Person:Matthew Allyn (1)

Matthew Allyn
chr.17 Apr 1605 Braunton, Devon, England
m. 24 Sep 1583
  1. Matthew Allyn1605 - 1670/71
m. 2 Feb 1626/27
  1. Mary Allyn1627/28 - 1689
  2. Colonel John Allyn1630/31 - 1696
  3. Captain Thomas AllynEst 1633 - 1695/96
Facts and Events
Name[1][2] Matthew Allyn
Gender Male
Christening[1] 17 Apr 1605 Braunton, Devon, England
Marriage 2 Feb 1626/27 Braunton, Devon, Englandto Margaret Wyatt
Emigration[1] 1633
Residence[1] 1633 Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States
Other[1][2] 4 Mar 1634/35 Admitted freeman of Massachusetts Bay.
Residence[1][2][3] 1636 Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, United StatesOriginal Proprietor.
Residence[1] Bef 1648 Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Will[1][2] 30 Jan 1670/71 Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Occupation[1] Merchant.
Death[1][2] 1 Feb 1670/71 Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Estate Inventory[1] 14 Feb 1670/71 £ 466 17s. 2d., of which £160 was real estate.
Probate[1] 2 Mar 1670/71 Will proved.

Deputy from Cambridge to General Court, March 1635/36. He was a member of the church at Cambridge, and removed with the rest of the church the next year to Hartford. He was excommunicated by 1644, and his attempts to be reinstated were unsuccessful. He later removed to Windsor, CT, for which he was deputy 1648 to 1651 and 1654 to 1657. He joined the church there when he arrived, but since he died prior to Matthew Grant's retrospective compilation of Windsor church records, he does not appear in the list of those admitted after the removal of the church from Dorchester to Windsor. Assistant 1658 to 1666. Patentee for the Royal Charter, 1662, and Commissioner for the United Colonies, 1664.S1

In his will, dated 30 January 1670[/1] and proved 2 March 1670/1, Matthew Allyn of Windsor bequeathed to wife Margaret Allyn entire estate for life (sons John Allyn, Thomas Allyn & Benjamin Nuberry to improve it for her benefit); to son John Allyn (after decease of Margaret Allyn) all lands in "Kenillworth in the County of New London, I say both the farm & stock upon it" as well as land in Hartford previously given to him as his marriage portion; to son Thomas Allyn (after decease of Margaret Allyn) half of land at Catch [Simsbury] (out of which "my beloved grandchild Mathew Allyn" is to get one hundred acres) as well as lands at Windsor already given him as his marriage portion; to son and daughter Benjamin and Mary Newbery (after decease of Margaret Allyn) other half of land at Catch (out of which "my beloved grandchild Mary Maudsly" is to get fifty acres); to Mary Griffen (servant) 40s.; to John Indian one suit of clothes; to sons John and Thomas Allyn and daughter Mary Newbery residue equally; wife to be sole executrix. The inventory of the estate of "Mr. Mathew Allyn deceased" was taken 14 February 1670/1 and totalled £466 17s. 2d., of which £160 was real estate: "land & stock at Kennelworth," £120; and "land at Catch," £40 ("the house & land in Windsor not inventoried because by a deed of gift it was made over to Thomas Allyn by Mr. Mathew Allyn at the marriage of the said Thom: Allyn to be to him & his heirs forever after the death of the said Mr. Mathew Allyn & Margaret his wife") [Hartford PD Case #104; Manwaring 1:171-72].S1,S5

References
  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Matthew Allyn, in Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633. (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995)
    1:40-44.

    "ORIGIN: Braunton, Devonshire"
    "RETURN TRIPS: Had 'conference in England this last summer with certain merchants' (1640) [Lechford 359]; these merchants were of Barnstaple in Devonshire [Lechford 416]. Given the extent of Matthew Allyn's business dealings, it would not be surprising if he had made other trips to England."
    "CHURCH MEMBERSHIP: Admission to Cambridge church prior to 4 March 1634/5 implied by freemanship. …"
    "FREEMAN: 4 March 1634/5 [MBCR 1:378]."
    "BIRTH: Baptized Braunton, Devonshire, 17 April 1605, son of Richard and Margaret (Wyott) Allen [NEHGR 51:213; TAG 57:116].
    DEATH: Windsor 1 February 1670/1 [ WiVR Barbour, citing original 1:40 (although the date is given as "7 February" in some sources)]."
    MARRIAGE: At Braunton, Devonshire, 2 February 1626/7 "Mris. Margret Wyot" [NEHGR 51:214; TAG 57:117]; admitted to Windsor church 5 August 1649 [Grant 10] (and she had probably also been a member of the Cambridge/Hartford church); died Windsor 12 September 1675 [WiVR Barbour, citing "Col. 1:58"].

