Thomas Willett

Thomas Willett (* 1610 in England , † August 29, 1674 in Swansea, Bristol County , Plymouth Colony ) was Mayor of New York City in 1665 and 1666 and again from 1667 to 1668 .

resume

The place of birth and the date of birth are given differently in the sources. The grave or memorial stone depicted in the Find A Grave source names the year 1610 as the year of his birth. At the same time, the same source mentions August 1605 as the year of birth in the text. The contradiction must remain unresolved due to the lack of irrefutable sources. He was the son of a clergyman and fled with his family from England for religious reasons first to Holland and then in 1629 on board another crossing of the Mayflower to the English Plymouth Colony. There he worked in trade. Among other things, he also traded with the Dutch in Nieuw Amsterdam . His good Dutch language skills also helped him. By 1650 he had already acquired a small merchant fleet. In the Plymouth Colony he became an influential and wealthy man who also held higher administrative posts there. At the same time he also acquired land in the Dutch colony of Nieuw Nederland . He was also involved in negotiations with local Indians. After the transfer of the Dutch colony to the English, Thomas Willett was appointed first mayor of New York City by Richard Nicolls, the new English governor of the province of New York . As the successor to Petrus Stuyvesant , the last mayor of Nieuw Amsterdam, as the city was called up until then, Willett once again benefited from his Dutch language skills. Willett held this office in two non-contiguous terms, 1665-1666 and 1667-1668. He also served on the Advisory Board of the Governor of New York Province. After the Dutch regained control of New York for a short time in 1673, he was forced to flee to Plymouth Colony and his property was confiscated. He died on August 29, 1674 in Swansea in the Plymouth Colony. A relationship with Marinus Willett (1740-1830), who was also mayor of New York City in 1807 and 1808, is controversial among historians.

Web links

• Thomas Willett in the HISTORICAL SOCIETY of the NEW YORK COURTS
• Thomas Willett in a reproduction of the Magazine of American History for March, 1887.
• Thomas Willett in The Mayors Who Made NYC

• Thomas Willett in the database of Find a Grave (English)

predecessor	Office	successor
Petrus Stuyvesant	Mayor of New York City 1665–1666	Thomas Delavall

predecessor	Office	successor
Thomas Delavall	Mayor of New York City 1667–1668	Cornelius Van Steenwyk