Person:William Backus (5)

William left the tools of a cutler to his step-son Thomas Bingham. This lead to the discovery of his apprenticeship to William Nutt of Grimesthorpe (near Sheffield). The apprenticeship ended in 1627 and he was admitted to the Sheffield Cutlers Company in 1631.

There was a William Backhouse who immigrated in 1637, but there is no other mention of him anywhere, until the mention of this William in Saybrook in 1657 where, according to the Bingham Genealogy of 1927, pg 75, Backus is a name listed as present at a Saybrook town meeting on January 7, 1657. Bingham genealogy (96) says he is listed at a town meeting in 1648. Research in Sheffield discovered baptism records for his children through 1640, and the death of his wife in 1643, including one baptized in Dec. 1637, which would seem to make it unlikely he is the William in the colonies in 1637.

He was one of the first settlers at Norwich, CT. He is not regarded as a first proprietor because he made over his land to his sons. It is said that William, being the oldest man there, with the consent of the others named the town for the place from which he came. He died soon after being of advance age.

William Backus, Sr., did not long survive the transfer, his share of the new land descending to his younger son Stephen, presumably just coming of age, while his elder son, William, Jr., had a share in his own right. In this manner the two sons appear on the records among the thirty-some original proprietors of Norwich, but William, Sr., does not. Older accounts show him dying in 1664. Mary E. N. Backus in her excellent history of the family gives good reason for believing he died between June 12, 1661, the date of his will, and August 28 of that same year, since an official record of property transfer indicates that Stephen had already succeeded to his father's estate by the latter date. With the colony still in the early stages of governmental organization, legal matters sometimes suffered delay. It was June 21, 1665, before the will of William, Sr., was allowed in the New London Court.^S4

Will of William Backus

Dated 12 June 1661
Official property transfer before August 1661
Allowed in New London CT Court - 21 Jun 1665

This may Certifie whom it may concerne That I Wiiliam Backus Senior being now alive and in memory Doe ordain this my last will and testament wherin my mynd is Declared concerninge the ordaining and Disposing of my estate whereunto I Doe hereby constitute and appoynt my trustid and welbeloved sonn Steevin Backus Heier, Executor and Administrator of my whole estate to Dispose thereof according to the order of my will.

And first of all for my wife who hath beene both loving unto me and carefull of me it is my will to provoide as comfortable for her as I can, that after my Decease she might be supplied as may be needfull and convenient for her which I conceive might be best attained by her abydeing with my sonn Steeven in the house and soe to partake with him of the estate soe far as shall be needfull and convenient for her according to what shall arise both from the grounde and stock, but if Steeven and she shall part and the occasion thereof Doe arise from Steeven or by reason of his undutifull cariage towardes her or any other way of Discouragement proceeding from him which may occasion her departing from him, Then my will is that Steeven shall provoide for her Twenty bushells of corne a yeere that is Twelve bushells of Indian and eight of wheate as also a Third part of the milke of the cattle and a sixt part of garden stuff as squashes and pumpkins turnips and the like During the tyme of her life if she change not her condition, but if my wife shall volluntarily part from Steeven without any just occasion from him my will is notwithstanding that Steeven should provoide for her fower bushells of wheate and sixe bushells of Indian a yeere Dureing the time of her life as aforesaid if she change not her condition. The which if she shall Doe my will is that Steeven shall be cleere of all these ingagements Also my will is that my wife should have the bed and bedclothes (except on pillo for Steeven) soe long as she lives although she stay not in the house provided she stay in the Towne, and at her Decease all shall returne to Steeven except her wearing clothes and one pillo; and concerning my sonn William it is my will that he should have all the tooles belonging to the trade of a smith and cutler and what Ivory there is with the bellowes, And concerning all the rest of my children as John Renalds and his wife, and Benjamin Crane and his wife and John Bingham (3 words crossed out) my will is that they should all have three bushells of Indian corne a peece ad this corne to be paid wthin the space of five yeers by the Heire and executor. Last of all my will is that my loveing freinds Thomas Leffingwell and John Birchard should see this my will performed according tot he true intent thereof. Witness my hand this 12th of June Anno Dom. 1661

Witness. Thomas Tracy
John Poast The marke of
William Backus
Extracted out of the will as returned under the hand of William Backus and allowed in New London Court held June 21st 1665
Obadiah Bruen Recorder

Ancestry

The ancestry presented here is taken from FamilySearch Family Tree, originating in the Ancestral File. It appears to be the only source of information and should be considered suspect. Neither The Backus families of early New England (1966) nor the NEHGR article "William Backus of Sheffield, Yorkshire, and Norwich, Connecticut" (1988) provide any lineage for William.

1. ↑ Jacobus, Donald Lines, and Edgar Francis Waterman. Hale, House and Related Families, Mainly of the Connecticut River Valley. (Hartford: The Connecticut Historical Society, 1952).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} Bingham, Everett F. "William Backus of Sheffield, Yorkshire, and Norwich, Connecticut", in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society)
   Vol. 142:253-54, (Jul. 1988).
3.   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)
   1:89.

   WILLIAM, Saybrook 1638, had there William and Stephen, removed to Norwich about 1660, was freeman 1663, and died June 1664, leaving second wife Ann, who died May 1670. His first wife was Sarah, daughter of John Charles.

4.   Backus, Reno Warburton. The Backus Families of Early New England. (Nopeming, Minn.: Reno Warburton Backus, 1966)
   Page 5 - 6.