  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Matthew Allyn, in Barbour, Lucius Barnes. Families of Early Hartford, Connecticut. (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1977)
    6.

    "Matthew Allyn Moved to Windsor. Early member of 1 Chh. Name on Founders Monument. Died Feb 1, 1670-1. Mar. Brampton, Eng. Feb 2, 1626 Margaret Wyatt, dau John Wyatt & Nancy … Matthew Allyn, Cambridge 1632; came from Brampton, Co. Devon; freeman Mass. Mch 4, 1635; rep. at March Gen. Court 1636; rem p[ro]b. next year to Hartford where he was an original proprietor. His house lot was on the road to the Neck now Windsor St. and he owned 110 acres in that and other lots. He was excommunicated by the Church in Hartford and June 3, 1644 he appealed to the Gen. Court for redress. The records do not show how the affair was settled but it may have been one cause of his removal to Windsor. Nevertheless few men in the Colony had more influence or received more honors from the people. He was Deputy from Windsor 1648 to 1657; Assistant 1658 to 1667; Commissioner for the United Colonies 1660 and 1664; frequently appointed upon important Committees by the Gen. Court. His wife Margaret was the sole executrix of his will, dated Jan. 30, 1670-1, Inv. £466.18."

  3. Stiles, Henry R. History and Genealogies of Ancient Windsor, Connecticut (1892): including East Windsor, South Windsor, Bloomfield, Windsor Locks and Ellington, 1635-1891. (Hartford, Connecticut: Press of the Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company, 1892)
    2:27-29.

    Allyn (sometimes Allyne) Matthew, (Hon.) from Brampton, Co. Devon, Eng., supposed to have been son of Samuel of Chelmsford, Co. Essex, Eng. (and, if so, bap, Ap'l, 1604), emigrated with the orig. Braintree Company, 1632, to Charlestown, Mass., where 1633, he had 45 acres div. to him, at 'the Common Pales' — much the largest share of any settler — had an acre for cow and three for planting ground 'on the Neck'; 1635, had by grant, or purchase, 5 acres at Wigwam Neck, six acres meadow near Watertown, 5 acres at Charlestown Lane; owned 5 houses on Town Plot, of Cambridge, 1635; res, near the meeting-house and was the largest landholder in Cambridge (Camb. Rec., fol. 1, 24); was made freeman of Mass., 4 Mch., 1635; was a rep. at Mass. Gen. Court, March session, 1636; prob. rem. next year to Hartford, where he was an orig. prop'r; his house-lot was on the road to the Neck (now Windsor St.), and he owned 110 acres in that and other lots; and the first mill at H., at foot of present W. Pearl St. In May, 1638, he was lodging with Roger Williams [of Windsor and Dorchester; not the founder of Rhode Island]; was a proprietor at Windsor in 1640, also a large owner at Killingworth and at Simsbury. He was a member of Rev. Mr. Hooker's church at H., but for some difference therewith, prob of a doctrinal nature, was excommunicated, and 3 June, 1644, appealed to Gen. Ct. for redress; the records show not fully how the matter was settled, but it may have been one cause of his rem. to Windsor, in which plantation he had previously been interested, having purchased, in 1638, all the lands, 'houses, servants, goods, and chattels' of the New Plymouth Co. at W. —a purchase which 'extinguished the last vestige of Plymouth right and title upon the Conn. River.' His W. homestead was close by the site of the Co.'s old trading-house. By virtue of this purchase, Mr. Allyn, always quick to see and claim his rights, subsequently set up the plea that, having purchased directly from Plymouth, he and his ppy. in Windsor were not amenable to Connecticut taxation. The matter being referred, by mutual consent, to Messrs. Haynes, Ludlow, Hopkins, and Phelps, it was decided that he should pay Connecticut rates and no other, and that he 'should have notice given him, in convenient time, of all such orders as do or may concern him, and that the orders be such as lie within his compass and power to accomplish and perform in a reasonable way.'—(Conn. Col. Rec., i. 53, 54.) After this reference, Sgt. Fyler brought suit against Mr. Allyn in behalf of the town, but, Oct., 1643, was ordered to pay the costs, 'having made a reference before the suit,' i. e., because the reference had been duly made before his suit was entered.

