Foote Family Association of America Inc

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1 Birth Date: September 21, Birth Place: Shalford,Colchester, Eng, Christening: Unknown. Death: Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut Burial: November 20, 1644 In Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut Marrage: Elizabeth Deming, In January of 1616 in Colchester, Essex, England. Children: Seven Children Generation: First Generation In America Father: Robert Foote of Shalford Mother: Joan Brooke Nathaniel Foote was our No. 1 Ancestor in America, who was born September 21, 1592 in Shalford Colchester Esses, England. He was the second son of Robert Foote of Shalford, County of Essex, A Yoeman and grandson of John Foote of Royston. Royston is located near Colchester England. Nathaniel s mother's name was Joan (Brooks). She was the daughter of John and Elizabeth Brooke of London. He resided in Shalford Parish, county Essex and St Mary Bothaw Parish, London. Nathaniels Apprenticeship Nathaniel, was fifteen years old when Robert, his father died in 1608; Robert Jr, thus became the head of the house. At the age of sixteen Nathaniel was apprenticed on 21 September, 1608 for a term of 8 years or until his 24th birthday in the year 1616, to Samuel Croyle of Colchester, a grocer and free burgess. [A wholesale merchant, or as often called in those days "a grosser," was one who sold by the gross instead of by the pound or small quantity. Nathanial then brought a message from Beatrice Barker, Esq., located on East Street, St James Parish, Colchester. He was a grocer himself as of 18 Oct Nathaniel s Marriage A Short time after he finished his apprenticeship training, he was married to Elizabeth Deming (In January of the year 1616) in Colchester, Essex, England. She was the sister of John Deeming, who was for many years the one of the magistrates of the "Colony of the Connecticut" and one of the Patenees named in it's charter. The Footes' Arrival (source: "Foote History and Genealogy" - Book 1 By Abram Foote, Accepted data from the period indicates that only a few colonists arrived in New England in the years immediately following the arrival of the Mayflower. As an example, It is known that in the spring of 1630, about 1500 people crossed the Atlantic in one expedition organized and led by John Winthrop, first Governor of the Massachusetts Bay [1]

2 Colony. Soon after Governor Winthrop's 1630 expedition Nathaniel Foote, his family, and Pasco Foote decided to seek their fortunes in the New World. According to tradition, they left their homes in Colchester and sailed to Plymouth Massachusetts on the brig, "Fortune". Old Wethersfeld On the banks of the Connecticut, twenty miles below its last rapid 's and forty miles above its mouth, at one of those graceful bent which the river makes while winding through meadows which it beautifies and nourishes, stands the ancient town of Wethersfield,the eldest born** of the many sweet villages which adorn this valley. ** This is the tradition, and the Rev. Mr. Mix, of Wethersfield, in his manuscripts, says," Wethersfield is the eldest town on the river." Trumbull's History of Connecticut, Vol I, p. 49. Note: From the Wethersfield Records it appears, that there was a body of land next east to the home lots on the east side of Broad Street, designated in the first conveyances as " Adventurers Land," and from the proceedings of the Court of Magistrates held at Watertown, [Wethersfield) September 1, 1636, and November 1, of the same year, that Sergeant Seeley recovered against the town, on an award, (made by Mr. Hooker, Mr. Welles and Mr. Webster,) "one hundred and fifty bushels of corn," in the right of William Bascome, "as an adventurer." From these items, and from the local traditions, it would appear, that a portion of the territory, prior to a distribution of the town among the settlers in 1636, had been appropriated to themselves by a company of men known as Adventurers, and that the rights of these men were judicially recognized. To this spot, then known as Pyquag, the English colonist first turned his steps in, or prior to, 1635, attracted doubtless by its fertile soil, its pure and navigable waters, and its supposed facilities for internal trade in furs and other traffic with the Indians. And to this spot, one year later, came a portion of that " goodly company" who left the jurisdiction of Massachusetts and their newly acquired homesteads and farms in Watertown, and other settlements in the neighborhood of Boston, in pursuit of territory " further west," where they might " better maintain their ministers," "find larger accommodations for their cattle," and welcome " more of their friends from England" who were suffering for the faith once delivered to the Saints. Among those who voluntarily placed a wilderness of one hundred miles between themselves and the [2]

