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This adventure began when I was researching William Lay, a man from Saybrook who was on the whaler Globe during a mutiny and was later trapped on a remote island in the Pacific. I wanted to put him in touch with some of the Lays who founded Saybrook, but that goal led to a happy pursuit.
The genealogical websites I usually visit didn’t provide a link, so I purchased “The Founders of the Saybrook Settlement and Their Descendants 1635-1985,” a book published in 1985 to commemorate the city’s 350th anniversary. (In fact, several towns were celebrated because the Saybrook settlement included Essex, Lyme, Chester, Deep River, Ivoryton, Westbrook, and Centerbrook.)
Although he did not answer my question, the book contains rich biographical information on the colony’s founding fathers, including the probable ancestors of William Lay, brothers Robert, Edward and John Lay.
Robert was Essex’s second permanent resident. He assisted George Fenwick, the governor of Fort Saybrook, in several projects, including the development of the Fenwick property on Nott Island in the Connecticut River. (Today the island is a wildlife refuge.) Robert engaged in the Caribbean trade, exporting local products and importing sugar and molasses. While in home port, his ketch, the Stagecoach, was moored with other ships at Lay’s Wharf in Potapoug Point in Essex.
There were fewer details about Edward and John, but the next person who caught my eye on the early settler list was Anne Bingham – probably because I wrote about the Binghams, and also because it’s nice to see a recognized founding mother.
Anne and Thomas Bingham left England in 1659 with their 14-year-old son Thomas, Jr. The Binghams had six more children, at least three of whom died young. If there were other surviving descendants, they did not accompany their parents.
Despite the couple’s courageous hopes for a fresh start, Anne’s husband fell fatally ill while crossing the Atlantic and was buried at sea. When Anne arrived in Saybrook, she was a middle-aged widow with a teenager, far from home. In 1660 she married William Backus, another settler who had lost his wife, and settled in Norwich. Anne died in 1670 and is buried in Norwich Founders’ Cemetery, making her the founding mother of two towns and the matriarch of a long line of distinguished Americans.
In 1666 Anne’s son Thomas married Mary Rudd. When their son, Joseph, grew up, he married William Backus’ daughter, Hannah, by his first marriage. If you’re confused (I sure was), William Backus was Joseph’s step-grandfather, making Joseph’s wife his step-aunt.
Mary Rudd was the daughter of Jonathan Rudd, another founder of the Saybrook Colony. Jonathan first came to New Haven as a farmer and leatherworker. He served in the militia but was charged with keeping a dirty gun and drinking while on duty, serious crimes in a survival mode community. A few years later, Jonathan moved to Saybrook where he appears to have been a more responsible citizen. He became a selectman and helped build the Fort at Saybrook.
Jonathan also played a starring role in a local legend. In the winter of 1646-1647, he wanted to get married, but heavy snow prevented the magistrate authorized to celebrate marriages from reaching the couple. They asked John Winthrop if he would officiate instead. Although Winthrop’s authority was not recognized in Saybrook, the issue was famously solved by his position on the New London side of the creek, while Jonathan and his wife stood on the Saybrook side (now hui East Lyme). This romantic story has captured the imagination of people ever since. According to several sources, Bride Brook’s marriage was even reenacted at the New York World’s Fair in 1964!
The complex relationships between early colonial families are always a fun challenge to unravel. Even if you never find the answer to your original question, it doesn’t really matter. The trip is so much fun.
Thanks to the Historical Societies of Essex, Old Saybrook and East Lyme for their invaluable assistance with this column.
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