    Mr. Allyn was rep. to the Gen. Ct. every year (except 1653) from 1648 to 1658, inclusive; a magistrate of the Colony, 1657-1667, inc.; commissioner for the United Colonies of E., 1660-4; when, in 1649, the Gen. Ct. desired to initiate hostilities agt. the Indians, Mr. A. was the first-named of the 3 deputies to order the raising of troops; 1657, he and Jo. Gilbert were to go to Pacomtuck (Deerfield) to announce to the Indians the decision of the commissioners; 1659, he and his son John were of the committee app. to div. Indian lands at Podunk (East Hartford); and, at same court, were placed on a com. with power to treat with Mr. Fenwick, in behalf of Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield; when, 1660, the Gov. and Dep.-Gov. were chosen comrnissrs for the next year, he was chosen as a reserve and also to act as moderator in their absence — and was also of the committee, with power, about 30-Mile Island (Haddam). In 1661 he was moderator and of the committee to petition for the charter, in which document, granted to Conn. by Charles II., he was named as one of the grantees. He was again moderator in 1662; chairman of the committee to treat with New Haven for a union in 1662 and '63; and Oct. of last year, chairman of a com. to treat with the Dutch envoys from New Amsterdam; also, with Mr. Willis, to settle the government of the Eng. towns on the west end of Long Island — which committee was renewed, in 1664, with additional members, and with authority to establish courts there, etc. The same year he was also of the committee to settle bounds between 'the Bay' (Massachusetts) — and Rhode Island, and the South bounds—and, with three others, 'Mr. Allyn, Senior, or Junior,' was desired to accompany the Gov. to N. Y. to congratulate His Majesty's commissioners, and, if opportunity offered, to 'issue the bounds between the Duke's patent and o's.' In 1665, under the union of the Conn. and New Haven colonies, Mr. Allyn and his son, Lieut. John, were chosen assistants; again, in 1666 (when Matthew was moderator) and 1667. In 1666 both were of the com. empowered, in case of danger of invasion, to levy troops, commission officers, etc. He was entered on the Killingsworth land records as a large land-owner and first settler, tho'it is not prob. that he ever res. there.

    Hon. Matthew Allyn, as we have thus seen, was eminently 'a man of affairs,' and an active, public-spirited citizen. 'Few men,' says Hinman, 'had more influence, or received more honors from the people, than Mr. Allyn.' Energetic, willful, and persistent in all his projects, he was yet a just, high-minded man, and one of the props of the infant colony. Though he fell under the ban of the Hartford church (prob. because he entertained sentiments on baptism, church membership, or church discipline, at variance with the majority of his brethren), there are many evidences that he was still held in high esteem at Hartford; and Mr. Hinman seems to hint that the H. church encouraged him to remove, being afraid of his 'influence with the settlers.' In 1658, when trouble again arose in the H. church, Mr. Allyn was chairman of the com. of the Gen. Ct. to conduct a correspondence on the subject (Conn. Col. Rec., i. 321).

    Mr. Allyn died 1 Feb., 1670-1; his will dated 30 Jan., 1670-71, makes his wife, Margaret, his sole executrix; gave her the use of his estate, and desired his sons and son-in-law, Newberry, to improve it for her; to his son John he gave his Kennilworth lands, and confirmed to him those lands in Hartford which he had already given him as a marriage portion. His W. house he had previously deeded to his son Thomas, subject to life use by himself and wife; he gave him also a large estate, and provided liberally for his dau. Mary (Newberry), and grand-dau. Mary (Maudsly).— (Authorities consulted, in addition to those already cited, Hinman's Puritan Letters, Scœwva's Hartford in the Olden Time; Mass. Hist. Soc. Collect., vi.; Memorial Hist, Hartford Co., i. 227, 228; Candee Geneal., 121-146.

    His family record does not appear in Matt. Grant's Old Church Rec. He was, undoubtedly, a bro. of Dea. Thomas of Hartford and Middletown, and of Samuel of (East) Windsor. See p. 27.

    'Old Mrs. Allyn,' prob. mother of Hon. Matthew and Thomas, was adm. to Windsor church, 5 Aug., 1649 — O. C. R. In same rec. appears death of 'Ould Mr[s]. Allyn,' 12 Sept., 1675."

