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Thomas Welles (14 January 1660) is the only person in Connecticut's history to hold all four top offices: governor, deputy governor, treasurer, and secretary. He was Commissioner of the United Colonies in 1649. Thomas Welles served a total of nineteen years in various Colony of Connecticut positions.In 1639, he was elected as the first
treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...
of the Colony of Connecticut, and from 1640 to 1649 served as the colony's secretary. In this capacity, he transcribed the Fundamental Orders into the official colony records on 14 January 1638, OS, (24 January 1639, NS).Norton, pp. 19–21 He was the magistrate during the first witch trials, the Hartford or Connecticut Witch Trials.


Biography

Welles was born in Tiddington, Warwickshire, England around 1590, the son of Robert Welles and Alice Hunt of Stourton, Whichford, County Warwick, England, born about 1543. He married Alice Tomes on 28 September 1615 at St. Peter's Church, near
Banbury Banbury is an historic market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. The parish had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding ...
, Oxfordshire, England. She was born around 1593 in Long Marston, Gloucestershire, England, the daughter of John Tomes and Ellen (Gunne) Phelps. A brother of Alice Tomes, named John Tomes like his father, was a faithful
royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...
. During the escape of Charles II, Tomes sheltered him in his home on the night of 10 September 1651 when the king was a fugitive after the
Battle of Worcester The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1642 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell def ...
.


New World

Welles came under duress during this period of political and religious unrest. On 3 November 1634 the court of Star-chamber had asked him to answer in full articles against him charging him with holding
puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
tenets. His property was confiscated, and he was scheduled to be sentenced on 16 April 1635. Welles evaded punishment by proceeding to New England as secretary to his friend, William Fiennes, First Viscount Saye and Sele, a protector of Nonconformists. Welles left England with his wife and children, emigrating to the English colonies in North America. After he and Lord Saye and Sele landed at a fort at the mouth of the
Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...
(which developed as Saybrook), they traveled to
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, arriving prior to 9 June 1636. Saye and Sele returned to England, discouraged by the difficulty of colonization. Welles stayed as he was unwilling to face the Star-chamber. He joined a party of emigrants in Newtown (now Cambridge) in Massachusetts, among whom were Thomas Hooker and Samuel Stone. Thomas Welles was first documented in colonial records as head of household in Newton ("Newe Towne", now Cambridge, Massachusetts). Welles was next documented in
Hartford 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 ...
on 28 March 1637, according to Connecticut Colonial Records. He had moved there with Reverend Thomas Hooker. Welles was chosen a magistrate of the Colony of Connecticut that same year. He held the office for twenty-two years until his death in 1660, a period of twenty-two years. In Connecticut, his wife Alice died. Welles remarried in 1646, to Elizabeth (Deming) Foote.Deming, pp. 3–8 She was the widow of Nathaniel Foote (who founded Wethersfield). She was a sister to John Deming.Deming, pp. 3–8 Elizabeth had seven children by her previous marriage. She and Welles did not have any children together. Welles was elected deputy governor in 1654, and as governor of the Connecticut Colony in 1655. In 1656 and 1657 he served as deputy governor to John Winthrop the Younger; in 1658 he was elected governor again, and in 1659 as deputy governor. He died in office on 14 January 1660 at Wethersfield, Connecticut. It is thought that he was buried in Wethersfield, Connecticut. Some sources indicate that his remains were later transferred to the Ancient Burying Ground in Hartford. In either case, his grave is unmarked. His name appears on the Founders of Hartford, Connecticut Monument in Hartford's Ancient Burying Ground.


Children

Welles's family accompanied him to the colonies. After Alice died, he remarried a widow in 1646. They had no children together. The children of Thomas and Alice (Tomes) Welles who lived into adulthood were: *Mary (circa 1618 – 1647) *Anne (circa 1620 – 1680) *John (circa 1622 – 7 August 1659), settled in Stratford in 1645, serving as a magistrate and a probate judge there.Raymond, Marcius D, p. 17Case, L. W., p. 35 His son, John, married Mary Hollister, daughter of Lt. John Hollister and Joanna Treat,Treat, p. 31Treat, p. 33 the daughter of Richard Treat.Treat, pp. 20–31 * Thomas, Jr. (circa 1625 – 1668) settled in
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 daughter Rebecca married Captain James Judson and settled in Stratford in 1680. James and Rebecca's son David Judson, also a Captain, built the Captain David Judson House. It was located on the same site where his great-grandfather William Judson had built his first house, made of stone, in 1639. *Samuel (circa 1628 – 15 July 1675), became a Captain and settled in Wethersfield, Connecticut. He married Elizabeth Hollister, daughter of Lt. John Hollister and Joanna Treat,Treat, p. 31Treat, p. 33 the daughter of Richard Treat.Treat, pp. 20–31 Elizabeth and Samuel Welles had six children. After Elizabeth died in 1659, Samuel married as his second wife Hannah, daughter of George Lamberton of the
New Haven Colony New Haven Colony was an English colony from 1638 to 1664 that included settlements on the north shore of Long Island Sound, with outposts in modern-day New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. The colony joined Connecticut Colony in 16 ...
. They had no children. His son Samuel married Ruth Rice, daughter of Edmund Rice and his wife, on 20 June 1683. The couple had six children. *Sarah (circa 1631 – 12 December 1698)


