William Phelps, (July 14, 1672) was a Puritan who emigrated from Crewkerne, England in 1630, one of the founders of both Dorchester, Boston Massachusetts and Windsor, Connecticut, and one of eight selected to lead the first democratic town government in the American colonies in 1637. He was foreman of the first grand jury in New England, served most of his life in early colonial government, and according to noted historian Henry Reed Stiles, Phelps "was one of the most prominent and highly respected men in the colony."
Origin of William Phelps William Phelps was a Puritan Englishman who arrived in Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1630 aboard the ship Mary and John with his wife Ann and four children. Oliver Seymour Phelps and his son-in-law, Andrew T. Servin, published The Phelps Family in America in 1899. They mistakenly concluded that William Phelps was the brother of George Phelps, who apparently arrived in Windsor, Connecticut in 1635 aboard the Recovery of London, and that both emigrated from Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England. Modern researchers have concluded this is incorrect.
From Crewkerne
Phelps and Servin's identification of the origin of William Phelps in Tewkesbury was based solely on an estimate of his birth date, derived from what was thought to be his age of 72 at death on July 14, 1672. Oliver Phelps located a William Phelps who was baptized in Tewkesbury on August 19, 1599, and thus identified him as the original immigrant. He also believed that George Phelps was William's brother, despite the fact that they could not locate any records for a George Phelps in Tewkesbury. Recent genetic research has shown no biological relationship between the descendants of William and George Phelps.
Additionally, the will of William Phelps' mother Dorothy in Tewkesbury, probated on May 5, 1617, mentioned a brother-in-law, Edward Phelps. His will in turn, probated on July 1, 1637, named as overseer of his estate his nephew, William Phelps, likely placing William Phelps of Tewkesbury in England and not across the Atlantic in the Massachusetts Bay.
More recent expert research has identified William Phelps of Crewkerne, Somersetshire, England as the immigrant.
Family
Phelps was married twice: (1) Mary (surname unknown), buried in England in 1626, and (2) Anne Dover, who accompanied him and children from both marriages to Dorchester, Massachusetts, a town later annexed by the city of Boston. The names and birthdates of the children correspond to the records later found in the American colony.
Marriage to Mary
Phelps was born in Crewkerne, England and is estimated to have married his first wife Mary sometime between 1615 and 1618, as their first child William was baptized at Crewkerne on September 9, 1618. Mary and William had four children, all baptized before 1625 at Crewkerne: William, Samuel, an unnamed infant who died young, and Nathaniel. Mary was buried at Crewkerne on August 13, 1626.
Marriage to Ann Dover
Three months after Mary's death, William married Ann Dover at Crewkerne, on November 14, 1626. They had five children in England: Cornelius, Joseph and Mary (twins), and another child named Mary. Researchers can not find further records of Cornelius or either of the twin girls named Mary, and presume they all died young. Records in the Colonies have been found for the children born in England named Joseph, Sarah, Timothy and the last Mary. After arriving in the Colonies, Ann and William had three more children: Sarah, Timothy, and a third Mary. Records in the International Genealogical Index corresponding to the children born in Somerset list the names of William Phelps' children from both wives.
Children and grandchildren
William Phelps (–1672), m. (abt. 1618) (1) Mary (surname unknown) (-1626) William Phelps (1618–1681) m. (1645) Isabel Wilson (unknown-1675) Samuel Phelps (1621–1669) m. Sarah Griswold (1638-1715) Samuel (1652-1741) Sarah (1653-1732) Timothy (1656-1714) Mary Hester (1658-) William (1660-1711) John (1662-1779) Ephraim (1663-1697) Abigail (1666-1686) Josiah (1667-1669) Elizabeth (1669-1719) (Unknown) Phelps (–1624) Nathaniel Phelps (–1701) m. 1650 Elizabeth Copley (1629-1712) Mary (1651-1687) Nathaniel (1654-1723) Abigail (1655-1756) William (1657-1745) Thomas (1661-unk) Mercy (1662-1662) m. (1626) (2) Ann Dover Cornelius Phelps (1627–1628) Joseph Phelps (–1684) m. (1676) Mary (surname unknown) (unknown-1682) Mary Phelps (1628-1628) Sarah Phelps (–1959) m. (1658) William Wade Timothy Phelps (1639-1719) m. (1661) Mary Griswold (1644-1715) (sister of Sarah Griswold) Timothy (1663-1768) Joseph (1666-1716) William (1668-1733) Cornelius (1671-1741) Mary (1673-1690) Samuel (1675-1741) Nathaniel (1677-1746) Sarah (1679-unk.) Abigail (1682-1708) Hannah (1684-1747) Ann (1686-1767) Martha (1688-unk.) Mary Phelps (1644-1725) m. (1663) Thomas Barber Jr. (1644-1713) John (1664-1711) Mary (1666-unk.) Sarah (1669-unk.) Joana (1670-unk.) Annie (1671-1722) Thomas (1672-1714) Samuel (1673-1725)
Immigration to New England
King Charles I of England had succeeded his father King James I of England in 1625, and continued his father's strong opposition to the Puritan movement, who opposed many of the Anglican Church's doctrines as retaining too much of its Roman Catholic roots. After the Puritans assumed control of Parliament, they began to pose a serious threat to the King's authority. In January 1629, in a move to neutralize his opponents, Charles dissolved Parliament entirely. The religious and political climate became so difficult for Puritans that many began to make arrangements to leave the country.
