THE THOMAS ORTON FAMILY
Generation 1 |
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One record indicates that Thomas Orton was in Windsor as early as 1636, but the church records of the town show that he was married there on June 16th, 1641, to MARGARET PRATT. The name as written in the marriage records looks like Paul or Pall, but since there were none there by that name, and there was a Pratt family, it is more than likely her name was Pratt.
Both Thomas and Margaret Orton “joined the church” at Windsor, and his name occurs in various township transactions of the time. He served repeatedly on juries, grand and petit, at Hartford, as the court records show. In 1684 he was elected deputy to the General Court (Legislature) of the Colony of Connecticut for the October 9 session. His colleague from Farmington was Capt. William Lewis. Thomas Orton remained at Windsor for 14 years after his marriage.
LAND
At Windsor, Thomas owned a lot of 8-1/2 acres. Part of it was allotted to him by the town after it was previously allotted to one Lawrence Ellison, who forfeited it by failure to occupy. Not uncommon in those days. Another part he bought from the widow of Goodman Whitehouse.
His lot was in the part of town where some of the best families had property (e.g., Phelps, Loomis, etc.), and built a house on the east end of it, on a gravel terrace overlooking the alluvial plain of the Connecticut Valley.
In addition to this home lot, he owned several considerable parcels of land in Windsor, retaining the ownership of some of them as long as he lived.
Stiles's 1894 edition of History of Windsor includes a map of the town center at this early time. The locations of many of the earliest residents are indicated and Thomas Orton's lot and house are named. He certainly was well to do, having brought means with him from England, and held a good social status, judging from the position and size of his property.
FARMINGTON
In 1655, he removed to Farmington, which was his home for the remainder of his life, and which became a much more important center for the Orton family than Windsor. Farmington is a beautifully situated town, 10 miles west of Hartford and 15 miles southwest of Windsor. The town is separated from Hartford or the Connecticut Valley by a range of hills known as Talcott Mountain. Gorgeous in fall foliage. There is a low gap in this range that makes for a natural roadway from Hartford going west, and by this road the early settlers of Farmington and towns beyond, came in to Hartford.
Talcott Mountain, which rises in a steep and almost vertical wall from the valley of the Farmington River to an elevation of 700-900 feet above sea level, makes the eastern boundary of the town. A beautiful and mostly fertile valley, six or eight miles wide, stretches away to the westward, having for its western boundary another range of hills.
The town center of Farmington was laid out on the lower slopes of the mountain, but was elevated above the valley enough to command a delightful view to the westward. The main street runs north and south, parallel to the mountain and river.
Thomas Orton was one of the 84 original owners and settlers of Farmington. He owned two houses at the center, one of which was just “at the bend of the Hartford road”. He also owned many tracts of land in the valley and on the mountain side and also in the north part of the town, which was then called Nod or Little Nod, but which now is the town of Avon. He was one of the wealthiest of the original proprietors.
LAND DIVISION
In 1672, a list of the estates of the town was agreed upon by which the valley lands, at first held in common, should be divided. The division seems to have been based on the property that each of the original proprietors already owned. Thomas Orton was 8th on this list. The minister, Mr. Samuel Hooker, was allowed a double rating and two non-residents, Haynes and Willis (Wyllys?) (capitalists of their day), came in at the head of the list. But of actual residents, only four came in higher than Thomas Orton, and two were rated so close to him that their “returns” were practically identical with his.
The map on C. Bickford's "Farmington in Connecticut" (p. 20) shows Thomas Orton's Farmington lots as #11 and #99.
THOMAS ORTON'S WILL
From 1685 to 1689, the tyrannical governor, Sir Edmond Andros, was in power in New England. One of his oppressive acts was, he required all wills made in New England be probated in Boston, with, of course, the demand of excessive fees. Outside of Boston, getting to Boston could be very challenging and expensive, not to mention the time involved, for many living in outlying districts or settlements were farmers. To avoid this extortionate rule, Thomas Orton disposed of his estate during his lifetime by a "deede of gifte" to his children. This deed is to be found in the town records of Farmington. and is dated May 7, 1688. It was witnessed and signed by the minister of the town, Mr. Samuel Hooker, and also by Capt. John Stanley. A summary follows:
“These may certify all concerned that I, Thomas Orton of Farmington, in the County of Connecticut, in New England, for and in consideration of my natural love and indexed affection to my children and my children's children, hereinafter named, and for other good causes, me hereunto moving, have granted and given to them and do hereby give and grant unto them in the manner following:
(1) I give and bequeath unto my beloved son, John, my home lot lying and being in the town of Farmington, abutting west on John Norton's land, east partly on the highway and partly on John Woodruff etc., "with all the housing, orchards, and privileges, appurtenances, and profits tehreunto belonging": (2) a tract in the third meadow (30 acres); (3) a tract in Nod (Avon), 14 acres, etc., etc.; (4) a tract of pasture land; (5) a small parcel in the great meadow, “from and after the end of my natural life.”
