Judah Gregory (1643 - 1733)

Born 1643 in Norwalk, Fairfield, Connecticut Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Hannah (Hoyt) Gregory — married 20 Oct 1664 in Norwalk, Connecticut

Descendants

Died 1733 at about age 90 in Danbury, Fairfield County, Connecticut Colony

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Biography

There are no birth or death records for Judah Gregory that have survived. A stone was placed on Judah's gravesite in the Wooster Street Cemetery in Danbury, Connecticut, by James Smith Gregory (1845-1922) that reads: "Judah Gregory 1643--1733 married Hannah Hoyt One of the eight original settlers and founders of Danbury." The images at Find a Grave are very clear.^[1] This is the stone that was read for the Hale Collection in the 1930s.^[2] Both of these dates are estimates.

He was the son of John and Sarah Gregory, residents of Norwalk, Connecticut, when they died in 1689. Judah was mentioned, the third son listed, in the probate records for the couple.^[3] The fourth child, Joseph was baptized in New Haven in 1646. New Haven baptismal records start in 1639, and John Gregory was in New Haven in Feb 1644/5.^[4] Given this information and his known marriage in 1664 a birth estimate of about 1643 is accurate. Because his baptism did not take place in New Haven, he was probably not born in New Haven. However, we don't know precisely where John, his father, was before New Haven. John may have been living with or near his father Henry. Henry was in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1642 and Stratford, Connecticut, shortly after that, so perhaps Judah was born in Stratford.

Judah, as a child, would have gone with his family to New Haven Colony, then to Stratford for a short time and then settled in Norwalk, Connecticut, where he married and had his own children.

Judah Griggorie married Hannah Haite, daughter of Walter, 20 Oct 1664, in Norwalk ^[5]

He was granted land by the town of Norwalk by 20 Jan 1665, when his father agreed to pay for land for Judah and his brother John. 18 Dec 1666 he was granted an Island which was called Judah's Island (on the west side of the river. The creek separating the island from the mainland was filled in and the land became Shore Front Park (1933) and is still represented on the map as Shorefront Park and Shorefront Drive. His home lot was on the east side of the river on what is now East Ave.^[6]

Judah and seven other men purchased land from the Indians and founded the town of Danbury, Connecticut, settling there in the summer of 1684. Little can be found of his time in Danbury due to the burning of the town during the American Revolution in 1777. The original houses were built on south end of town on Main Street, Judah, James Beebe and the Benedicts on the east side.^[6][7]

Judah was buried in the first burial ground in Danbury, now called Wooster St. Cemetery. The place of his grave near the southern boundary was passed down by family members until the modern stone was erected.^[7][1] No probate has been found.

Children of Judah and Hannah born in Norwalk, Connecticut.

1. Hannah, d. Judah, b. 24 Sept 1665^[5]
2. John, Son of Judah b. 14 Mar 1668^[5]
3. Persis, d. of Judah, b. 22 Feb 1671^[5]
4. Joseph, son of Judah b. 16 July 1674^[5]
5. Liddie, d. Judah b. 9 Jan 1676^[5]
6. Josiah, son of Judah b. 13 July 1679^[5]
7. Benjamin, son of Judah b. 26 Mar 1682^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 12 September 2020), memorial page for Judah Gregory (1643–1733), Find A Grave: Memorial #8225615, citing Wooster Cemetery, Danbury, Fairfield County, Connecticut, USA ; Maintained by sandee (contributor 46599713) .
2. ↑ The Charles R. Hale Collection. Hale Collection of Connecticut Cemetery Inscriptions. Hartford, Connecticut: Connecticut State Library. Vol 11. Cemetery # 404-2 Wooster Street Cemetery, Danbury, Connecticut. p. 382 Accessed at Ancestry ($) or online free
3. ↑ Grant (p. 48) cites Fairfield Probate 3 265-266 also Abstract of probate records at Fairfield, Connecticut, down to 1721 p. 135
4. ↑ Hoadly, Charles J, MA. (editor) Records of the Colony and Plantation of New Haven, From 1638 to 1649. Hartford: Case, Tiffany and Company, 1857. pp admittted 154
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7} White, Lorraine Cook, ed. The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records. Vol. 1-55. Volume Norwalk, Hoyt p. 65; Gregory pp. 50-54. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994-2002. Accessed at Ancestry ($).
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Gregory, Grant. Ancestors and Descendants of Henry Gregory (1938): pp 56-58.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Bailey, James M. and Hill, Susan Benedict. History of Danbury, Conn., 1684-1896. New York : Burr Print. House, 1896. Includes "The Century Sermon" by Rev. Thomas Robbins (p. 24) founders p. 25; burial p. 506

See also:

• Gregory, Grant (comp.). Ancestors and Descendants of Henry Gregory. Rutland, VT: Tuttle Publ. Co., 1938.
• Selleck, Charles. Norwalk (The Author, Norwalk, Conn., 1896) Page 82
• Hill, Susan Benedict. History of Danbury, Conn. 1684-1896 (Burr Printing House, New York, 1896) Page 47
• "Connecticut Deaths and Burials, 1772-1934," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F7NW-YPD : 3 December 2014), Judah Gregory, 1733; citing , reference 382; FHL microfilm 3,329. This database is partially built from the Hale Collection, which in this case is dependent on a gravestone placed about 1900+/-20.