William Phelps was among them. Phelps had been a member of Reverend John Warham's church. Warham had been a minister since 1614, but was relieved of his ministerial duties in 1627 because of his "strong Puritan leanings." The group Phelps joined was organized by the Reverend John White, Vicar of Dorchester, England. White is generally regarded as the sponsor of the earliest Massachusetts settlement after Plymouth. At his urging, nearly 150 individuals gathered from the English West Country counties of Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. While many historians assumed that the emigrants were motivated by religious persecution like others in the Winthrop Fleet, the West Country was free from it.
Unlike many who fled England for Canada, Ireland, and the Caribbean during this time, the Puritans who migrated to the New World were on the whole better educated, emigrated with their entire family, and tended to leave relatively prosperous lives to establish a new society of pious family values.New England's Great Migration While the Pilgrims were non-conformists or separatists, the Puritans were reformers. They were not leaving England for economic reasons or for religious freedom, per se, because they believed their faith to be the only true religion. They disrespected all other faiths, especially Quakers.
The emigrants were organized by Rev. White on March 19, 1630, as the West Country Company at New Hospital, Plymouth, England, the day before leaving England. Although very few knew one another, they agreed to emigrate as a body to Massachusetts, where White had sent other groups over the prior six years. White has been called "the father of the Massachusetts Colony," despite remaining in England his entire life, because of his influence in establishing this settlement. From their first arrival aboard the Mayflower in 1620, until 1629, only about 300 Puritans had survived in New England, scattered in small and isolated settlements.
The group fasted, prayed and prepared themselves for their perilous long voyage. White preached sermons in the morning and afternoon; then, with his blessing, the group departed on March 20 for the New World aboard the Mary and John.
Arrival in the New World
The Mary and John made a good passage and arrived at Nantasket (later Hull) on May 30, 1630, without casualty. They quickly found pasture for their cattle at Mattapan. They made their settlement inland, about to the west on the edge of the bay, and named it Dorchester, honoring Reverend John White of Dorchester, England. Under the oversight of the Massachusetts Bay Colony headed by Governor John Winthrop, the village became the first permanent settlement in present-day Suffolk County.
The arrival of 140 passengers in New England significantly increased the local population. Along with William Phelps was Roger Ludlowe, John Mason, Samuel Maverick, Nicholas Upsall, Henry Wolcott and other men who would become prominent in the founding of a new nation. The passengers are generally known as the Dorchester Company, referring to the place they selected for their settlement. They remained together as a distinct body and contemporary records identify most of them.
Their ship arrived in Massachusetts only 10 days before the first ships of the Winthrop Fleet.The Colonies - The Dorchester Company While the passenger lists for this voyage are not well documented, researchers from the Mary and John Clearing House concluded that it is highly likely that William Phelps, his wife Ann Dover, and their sons William, Samuel, Nathanial and Joseph were aboard ship. These names support the conclusion that William Phelps was from Crewkerne and not Tewkesbury.
Early colonial life
The Mary and John immigrants organized the town of Dorchester upon their arrivalNotable Events in Massachusetts at what is now the intersection of Columbia Road and Massachusetts Avenue in South Boston. The Puritan settlers landed at Columbia Point, which the Native Americans called "Mattaponnock"."Calf Pasture Pumping Station" , Dorchester Atheneum
The immigrants founded the First Parish Church of Dorchester in 1631, which exists today as the Unitarian-Universalist church on Meeting House Hill, being the oldest religious organization in present-day Boston. The first church building was a simple log cabin with a thatched roof.See Historical Sketch The settlers held their first town meeting at the church, and they set their laws in open and frequent discussion. In all of this they were inspired by the ideal of the Kingdom of God on earth and the attempt to realize this in England in the time of the Rev. John White. The church is referred to as a 'Foundation Stone of the Nation".Revd. John White - First Parish Church of Dorchester, Mass.
The new settlers also founded in 1639 the first elementary school in the New World supported by public money, the Mather School. The school is the oldest elementary school in America.Mather Elementary School Dorchester was annexed by the City of Boston in 1970.
Foreman of first grand jury Phelps served continually in varying governing capacities for many years. He was a member of the first General Court held in the colony in 1636, a member of the Court of Magistrates from 1637 to 1643, and was foreman of the first Grand Jury in 1643.
Early service in government Phelps name was spelled in the Massachusetts Colonial Records variously as Felps, Phelips and Phelps. He was made constable, assigned to serve on committees given authority to settle land and boundary disputes, and given other key responsibilities in administering the affairs of the new town, including serving on the General Court, or general meeting, at which individuals were tried for offenses including absence from church, forgery, fornication, and "bastardy."
Phelps remained in Dorchester until 1635 when he and a large number of other families relocated to a new site inland which they named Windsor.
Founding of Windsor
In 1633, the Plymouth Trading Company established the first Connecticut settlement, a trading post at what would become Windsor, Connecticut, in territory the Dutch claimed and in which they maintained a fort and trading post, about seven miles downriver in what was later Hartford, Connecticut.