Samuel Welles

  Noted events in his life were:

• Family History: From The Descendants of Governor Thomas Welles of Connecticut and his Wife Alice Tomes, Volume 1, Third Edition. Page 227 [^# denotes superscript for generation in original document]

31. CAPT. SAMUEL^3 WELLES (Thomas^2, Gov. Thomas^1), born in October 1662 based on his age at death, probably in Hartford, Connecticut; and died 3 October 1733, at age 70 (FEH 658). He married RUTH JUDSON, daughter of Capt. Joseph Judson and Sarah Porter (TAG 212269), born 22 October 1664 in Stratford, Connecticut (Barbour citing LR 1:49); and died 2 May 1744 in Hartford, Connecticut, at age 80 (FEH 658).

Ruth Welles was admitted to full communion at the First Church in Hartford in 1687 (FEH 658).

The Connecticut Historical Society holds an original deed, dated 20 August 1696 and signed and sealed by Samuel Wells of Hartford in his Majesty's colony of Connecticut in New England. The deed provides Capt. Jonathan Bull of Hartford with grassland in the south meadow of Hartford.

Bull paid for this Hartford property with meadow land in Hockanum [now East Hartford] and one cow. The seal has been pressed by a signet ring bearing a coat-of-arms. The coat-of-arms engraved into the seal ring has a chevron with ermine tails and martlets or blackbirds. This design was used by several Wells families in England, mainly in Hampshire and Sussex. There is no evidence that such a coat-of-arms was officially granted to the Welles families of Warwickshire. Thus, there is some likelihood that Samuel simply found a generic design to use as his own.

The will of Capt. Samuel \Welles was dated 29 June 1733 and proved 6 November 1733. The will names his wife Ruth; son Samuel Welles; daughter Sarah Welles; three grandchildren Samuel Bewell, Thomas Pitkin and Hannah Bewell; and grandson Welles Ely. He gave his wife and daughter Sarah each half ownership of his Negro man called Jack. It appoints his wife Ruth and his son Samuel as executors and was witnessed by Joseph Hollister, Joseph Pitkin, and John Risley, Jr. (Manwaring 3:127­ 128).

Ruth's will was dated 9 September 1741 and proved 4 September 1744. It names her grandson Samuel Bewell [sic, Buell], granddaughter Hannah Pitkin [sic, should be Buell], grandson Thomas Pitkin, grandson Welles Ely, son Samuel Welles, and daughter Sarah Clark; son-in-law John Clark and son Samuel Welles are appointed executors. The will was witnessed by John White, John Cornwell, and Sarah Burton (Manwaring 31473-474, citing 142142).

Children, surnamed WELLES,born in Hartford, Connecticut:

174 i. JOSHUA; bapt. 29 Aug 1684 (FEH 658 citing Hartford Second Church records). Apparently d. young.

+ 175 ii. HANNAH, b. 22 Nov 1690; d. 20 Feb 1718/9; m. 8 Oct 1713 CAPT. PETER BUELL.

+ 176 (Capt) SAMUEL, JR., b. 26 Dec 1693; d. 2 Mar 1760; m. 31 Jan 1722 ESTHER ELLSWORTH.

+ 177 iv. RUTH, b. 29 Jan 1696/7; d. 2 Apr 1731; m. Jan 1725/6 MAJ. DANIEL ELY.

+ 178 V. SARAH, b. 16 Dec 1700; d. 11 Aug 1763; m. 13 Jul 1738 CAPT. JOHN CLARK.

+ 179 vi. REBECCA, b. 3 Oct 1703; d. bef. 20 Feb 1724/25; m. 24 Oct 1723 CAPT. THOMAS PITKIN.

180 vii. JAMES, b. c. 1706 (Goodwin 657); d. 10 Feb 1724/25 (FEH 658), a date toward the end of an epidemic that swept Hartford (church records slip index citing E. Burleson's private record).

Published Works: FEH 658; Goodwin (1856) 257 (omits son Joshua); HH 784; TAG 21:269; Welles (1968) 4:24-25: family CCCXXX.

Samuel married Ruth Judson, daughter of Captain Joseph Judson and Sarah Porter. (Ruth Judson was born on 22 Oct 1664 in Stratford, Connecticut and died on 2 May 1744 in Hartford, Connecticut.)