To my beloved daughter, Elizabeth Lewis, the use and improvement of all my land lying in a neck of Farmington meadow, called More's Corner, during her natural life and then these parcels of land to turn to my grandson, Thomas.
To my grandson, Thomas Orton, (1) a parcel of land lying to the east side of the great river in Windsor, which I bought of John Gailer (Gaylord), 75 acre; and (2) 20 acres, more or less, lying in the same town.
To Margaret, daughter of my son, John, £10 in money.
To the three daughters of my daughter, Sarah Dewey, now living, I give £5 apiece in money; to the four sons of my daughter, Sarah Dewey, I give my land in the great swamp, as also my division of the upland in Farmington which lieth against Wethersfield bounds, to be divided in equal proportions; the remainder of uplands I give to my son, John.”
[To John, also, was assigned the care of his funeral expenses and also the gathering and paying of all his just debts. For these services he further orders £5 to be allowed to him.]
The rest of my estate I give and bequeath to my three daughers, Mary Root, Sarah Dewey, and Elizabeth Lewis, to be divided among them in equal proportions.
The last paragraph contains the only mention in this document of the oldest daughter, Mary Root. She had no children and had likely received property from her father already. The value of the estate thus disposed of was placed at £496.
When this deed of gift was made, Thomas was already 75 years old. He probably signed it in his last days and maybe even in his last hours, as another daughter was born to John Orton in that same month (baptized 20 May 1688), of whom no mention is made in this document.
We know only, because of the date on his will, that he died after 7 May 1688, at Farmington, Hartford Co, Connecticut.
CHILDREN
His children grew up in Farmington, the oldest of them being only seven or eight when he left Windsor. All of them married and settled in Farmington.
- John Orton was born in 1648. He married, perhaps, a Hawley for his first wife.
- Mary Orton was born 1650. She married John Root.
- SARAH ORTON was born 22 August 1652. She married Jedediah Dewey.
- Elizabeth Orton was born 6 October 1654; she married Samuel Lewis, son of Capt. William Lewis.
- Hannah Orton was born in 1656.
SARAH ORTON
Generation 2
SARAH ORTON was born 22 August 1652. She married Jedediah Dewey. They had three daughters and four sons. She died in 1711 at Westfield, Massachusetts, and her tombstone is still standing.
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PRIMARY REFERENCES
Savage, James. A genealogical dictionary of the first settlers of New England : showing three generations of those who came before May, 1692, on the basis of Farmer's Register. 4 vols. Baltimore MD: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1981. At Family History Library, Salt lake City, Utah: Call # 974 D2s 1981.
Sheldon Family Association records.
Dewey, Louis M., comp.; A. M. Dewey, ed. Life of George Dewey, ... and Dewey Family History, etc. Westfield, MA: Dewey Publ. Co. (1898) pg. 845. At Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah: Film # 824302.
Includes related families of Ashley, Loomis, Noble, Phelps, Robinson, etc.
SECONDARY REFERENCES
Trumbull, J. Hammond. The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, 1636-1776. 15 vols. Hartford, CT: Case, Lockwood & Brainard, 1850-1890. Also known as Colonial Records of Connecticut. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah: Vols. 1-2: Film # 908423. Vols. 3-4: Film # 908424. Also in book form, Call # 974.6 N2c.
See Vol. III, p. 155, as cited in "Descendants of Thomas Orton," p. 14. Thomas Orton's election to the General Court.
Stiles, Henry R. The History of Ancient Windsor, Connecticut, etc. Orig. published Albany, NY: J. Munsell, 1863. At Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah: Vol. 1: Film # 1320989 Item 3; Vol. 2: Film # 924647 Item 2.
Earliest residents' lots and houses.
The Farmington Historical Society:
burial records for the old burial ground in Farmington; three pre-1700 stones.
maps of the various land divisions of Farmington, but too large and faint to be copied. – Letter from Betty Coykendall, President of the Farmington Historical Society, 2 June 1984.
The Farmington Town Clerk has all vital records (everything that was registered) since 1645. There is a WPA list of all headstones (library has a copy, and Farmington Historical Society also has one).
WEBSITES OF INTEREST
Connecticut State Library, Home Page.
City of Farmington, Connecticut
Farmington, Connecticut Historical Society
Official Website of the
Burch, Nickel, Sheldon, Griffin,
Saemann and Brazelton Family
This is the Thomas Orton Family Page
Joann Saemann
West Jordan, Utah
Design and presentation © 2007 Joann Saemann
Some material may be paraphrased
Last Updated – 28 October 2008
