Person:Leonard Chester (4)

"ORIGIN:Blaby, Leicestershire …
BIRTH: Born about 1610, probably at Blaby, Leicestershire, son of John and Dorothy (Hooker) Chester.
DEATH: Wethersfield 1648 [Wethersfield Hist, plate facing 2:208)."

"Leonard Chester, the only son of John of Blaby by Dorothy Hooker, was baptized at Blaby on 15 July 1610, and was therefore 18 years old when his father died. He married at the age of 21, and the young couple emigrated to New England in 1633 with his uncle Thomas Hooker, who was afterwards pastor at Hartford, in Connecticut. He purchased lands at Watertown in this State, where 'Chester's Meadow' still perpetuates his name. He was one of the Colony, who left Watertown in 1635 to settle in the town of Wethersfield, where his descendants continued to be resident proprietors for several generations. He had married before leaving England Mary Wade, who seems to have had a comfortable fortune. He made a Will in 1637, from which it appears that he had then already acquired a considerable estate at Wethersfield, although he had not disposed of all his property in England. This Will was never proved, for it was superseded by a later Will dated in 1648, but the earlier Will is printed in the Historical and Genealogical Register of New England * and is now reproduced to show his position at this period."

"Leonard (Chester), Watertown 1633, s. of John of Blaby, Co. Leicester, by Dorothy, sis. of famous Thomas Hooker, had prob. brot. w. Mary, of whose parentage some diversity of opinion aris. Bond, 736, calls her Nevill, but Chester's will that had not been seen by him, speaks of his f. Wade, and yet Goodwin, in his geneal. of the fam. p. 8, quotes an authority that calls her wid. Wade, d. of Nicholas Sharpe, and, in my guess, it may be that she was wid. of Sharpe, and d. of Wade. He had John, b. 3 Aug. 1635 at Watertown, but had left his w. there, while he went to look out for the desira. region, to wh. next yr. his uncle Hooker and Gov. Haynes rem. Wild tradit. makes this s. the first white ch. b. in the town of Wethersfield, where, we may be sure, no Eng. ch. was b. for many mos. later. Other ch. were Dorcas, b. at the new settlem. 1 Nov. 1637, wh. m. 12 Nov. 1656, the sec. Rev. Samuel Whiting; Stephen, 3 Mar. 1639, wh. d. unm. 23 Apr. 1705; Mary, 15 Jan. 1641, d. unm. at 28 yrs.; Prudence, 16 Feb. 1643, m. 30 Dec. 1669, Thomas Russell of Charlestown; Eunice, 15 June 1646, m. 25 Feb. 1673, the sec. Richard Sprague, and d. 27 May 1676; and Mercy, 14 Feb. 1647, d. unm. at 22 yrs. The f. d. 11 Dec. 1648, aged 38 or 9; and his wid. m. not bef. 1655, Hon. Richard Russell of Charlestown, and d. 30 Dec. 1688, near. 80 yrs. old."

"Probate Records. Vol. II, 1650 to 1663. Page 8-9-10-11.

Chester, Leonard, Wethersfield. Invt. £1062-01-08. Taken by James Boosey, Sam. Smith. Will dated 22 November, 1637: I, Leonard Chester, of Wethersfield, Gentleman, doe ordain and appoint this my last will & Testament: Imp. I give and bequeath unto my sonne John, all that my howse lott with howses, meadows and other Lands whatsoever, together with that Mill and the appurtenances thereto belonging wch I am in building at the devising of these presents, all wch doe lye, are situate, and have their being in the towne and Libberty of Wethersfield aforesaid, to enter uppon the one halfe Imediately after my decease for and towards his education and maintenance, and upon the other halfe after the decease of Mary, my Beloved wife, and not before. And if it shall so happen that the said John shall dye without Issue before hee comes to the Age of one and twenty years, that then the said howses, Land and aprtenances thereto, I give and bequeath unto my daughter Mary; and if it shall please God that my daughter Mary shall dye without Issue, that then my will is that the aforesaid howses, Lands, etc. shall be devided amongst the heirs of my Body in Generall; or, for want of Issue, to the Children of my deare uncle Mr. Thomas Hooker, now pastor at Hartford, in Connecticut aforesaid. Item. I give and bequeath unto my daughter Mary £200. Item. I give and bequeath unto my Mother Dorothy Chester £30. And I doe give unto my wife Mary one halfe of my howse lott with howses, meadowes and other Lands whatsoever, together with the mill and the Aprtenances thereto belonging wch I am now building, to have and to holde for her propper use and benefit during the time of her naturall Life, and then to returne to the only use and right of my sonne John, according to the premisses before specified. And I doe appoint & constitute my deare wife Mary my whole and only Executrixe. And I doe appoint Mr. John Plum and Mr. Henry Smith, both of this Towne of Wethersfeild, to bee my ourseers, for wch I doe give unto Mr. Plum: ten shillings to buy him a paire of gloves, and Mr. Smith I give to him thirty shillings. In witness hereunto I have sett my hand and seale the day and yeare Above written.

