William Leete

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William Leete (* 1612 or 1613 in Dodington , Huntingdonshire , England ; † April 16, 1683 in Hartford , Connecticut ) was an English settler in America and governor of the New Haven Colony from 1661 to 1665 and the Colony of Connecticut from 1676 to 1683.

Life

William Leete, son of John Leete and Anna Shute, daughter of John Shute, a King's Court judge , was born around 1612 or 1613 in Dodington. He trained as a lawyer and was a clerk at Bishop's Court in Cambridge . His dislike of the court's oppression of the Puritans was a key factor in his emigration to Connecticut. There he was between 1639 and 1662 town clerk of Guilford , Connecticut. He also held the office of justice of the peace there in 1642. He was also between 1651 and 1658 Magistrate of Guilford and between 1643 and 1649 Deputy of Guilford in the New Haven Colony Court. Leete was from 1655 to 1658 Commissioner of the New Haven Colony. He was then lieutenant governor from 1658 to 1661 and governor of the New Haven Colony from 1661 to 1664. After the merger of the New Haven Colony with the Colony of Connecticut, he later became governor of the Colony of Connecticut, where he held the office between 1676 and 1683. He was the only man to hold the office of governor in both colonies, New Haven and Connecticut.

William Leete died in Hartford on April 16, 1683 and was buried in the Ancient Burying Ground .

family

Leete has been married three times. His first wife and the mother of all ten known children was Anna Payne, daughter of Reverend John Payne of Sothoe. They married on August 1, 1636. Anna died on September 1, 1668. His second wife, whom he married on April 7, 1670, was Sarah, widow of Henry Rutherford. She died on February 10, 1673 and 1674, respectively. His third wife was Mary, widow of Francis Newman and Reverend Nicholas Street. She only survived him briefly. She died on December 13, 1683.

Suspicion

It is believed that he was the one who gave shelter to the regicides of Charles I of England , William Goffe and Edward Whalley , in Guilford.

literature

  • Frederick Calvin Norton: The Governors of Connecticut. Connecticut Magazine, 1905.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Leete, William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English settler in America and governor of the New Haven Colony and the Colony of Connecticut from 1676 to 1683 (1661-1665)
DATE OF BIRTH 1612 or 1613
PLACE OF BIRTH Dodington , Huntingdonshire , England
DATE OF DEATH April 16, 1683
Place of death Hartford , Connecticut