Descendants of note

* Steven C. Swett (1934–present), journalist and publisher,
Gerald Loeb Award The Gerald Loeb Awards, also referred to as the Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism, is a recognition of excellence in journalism, especially in the fields of business, finance and the economy. The award was e ...
winner * Joseph Parrish Thompson (1819–1879), abolitionist, religious leader * 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 * Rulon S. Wells (1854–1941), Utah state legislator, religious leader *
Dana Delany Dana Delany (born March 13, 1956) is an American actress. After appearing in small roles early in her career, Delany received her breakthrough role as Colleen McMurphy on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television drama ''China Beach'' (1 ...
(1956–present), actress, producer, healthcare activist * Gideon Welles (1802–1878), United States Secretary of the Navy under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson * C. Bradford Welles (1901-1969) American Classicist and ancient historian


Notes


References

*Case, Lafayette Wallace. ''The Hollister family of America: Lieut. John Hollister, of Wethersfield, Conn., and his descendants'' Publisher Fergus printing company, 1886 *Cutter, William Richard. ''New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial'', Lewis Historical Publishing, NY, 1914 *Deming, Judson Keith. ''Genealogy of the descendants of John Deming of Wethersfield, Connecticut: with historical notes'' University of Wisconsin – Madison: Publisher Press of Mathis-Mets Co., 1904 *Johnson, Alfred. ''The Hon. James Phinney Baxter, A.M., LITT.D.'' The New England historical and genealogical register, Volume 75. Publisher New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1921 *Jordan, John W. ''Genealogical and personal history of the Allegheny Valley, Pennsylvania''. New York: Lewis Historical Pub. Company 1913. * Laas, Virginia Jeans ''Bridging two eras : the autobiography of Emily Newell Blair, 1877–1951''. Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press 1999. *Mathews, Barbara Jean. ''The Descendants of Governor Thomas Welles and his Wife Alice Tomes'', vol. 1, 3rd edition. Wethersfield, CT: Welles Family Association, 2015. * McGhan, Judith. ''Genealogies of Connecticut families: from the New England historical and genealogical register'' Baltimore: Publisher Genealogical Publishing Company, 1983 . * Norton, Frederick Calvin ''The governors of Connecticut: biographies of the chief executives of the commonwealth that gave to the world the first written constitution known to history'', Publisher Connecticut Magazine Co., 1905. *Pumpelly, Raphael. ''My Reminiscences, Raphael Pumpelly''. Publisher: H. Holt and Company, 1918. * Raymond, Marcius Denison. ''Gray genealogy : being a genealogical record and history of the descendants of John Gray, of Beverly, Mass., and also including sketches of other Gray families''. New York: Higginson Book Company, 1887. *Raymond, M D. ''Souvenir of the Sherburne Centennial Celebration and Dedication of Monument to the Proprietors and Early Settlers, held on Wednesday, 21 June 1893''. New York: M.D. Raymond, 1892. *Raymond, Marcius D. ''Sketch of Rev. Blackleach Burritt and related Stratford families : a paper read before the Fairfield County Historical Society, at Bridgeport, Conn., Friday evening, 19 February 1892''. Bridgeport : Fairfield County Historical Society 1892. *Siemiatkoski, Donna Holt. ''The Descendants of Governor Thomas Welles of Connecticut, 1590–1658, and His Wife, Alice Tomes'' Baltimore: Publisher, Gateway Press, 1990. *Treat, John Harvey. ''The Treat family: a genealogy of Trott, Tratt, and Treat for fifteen generations, and four hundred and fifty years in England and America, containing more than fifteen hundred families in America'' Publisher The Salem press publishing & printing company, 1893. *Welles, Benjamin. ''Sumner Welles: FDR's global strategist : a biography''. New York: M.D. Raymond, 1892. Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 1997. .


External links


Welles Family Association, Inc.Welles Family Association, Inc.
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20020205002801/http://www.stratfordhistoricalsociety.com/ Stratford Historical Societybr>The Society of the Hawley Family, Inc.
Supreme Court Historical Society * {{DEFAULTSORT:Welles, Thomas 1590s births 1660 deaths 17th-century people from Connecticut Politicians from Hartford, Connecticut People from Glastonbury, Connecticut Founders of Hartford, Connecticut Colonial governors of Connecticut English emigrants State treasurers of Connecticut Magistrates of the Connecticut General Court (1636–1662) People from Stratford, Connecticut