Theophilus Eaton

Theophilus Eaton (* 1590 near Stony Stratford , Buckinghamshire , England ; † January 7, 1658 in Hartford , Connecticut ) was an English settler in America , trader, farmer and puritan . He was also a colonial leader and co-founder and first governor of the New Haven Colony .

Career

Theophilus Eaton, son of Richard Eaton (1569-1616), who was chaplain of Great Budworth , Chester , and his wife Elizabeth Shepheard (1569-1630), was born in 1590 at Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire, England.

For several years Theophilus was an agent of King Charles I of England at the Danish court. He then worked as a dealer in London. He was also one of the original patentees and president of the Massachusetts Bay Company . At that time, as a Puritan, Eaton developed a keen interest in colonial development, so that he finally decided to emigrate to New England . He reached Boston , Massachusetts with his family and a group of other Puritans aboard the Hector (ship) on June 26, 1637 .

Their group of colonists was led by religious leader John Davenport . They wanted to establish their own settlement, probably as a result of Winthrop's role, who is also blamed for the fact that Rev. Thomas Hooker and others left there to establish their own colonies.

In the spring, his group moved from Boston and on April 14, 1638, reached what they called New Haven .

That fall, Eaton led an expedition south and found a site at Quinnipiack on the north bank of Long Island Sound . On November 14, 1638, he and his companion, in agreement with the peace chief (also called sachem ) Momauquin, entered the land that the Quinnipiac Indians exchanged for protection from their ancient enemies, the Mohawk and the Pequot . Momauquin would cede his title and title in the interest of the country if both parties agreed that feelings such as hostility, hatred or remorse would not develop later. [Cf. JW Barber, History and Antiquities of New Haven, (Conn.) (1831) pp. 25-29].

The Mohawks and the Pequots had destroyed all except the New Haven Indians, only 40 men survived, so that finally Theophilus and his companions, also obliged by contract to protect them, attacked them unjustifiably and terrified them. Eaton and his people did so for several reasons, mainly because they wanted to have enough land forever to grow something, as well as to get revenge on them for their excessive land purchase demands, which were: twelve coats of English Linen, twelve alchemy spoons, twelve axes, twelve hoes, two dozen knives, twelve bowls and four cases of French knives and scissors.

This treaty had then been signed and lawfully carried out by Momauquin and his council, as well as by Theophilus Eaton and John Davenport.

Some said that Theophilus exchanged only thirteen cloaks with the native Indians for seven rural communities, but the fact is that the following December 1638 he and his companions acquired a large area of ​​land from Monotowese , son of the Mattabesic chief of peace , ten miles long and Was 13 miles wide. He paid 13 coats to Monotowese according to the agreement and again the Indians gave the English plenty of land for planting and hunting. Furthermore, Monotoweses tribe at that time consisted of only 10 men with their wives and children. They assumed that the English would protect them from the Mohawks and Pequots as well.

When he arrived in the new colony, Theophilus tried first to continue his trade as a merchant. He failed because the colony was still far too new to be able to afford imports, whereby the Indian fur trade with the Dutch outposts at Hartford was more successful, so that he switched to agriculture.

When the New Haven Colony was formed under his leadership, he was selected as one of the "Seven Pillars of the Church", representing one of the 7 councilors who formerly formed the Freemen League , and the elected civil servants.

Their names were: Theophilus Eaton, John Davenport, Robert Newman, Matthew Gilbert, Thomas Fugill, John Punderson and Jeremiah Dixon.

Theophilus was elected first governor on June 4, 1639 and was re-elected every year until his death on January 7, 1657 or 1658 (according to the Julian calendar ). He was buried in the New Haven green space, with his remains later reburied in Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven. One of his major accomplishments as governor in 1655 was the creation of the penal code for the colony, which later became known as the Blue Laws of Connecticut . Because of this, and because he was the first President of the Massachusetts Bay Company, some consider him the Father of American Law .

Funerary inscription by Theophilus Eaton

"Theophilus Eaton, Esqr. Govr. Dec'd Jan'y 7, 1657, Ætat. 67.

Eaton so fam'd, so wise, so just,

The Phoenix of our world, here lies his dust,

This name forget, N. England never must. "

family

Theophilus Eaton was married twice. He first married a woman named Grace Hiller in 1622. They had at least one daughter (Mary) and one son (Samuel) (according to some sources they also had a son named James).

Eaton remarried after the death of his first wife in 1625, this time a widow named Anne Yale, daughter of George Lloyd, the Bishop of Chester (some sources say it was Anne Morton, daughter of Thomas Morton, the Bishop of Chester, was). The couple had three children together, Theophilus, Hannah and Elizabeth, with a total of eight children in the household. Along with her three, Mary and Samuel, it included Anne, David and Thomas Yale from Anne's first marriage to Thomas Yale .

Theophilus 'younger brother, Nathaniel Eaton (1609–1674), became the first schoolmaster of Harvard College after the then Massachusetts Governor John Winthrop removed him from office in 1639 in what had been viewed by some as Massachusetts' first witch trial . Another brother, Samuel Eaton (1597–1665), was a pastor who accompanied Theophilus to New Haven but then returned to England to fight anti-Puritan persecution.

Thomas Yale, son of Thomas and Ann (Lloyd) Yale, settled in the New Haven Colony and signed the Fundamental Agreement of the New Haven Colony on June 4, 1639 . Anne Jr. married Edward Hopkins , later governor of the Colony of Connecticut , in 1631 . David married Ursula Knight in 1641. They were the parents of Elihu Yale , the namesake of Yale College .

Mary Eaton married Valentine Hill of Boston in 1647 , with her uncle Nathaniel being the best man at the time. Samuel Eaton married Mabel (Harlakenden) Haynes in 1654. Both died of smallpox in 1655 . Hannah Eaton married Lieutenant Governor William Jones (1624-1706) in 1659 . Called Theophilus Eaton Jr. or Ellis, he settled in Dublin , Ireland and married an Anne King there. Elizabeth died in London in March 1637 , shortly before leaving for the colonies.

Web links

• New Haven's Fundamental Agreement (English)