. He was born in Stoning ...

, explorer after whom

Palmer Land Palmer Land () is the portion of the Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica that lies south of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This application of Palmer Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the Advisory Committee on Antarctic ...

, part of the Antarctic Peninsula, is named *

Lowell Palmer Weicker Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr. (; born May 16, 1931) is an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the 85th Governor of Connecticut. He unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for president in 1980. He was ...

, Governor of, Senator from and Congressman from Connecticut. *

Ulysses Simpson Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General of the United States ...

, 18th President of the United States''Ancestors of American Presidents: First Definitive Edition'' by Gary Boyd Roberts and Julie Helen Otto. 1995. (Grace Palmer, #129 in Grant's ahnentafel, was the daughter of Walter Palmer.)

External links

Walter Palmer Society
*Stonington Historical Society
Original Stonington settlements c. 1651 - map

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Walter 1585 births 1661 deaths People from Yetminster Kingdom of England emigrants to Massachusetts Bay Colony American Puritans People of colonial Connecticut People of colonial Massachusetts New England Puritanism English separatists American city founders