    This lengthy and sometimes inaccurate sketch presents a substantial overview of Matthew Allyn's business, real estate and governmental activities throughout his almost four decades in New England.

  4.   Matthew Allyn, in Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England: Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May, 1692, on the Basis of Farmer's Register. (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co, 1860-1862)
    1:43.

    "Matthew (Allyn), Cambridge 1632, was perhaps s. of Samuel of Chelmsford, Co. Essex, freem. 4 Mar. 1635, rep. at March Gen. Ct. 1636, rem. prob. next yr. to Hartford, thence in few yrs. to Windsor, for wh. he was rep. 1648 to 57, Assist. 1658 to 67, and chos. Commissr. for Unit. Col. 1660 and 4, d. 1671. His ch. were all prob. b. in Eng. John, Thomas, and Mary, wh. m. 11 June 1646, Benjamin Newberry, and his will of 30 Jan. 1671 names these and the gr.ch. Mary, d. of Newberry. Common. in his autogr. the name has y, but high authority assures me, that it is not always so; and in the rec. and print. books, it is nearly as often seen with e as without."

    [Additions and Corrections] [Savage, 1:498] [Vol. 1] Page 43, l. 13 from bot. bef. 1671, ins. 1 Feb.

    [Additions and Corrections] [Savage, 4:673] [Vol. 1] Page 43, l. 11 from bot. aft Newberry. Add, His s. Samuel d. 1648." [The Samuel Allen/Allyn who died at Windsor in 1648 was brother of Deacon Thomas Allen/Allyn of Middletown and not related to Matthew of Windsor.]

  5.   Allyn, Matthew, Windsor, in Manwaring, Charles W. A Digest of the Early Connecticut Probate Records. (Hartford, Conn.: R. S. Peck & Co., 1904-06)
    1:171-72.

    "Probate Records. Volume III. 1663 to 1677. Page 84.

    Allyn, Matthew, Windsor. Invt. £466-17-02. Taken 14 February, 1670-1, by Daniel Clarke & Richard Lord. The House and Lands in Windsor not Inventoried because by a Deed of Gift it was made over to Thomas Allyn by Mr. Matthew Allyn at the Marriage of the sd. Thomas Allyn, to be to him & his heirs forever after the death of sd. Mr. Matthew Allyn and Margaret his wife. Prised by Daniel Clarke & Richard Lord. Also a further Invt. of Land & Stock in Kenilworth, valued at £120-00-00, and Land at Ketch [Simsbury] prised at £40-00-00.

    Will: I Matthew Allyn of the town of Windsor, in the Colony of Connecticut, being at prsent through the tender mercy of God, though weak in body, of good memory & have the use of my understanding as at other times, am desirous to attend the counsell of the prophett in setting my house in order that soe I may with the more Freedom wayte the good pleasure of god whose I am & in whome I doe desire forever to hope, wayte and rejoice; & into the Armes of his mercy I desire to render my soule, & my body to christian Buriall according to the discresion of my children; & for that estate that god hath blest me withall, I doe give & bequeath it as hereafter exprest:

    I make my beloved wife my sole executrix of this my Last will & Testament. Imprs: I doe give all the estate that I now stand posest of, both Lands & Cattell & household stuffe, to my deare & well beloved wife margarett Allyn, to be & belong to her during her naturall life, my just debts being first payd; & I desire my sons, John Allyn & Thomas Allyn, & Benjamin Newbery, to improve the same for her comfort; & I command them to be carefull in provideing for her comfortable maintenance as Long as she shall live. And after the decease of my dear & well beloved wife I give unto my beloved sonn John Allyn & his heirs forever, all my Lands & estate lying & being within the Bounds of the towneship of Kenilworth, In the county of New London; I say both the Farme & Stock upon it that is in the hands of my Tennants. I also hereby confirme & ratify to him & his heirs forever all my Land in Hartford that I gave to him as his Marriage portion & which formerly hath bin recorded to him; & after the decease of my wife I give unto my well beloved sonn Thomas Allyn the one halfe of my Farme of Land at Ketch [Simsbury], & neare to Ketch, only out of his halfe I give unto my beloved grand child Matthew Allyn one Hundred Acres of Land whereof twenty Acres shall be meadow; I doe now hereby rattify & confirm the same to him agayn: I likewise give him my tables & stooles that belong to the house, as allso the cupboards.

