John Webster (bef August 16, 1590 – April 5, 1661) was an early colonial settler of

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

, serving one term as governor of the

Colony of Connecticut The Connecticut Colony, originally known as the Connecticut River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became the state of Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636, as a settlement for a Puritan congregation of settlers ...

in 1656.

Early life

Webster was born in Cossington, Leicestershire, England, the son of Matthew Webster and his wife, Elizabeth Ashton.

Career

In the early 1630s, he traveled to the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...

with his wife and five children, settling in the area of Newtowne (now

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

). He left in 1636, in all probability with

Thomas Hooker Thomas Hooker (July 5, 1586 – July 7, 1647) was a prominent English colonial leader and Congregational church, Congregational minister, who founded the Connecticut Colony after dissenting with Puritan leaders in Massachusetts. He was know ...

and his adherents, to settle

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

. His first public office was as a member of a committee that joined with the Court of Magistrates in determining the course of war with the

Pequot The Pequot ( ) are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of Connecticut. The modern Pequot are members of the federally recognized Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, four other state-recognized groups in Connecticut includin ...

Indians. He was chosen from 1639 to 1655 to be magistrate, and in 1655 he was chosen as Deputy Governor of the

. In 1656 he was elected governor, and he served as first magistrate from 1657 to 1659. In addition to his service as Governor of the Connecticut Colony, John Webster was one of the nineteen men representing the towns of Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windsor in 1638-39 who participated in the drafting and adoption of the

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut The Fundamental Orders were adopted by the Connecticut Colony council on . The fundamental orders describe the government set up by the Connecticut River New England town, towns, setting its structure and powers and was a driven attempt for the ...

, a document that is widely acknowledged as establishing one of the earliest forms of constitutional government.

Communion controversy

A split amongst the church members in Hartford grew when the current minister at the First Church in Hartford,

Samuel Stone Samuel Stone (July 18, 1602 – 20 July 1663) was an English Puritan minister and co-founder of Hartford, Connecticut. Biography Stone was born in Hertford, the county town of Hertfordshire, England. The name of the town is pronounced "Ha ...

, declared that the requirement that stated only parents that had both taken communion should be allowed to have a child baptized would be removed, and non-communicants would be allowed to vote. John Webster, among others, were a part of a council that agreed that this was not acceptable. Reverend Stone chose to ignore this sentiment, and the issue was taken up with the General Court in Massachusetts. The Court ruled that although Reverend Stone had been too strict in ignoring the majority of his parishioners, he was right in liberalizing the baptism ritual. It was also found that those who disagreed with Stone could remove themselves to a location in Massachusetts to practice how they saw fit. This eventual location chosen was

Hadley, Massachusetts Hadley (, ) is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,325 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The area around the Hampshire and Mountain Farms ...

, and in 1659, a new community was built there. Webster lived there for less than two years, for in 1661 he contracted a fever and died.

Personal life

On November 7, 1609, Webster married Agnes Smith (born August 29, 1585 in Cossington, Leicestershire, England) at Cossington. She died in Hadley,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

in 1667. They had nine children (all born in England): * Matthew Webster (1609-1675), who married Sarah Waterbury and Mary Reeve * Margaret Webster (b. 1610/11), who married William Bolton and Thomas Hunt * William Webster (1614–1688), who married Mary Reeve (1617–1698) ("Half-Hanged Mary": accused witch who survived being hanged in 1683) * Thomas Webster (1616–1686), who married Abigail Sage Alexander (1647–1688) * Robert Webster (1619–1676), who married Susanna Treat (1629–1705) * Anne Webster (1621–1662), who married John Marsh (1618–1688) * Elizabeth Webster (1622/24-1688), who married William Markham (1621–1690) * Mary Webster (b. 1623), who likely died before April 15, 1623 * Faith Webster (1627–1627), who died 10 days after her birth

Notable descendants

* William Robbins Barnes (1866-1945) - co-founder of Barnes and Noble *

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(1862-1941) - religious leader, United States Senator * Jonathan Strong (1944 - ) - American novelist *T. Michael Twomey (1965 - ) - Attorney and Corporate Officer with Entergy Corporation * Henry Kitchell Webster (1875-1932) - American novelist * James G. Webster (1951 - ) - professor at Northwestern University * Noah Webster, Jr. (1722-1813) - American

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons and the art of compiling dictionaries. It is divided into two separate academic disciplines: * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionary, dictionaries. * The ...

, textbook pioneer,

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er, political writer, editor, and prolific author * Maurice H. Webster (1892-1982) - Chicago architect * Stokely Webster (1912-2001) - American impressionist painter * Towner K. Webster (1849-1922) - American industrialist * Daniel H. Wells (1814-1891), Justice of the Peace in Nauvoo, Illinois and Lt. General of the Nauvoo Legion, mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah * Heber M. Wells (1859-1938), first governor of Utah * Briant H. Wells (1871-1949), Major General of U.S. army * Elizabeth Wells Cannon (1859-1942), women's suffragist, Utah State Legislator *

Cavendish W. Cannon Cavendish Wells Cannon (February 1, 1895 – October 7, 1962) was a long-time United States foreign service officer and diplomat. Early Life Cannon was born in Salt Lake City in 1895 to newspaper editor John Q. Cannon and Utah State Repre ...

(1895-1962), US Ambassador to Greece, Morocco, Syria and Portugal * Rulon S. Wells (1854-1941), Utah State Legislator, religious leader * Orson F. Whitney (1855-1931) - politician, journalist, poet, college professor, historian, religious leader * Ronald C. Lindquist (1946 - ) - Sales & Marketing Executive, brought EpiPen to the market.

References

Notes Sources * * * * * * *

External links

Ray's Place for the genealogy of John Webster

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070607222251/http://www.cslib.org/gov/websterj.htm The Connecticut State Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, John 1590 births 1661 deaths 17th-century people from Connecticut American Puritans Colonial governors of Connecticut Founders of Hartford, Connecticut Politicians from Hartford, Connecticut Emigrants from the Kingdom of England Magistrates of the Connecticut General Court (1636–1662) People from Cossington, Leicestershire