Richard Risley (before 1615 – October 1648) was an early Puritan 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 the ...

and one of the founders of Hartford, Connecticut. Risley sailed from England on July 15, 1633, in the ship Griffen 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 known ...

, William Stone, John Cotton, and John Haynes. They arrived in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

on September 4, 1633. In May 1636, Risley left Massachusetts with almost the entire company he had arrived with two and a half years earlier. They found

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 ...

to be too dictatorial. The group headed west through the wilderness, and after a month stopped in an area now occupied by the city of Hartford, Connecticut. Within the year, the group started a collective government to fight the

Pequot War The Pequot War was an armed conflict that took place between 1636 and 1638 in New England between the Pequot tribe and an alliance of the colonists from the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies and their allies from the Narragan ...

. By the next year, they had adopted what is now generally considered the first written constitution in

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

history, 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 towns, setting its structure and powers. They wanted the government to have access to the ...

. The group eventually signed a treaty with the Indians for a tract of land and settled down. The present-day

state capitol building This is a list of state and territorial capitols in the United States, the building or complex of buildings from which the government of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia and the organized territories of the United States, exercise ...

in Hartford sits on the original Risley

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

."Founding of Connecticut & The Pequot War". www.cypresscollege.edu. http://socialscience.cypresscollege.edu/~lyerby/connect.htm. Accessed 1 July 2007. Risley died at Hockanum, Connecticut of

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

in October 1648, leaving his wife and three children, ages two months to eight years.

References

1615 births 1648 deaths Founders of Hartford, Connecticut {{Connecticut-stub