    I doe likewise, after the decease of my beloved wife, give unto my beloved sonn and daughter Benjamen & Mary Newbery & their heirs forever, the one halfe of my Farme of Land at Ketch & near to Ketch, only out of his halfe I give unto my beloved grand child Mary Maudsley & her heirs for ever, fifty Acres of Land whereof Tenn Acres shall be meadow; I give unto Mary Griffin, if she continue her service wth me & my wife till we decease, Forty shillings besides her wages; I give unto John Indian one suit of my cloathes, my sonns to appoynt which; my just debts & Legacies being payd, the remaynder of my estate I give & bequeath to my sonns John & Thomas Allyn & my daughter Mary Newbery, to be equally divided Between them, each of them to have a third part as before, which third parte shall belong to them & their heirs forever.

    Finally, I command my children that they be loveing, kind & helpful one unto another, & that they walke in the fear of God that he may be with them & bless them when I shall be gathered to my Fathers. And that this is my Last Will & Testament, hereby renounceing all former Wills & Testaments that I have made by writeing or word of mouth, & ratifying this, I declare by subscribeing hereto this thirtyeth of January, 1670.

    MATTHEW ALLYN.

    This was signed & declared to be the last Will & Testament of Mr. Matthew Allyn by himselfe at his house in Windsor the 30th January, 1670.

    Witness: Henry Wolcott sen., Daniel Clarke, Joseph Haynes.

    Court Record, Page 107—2 March, 1670-1: Will proven."

  6.   Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, United States. Records of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1638-1925.

    "Mr. Mathew Allyn dyed Feb 1st 1670" (Bk I p. Forty)

Founders of Windsor, CT
Windsor was the first permanent English settlement in Connecticut. Local indians granted Plymouth settlers land at the confluence of the Farmington River and the west side of the Connecticut River, and Plymouth settlers (including Jonathan Brewster, son of William) built a trading post in 1633. But the bulk of the settlement came in 1635, when 60 or more people led by Reverend Warham arrived, having trekked overland from Dorchester, Massachusetts. Most had arrived in the New World five years earlier on the ship "Mary and John" from Plymouth, England. The settlement was first called Dorchester, and was renamed Windsor in 1637.

See: Stiles History of Ancient Windsor - Thistlewaite's Dorset Pilgrims - Wikipedia entry

Loomis homestead, oldest in CT.
Settlers at Windsor by the end of 1640, per the Descendants of the Founders of Ancient Windsor: Abbot - Alford - S. Allen - M. Allyn - Barber - Bartlett - M. (Barrett) (Huntington) Stoughton - Bascomb - Bassett - Benett - Birge - Bissell - Branker - Brewster - Buckland - Buell - Carter - Chappel - D. Clarke - J. Clarke - Cooke - Cooper - Denslow - Dewey - Dibble - Dumbleton - Drake - Dyer - Eels - Eggleston - Filley - Ford - Foulkes - Fyler - Gaylord - Francis Gibbs - William Gilbert - Jere. Gillett - Jon. Gillett - N. Gillett - Grant - Gridley - E. Griswold - M. Griswold - Gunn - Hannum - Hawkes - Hawkins - Hayden - Haynes - Hill - Hillier - Holcombe - Holmes - Holt - Hosford - Hoskins - Hoyte - Hubbard - Huit - Hulbert - Hull - Hurd - Hydes - Loomis - Ludlow - Lush - Marshfield - A. Marshall - T. Marshall - Mason - M. (Merwin) (Tinker) Collins - M. Merwin - Mills - Moore - Newberry - Newell - Oldage - Orton - Osborn - Palmer - Parsons - Parkman - Pattison - Phelps - Phelps - Phillips - Pinney - Pomeroy - Pond - Porter - Preston - Rainend - Randall - Rawlins - Reeves - J. Rockwell - W. Rockwell - B. Rossiter - St. Nicholas - Saltonstall - Samos - M. Sension (St. John) – R. Sension - Sexton - Staires - Starke - F. StilesH. Stiles - J. StilesT. Stiles - Stoughton - Stuckey - Talcott - E. Taylor - J. Taylor - Terry - Thornton - Thrall - Tilley - Tilton - Try - F. (Clark) (Dewey) (Phelps) - Vore - Warham - Weller - Whitehead - A. Williams - J. Williams - R. Williams - Wilton - Winchell - Witchfield - Wolcott - Young
Current Location: Hartford County, Connecticut   Parent Towns: Dorchester, Massachusetts   Daughter Towns: Windsor Locks; South Windsor; East Windsor; Ellington; Bloomfield