3 settlements on the coast, and whose ashes now repose in the burying ground on which the shadow of the first meeting house fell, we find the names of: Nathaniel Foote, Samuel Boardman, James Boosey, Enoch Buck, Clement Chaplin, Leonard Chester, John Deming, Robert Francis, John Goodrich, William Goodrich, John Hollister, John Nott, John Robbins, John Stoddard, Richard Treat, Thomas Welles, Thomas Wright, and others. These are names which their descendants, and all the friends of civil and religious freedom, should hold in everlasting remembrance. Some of their descendants, from generation to generation, have continued to reside on their ancestral farms, and in the old town,* whilst others early left the mother hive for land "still further west," until some of the same name and lineage are to be found in every State between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Wherever they are to be found, in prosperous or adverse fortune, their hearts still fondly turn to this fountain head of their family on this Continent, all proud to trace back their genealogy to the heroic age of New England, and to this quiet resting place of their fathers on the banks of the beautiful Connecticut. (Source: The Foote Family or the Descendants of Nathaniel Foote, by Nathaniel Goodwin, Hartford Press of Case, Tiffany and Company, 1849.) Nathaniel foote, one of the first settlers of Wethersfield, Connecticut, belongs, not to that class of men who fill a large place in the world's history, because called by some great emergency into positions of power and influence, but to that more meritorious class of pious and excellent persons, who, born to the great inheritance of labor, walk meekly along the paths of common life, perform every duty, public or private, love and help their fellow men, and act always as if in their Great Task Master's eye. It is to such men that society owes at once, its peace, stability and progress,- and yet history takes no note of such, and hence "The world knows nothing of its greatest men." His business in life was that of agriculture, necessarily the leading pursuit of New England in its early history, when the forests were to be felled, the soil broken up, the seeds of [3]

4 all the grains, and plants and fruits which constitute the food of men and beasts to be sown, and its great staples of commercial exchange supplied. And in every period of society the agricultural population has proved of the highest importance to the wealth, dignity and strength of a State. It is from this class of the population that the city and the village, that commerce and the arts, are ever drawing the bone and muscle of their laborers, and much of the energy of their directing force. In no other of the leading pursuits of Society are there the same facilities for cultivating bodily energy, and the force and vigor of mind consequent upon a vigorous constitution. The pure air, the rough exposure, the healthful toil, the constant call for thought and reflection, the walking with God in the open field, the study of his laws as unfolded in the circuit of the seasons, and in the growth of the seed and ripening of the harvest, the better domestic training under which children can be reared in the country, all these things are favorable for converting the agricultural population into an element of conservatism, much needed to give stability to the ever restless desire of change which animates a young community, and to uphold society in moments of danger and trial. It is the boast of Connecticut, and of Wethersfield in particular, to have had from the beginning a large proportion of intelligent, industrious and pious farmers in her population, and that the ranks of her merchants, her mechanics, her seamen, and her professional men have. The first mention of Nathaniel's name is in the Records of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay in 1633 when he took the oath of Freeman. In the records of the Grants and Possession of the Lands in Watertown, where he first located, the following entry is made: "Nathaniel Foote" "An home stall of sixteen acres by estimation, bounded ye north and northwest with ye highway, the south and southwest with Jeremiah Norcross, granted to him." "Two acres of marsh by estimation, bounded ye south with ye river, the north with Henry Curtis. The east with John Firmin, and the west with John Smith, granted to him." A few years later (about the year 1635) the General Court decided that they would allow people of Watertown to move "to any place they shall think meet to make choice, provided they continue still under this Government". [4]

5 (Note: Here again sources differ. Some sources say that it was in 1633 the court gave its approval.) Consequently several adventurers including Nathaniel, his wife Elizabeth, and their six children ranging in age from sixteen year old Elizabeth to baby Sarah, and others decided to leave from the Watertown Bay Colony. They felt conditions around the Boston area had become to crowded. The group of adventurer's, led by John Oldham, started a new settlement in the Connecticut wilderness. The new settlement was first called Pyquag. Later the name was changed to Wethersfield. Nathaniel's Land Grant A short time after arriving in Wethersfield in 1635, Nathaniel received (According to the records of "The Original Distribution of Lands Around Wethersfield" recorded in 1640 )"Nathaniel Foote" received: "An home stall of sixteen acres by estimation, bounded ye north and northwest with ye highway, the south and southwest with Jeremiah Norcross, granted to him." "Two acres of marsh by estimation, bounded ye south with ye river, the north with Henry Curtis. The east with John Firmin, and the west with John Smith, granted to him." a ten acre house lot on the east side of Broad Street. This land was near the south end of the street. This land was purchased directly from the Wongunk Indians at a place located along the Connecticut River that was called Pyguaq, later renamed Wethersfield. Additionally, he became the owner of several other tracts laying in part in the great meadow east of his house and containing close to 400 acres of land. In 1641, he was appointed a delegate to the General Court. He was a juror in 1643 and Note: Part of his land is now a public park at the foot of Broad Street. Sources: "NEHGR", Vol. IX, 1855, p.272, "Pedigree of Foote", compiled from Goodwin's Genealogy of the Foote Family. "Foote Family, comprising the Genealogy and History of Nathaniel Foote of Wethersfield, Conn.", Vol. I, Abram W. Foote, "Footenotes", newsletter of The Foote Family Association of North America, Vol. XI, p.9, October, "New England Families", Vol. I, pp , William Richard Cutter, Woburn, MA., [5]

