Robert Feake (c. 1602-c.1661) was an early

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 ...

settler, soldier, goldsmith, and founder of what is now

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich ( ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 63,518. It is the largest town on Gold Coast (Connecticut), Connectic ...

Biography

Feake was a

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...

and likely came to New England with the Winthrop fleet of 1630. Governor

John Winthrop John Winthrop (January 12, 1588 – March 26, 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and a leading figure in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the fir ...

named Mount Feake in Waltham after Feake in 1632, and Feake Island (Fetch's Island) in Virginia is also named after him. Around 1633 Feake married

Elizabeth Fones Elizabeth Fones Winthrop Feake Hallett (21 January 1610 – 1673) was an early settler in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1640 Fones, with her then-husband Robert Feake, were founders of Greenwich, Connecticut. Wolfe (2012) She married her t ...

, the widow of Henry Winthrop, the Governor's son. Feake served as a lieutenant in the militia and lived in Watertown and was also involved in the settlement of Dedham in 1636. There is no record of him ever visiting Dedham, and he presumably was only asked to join the petition to the

Great and General Court The Massachusetts General Court, formally the General Court of Massachusetts, is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. The name "General Court" is a holdover from the earliest days of ...

for his political influence. In return he was granted additional lands in Dedham. In 1640 Robert and Elizabeth Feake left Massachusetts and became prominent figures in the history of Greenwich, Connecticut where they helped found the town and built the Feake-Ferris House (c. 1645) near Greenwich Point (originally Elizabeth's Neck) which still stands, as one of the oldest buildings in Connecticut. Feake encountered financial and mental health problems and eventually left his family and likely returned to England. His wife divorced him and remarried under Dutch law in

New Netherland New Netherland () was a colony of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod. Settlements were established in what became the states ...

despite divorce being prohibited in the English colonies of Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Legacy

Feake_Ferris_House_in_Greenwich_CT_Connecticut_USA_sideview

Feake's daughter, Elizabeth, married

John Underhill (captain) John Underhill (c. 1608/09 – 21 July 1672) was an early English settler and soldier in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Province of New Hampshire, where he also served as governor; the New Haven Colony, New Netherland, and later the Province ...

and daughter, Hannah, married

John Bowne John Bowne (1627–1695), the progenitor of the Bowne family in America, was a Quaker and an English settler residing in the Dutch colony of New Netherland. He is historically significant for his struggle for religious liberty. Background Born i ...

. Prominent descendants include

John Alsop John Alsop Jr. (1724 – November 22, 1794) was an American merchant and politician from New York City. As a delegate for New York to the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1776, he signed the 1774 Continental Association. Early life Alsop wa ...

Robert Feke Robert Feke () was an American portrait painter born in Oyster Bay, New York. According to art historian Richard Saunders, "Feke's impact on the development of Colonial painting was substantial, and his pictures set a new standard by which the ...

, and

Margaret Suckley Margaret Lynch Suckley (December 20, 1891 – June 29, 1991) was a sixth cousin, intimate friend, and confidante of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, as well as an archivist for the first American presidential library. She was one of four wo ...

. Feake appears in various non-fiction and fictional books including ''

The Winthrop Woman ''The Winthrop Woman'' is Anya Seton's 1958 historical novel about Elizabeth Fones, a settler of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and a founder of Greenwich, Connecticut. Plot summary ''The Winthrop Woman'' begins with young Elizabeth Fones and her ...

''. Feake's House in Greenwich is open to the public once a year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feake, Robert People from colonial Connecticut People from colonial Massachusetts People from New Netherland 1600s births 1661 deaths English emigrants to Massachusetts Bay Colony People from Greenwich, Connecticut People from Watertown, Massachusetts People from London American goldsmiths English goldsmiths Signers of the Dedham Covenant Artisans from the Thirteen Colonies