LEONARD CHESTHER.

In the prsence of us: Henry Smith.

It is the Last will and testament of Leonard Chesther, Gent., that Mr Haynes and Mr Webster shall take into Consideration the £300 sent over as parte of the portion of his wife since he came to New England, wch was to bee disposed of for her use with her liking, wch being rectified by the two friends above named, then his howsing, Lands, stock and estate to bee disposed of to the benefitt of his Children according as the said Leonard should determine when they conferr with him: And in case hee departe this life before they can visit him, then hee Intreats those two ffriends as his Last will to proportion the estate to his posterity as they judge fitt. And hee makes Mr. Webster and Mr. Newton, of Tonxsis, his overseers.

LEONARD CHESTHER.

In the prsence of Tho. Hooker, James Boosey, Dorothy Chesther.

Memorandum: Whereas, I have some yeares since drawne up the sum of my thoughts and desires into a writing and Committed it to the keeping of my uncle Thomas Hooker, now deceased, wch writing for present I cannott well come att, and further because in the writing I have not so farr as I remember made any provision for my younger children wch have beene borne since, I doe therefore hereby declare that whatever provision is therein made for my younger Children that were then borne, the same provision I doe appoint to bee made for my younger Children borne since, so that they shall all have portions alike, equal one to another, except my eldest sonne, to whom I have and doe still bequeath a double portion. And whereas, in that my will I have Intreated Mr. John Webster and my Coussin Newton to bee my Executors, I doe hereby make knowne that my desire is to ease them of that trouble and doe Constitute and appoint my Loving wife to be my sole and aloane Executrix. And Lastly, because I have taken no order in that writing for the dispose of what estate I have remaining still in ould England, I doe therefore bequeathe all that estate, whither in Annuity, goods or otherwise, wch either is or shall bee by right appertaining unto mee or mine heirs, and in particular one Annuity of 30 quarters of Barlye issueing out of the estate of Nicholas Sharpe, deceased, and by his will bequeathed unto mee and mine heirs, for the settling whereof I have sent over a letter of Attornye to my father Wade; all this, with what ever else will bee coming to mee out of ould England, I doe give to my wife during her life, with all the prfitts that shall acrewe therefrom; and after her decease I doe give and bequeath it to my Children, viz., to my eldest sonne a double portion, and to the rest to every one an equal portion. That this is my full minde and finall resolution and will, I doe hereto in testimony hereof sett to my hand & seale this 2 of August, 1648.

LEONARD CHESTHER.

In the presence of us: Henry Smith, Will Smith, Thomas Hanchett.

My desire is to Add something further to my within mentioned will, viz: ist, In Case that my Annuity in ould England shall not bee sould and so shall fall by Lawe uppon my Eldest sonne, that then whatever I have given to my Eldest sonne by my will, viz., that double portion of goods, shall be translated from him to my other Children to mend their portions; 2nd, In case any of my Children shall proove undutifull and stubborne to their mother, that it shall bee in the power of their mother to take away the one halfe of that portion I have bequeathed to that childe and to give it to such of the rest as shall be more dutifull unto her. These things, though in rude and undigested manner, I desire for the present thus to sett downe, Intending if God spare my Life to reduce all into one Intire writing; this 2 August 1648. LEONARD CHESTHER..

This Court takeing the Estate of Mr Chesther decd into Consideration on the 21st July, 1651, Judge meete that the Widow should have £300 and the remainder of the Estate to be equally divided amongst the Children. The Eldest to have a double portion, according to the Will. Any Estate that may come from England being also considered with the Estate heere, the wch if it falls to the Eldest sonne, if that amount to £100, hee is to have but a single portion with the other Children."