6 World Family Tree, Vol. 2, chart 861. Nathaniel's Profession Even though Nathaniel's main profession in England was that of a Crocher, he became a farmer. He was also active in the public trusts of the town. He was appointed as a delegate to the "General Court" in the year Nathaniel Foote was the first cousin of Sir Thomas Foote, Sheriff of London in 1649 and Lord Mayor of London in Sir Thomas Foote was the son of John Foote of London who was the brother of Robert Foote of Shalford, who was Nathaniel's Father. Records show that Nathaniel Foote died in Wethersfield, Connecticut in November, 1644 at the age of 51. He was buried in the burying ground in the rear of the town meeting house, where nine generations are buried. Nathaniel was survived by his wife, two sons, and five daughters Nathaniel and Elizabeth s Children Elizabeth Foote - Born 1616 and died 1700, Married to Josiah Churchill. Nathaniel Foote Born 1618 and died 1655, married to Elizabeth Smith. Mary Foote Born 1623 and died 1687, Married to John Stodard. Robert Foote Born 1627 and died 1681, married to Sarah Potter. Frances Foote Born 1629 and died 1673, married John Dickinson. Sara Foote Born 1632 and died 1672, Married Jeremiah Judson. Rebecca Foote Born 1634 and died 1701, Married Lt. Phillip Smith. For more information on their children See us on Facebook - Just Search for "foote family" then click on "Foote Family Association Nathaniel Will The probate record for Nathaniel includes a complete inventory; it is recreated here with the spelling as found in the original: To The Children: Nathaniel Foote, about 24 years, to have #148 Robert Foote, about 17 years, to have #74 Frances Foote, about 15 years, to have #74 Sarah Foote, about 12 years, to have #74 Rebecca Foote, about 10 years, to have #74 [6]

7 - The Wyddow of sd. Nathaniel Foote Adms. her portion, #212 Other Possession s - Imprs His purse and apparrell, # It - In neat Cattel and in Hay, # It. - in horsse fleshe, # It. - in hoggs, # lt. - in debts, # It. - In Englishe Corne, # It. - in goats, # It. in Carts, ploughs, etc. # It. - in nayles, # Ite. - Indean Corne, # It. - in old Wheat and pease, # It. - for certain things in the chamber, # It. - for ammunition, # Ite - for fouer beds with the furniture, # It. - in fyne lynen, # Ite. 2 table boards, 2 chests, 1 Trunke, with other Implts. # It. pewter & brasse and other vseful vessells, # It. - in husbandry tooles, # It. in beife, butter, and cheese and other necessary provision for the howse, # It. - in poultry, # somm: # The Land: Ten acres of home lotts with one dwelling howse and 2 barnes with other buildings thereuppon - 4 acres of home lotts - 6 acres of meadow with an acre of swampe - 20 acres of plaine fenced in being 14 ac. broke vp - 7 acres of plaine meadow plowed vp - 20 acres in the great meadow of hay ground - 4 acres in bever meadow - 27 acres of Swampe Ground -81 Acres of Vpland in the Weste field 32 Rod broad beyond the River, being 3 Miles in length Land Devided to The Widow - 4 a-c house lott wherr her house is - The hoseing - 2 ac Unsubdued -7 ac plaine brok - 3-1/2 plaine med: - 14 ac meadow - 3 ac plaine not broaks up - 30 ac upland in Westfield Land Devided to The Eldest Sonne - 3 ac home lot next her - 2 ac unsubdued - 7 ac plaine broke up - 3-1/2 of meadow - 3 ac in great med: - 4 ac in beavermed: - 27 ac swampe - 3 ac not broke up - 30 ac upland West Field - Halfe the east side Land Devided to The youngest Sonne - 3 ac homelott - 6 ac med: in the swamp - 21 ac West Field - halfe of the east sd. The age of the 5 children Dewelling with their mother. - Nathaniel Foote - 24 years - Robert Foote - about 17 years - Francis - about 15 years - Sara - about 12 years - Rebecka - about 10 years. The widdowe of the said Nath: ffote is [7]

8 admitted to administer the Estate, and the eldest sonne is to have the lands before mentioned as they are valued at s wch is to be made uppe 1481, and the youngest sonne the particular landes above mentioned for him at 651. wch is to be made uppe 741, and the daughters disposed in merrage are to have peece wch they have receevede made uppe 741. and the other children are to have 741. a peece provided it is left at the dispose of their mother to etacte from any of them if she sees just cause 51. of the portion here sett downe and to adde yt to such of the other as best desearve yt. The Will was endorsed by the inventorers, Richard Trott, Samuel Smith, and Nathaniel Dickinson Nathaniel's Will The probate record for Nathaniel includes a complete inventory; it is recreated here with the spelling as found in the original: [8]