John Hillier (abt. 1601 - 1655)

Born about 1601 in Plymouth, Devon, England

Descendants

Died 16 Jul 1655 at about age 54 in Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut

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John Hillier migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Directory, by R. C. Anderson, p. 162) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Unproven Information

Birth

When:John's children were born beginning in 1637, implying his marriage to Ann about 1636 or earlier. Speculative dates of birth could be anywhere between 1597 and 1617.

Where:

• Burke's American Families says he was from Granby, Nottinghamshire, England and left in 1635 to immigrate to America.^[1]
• Virkus' Immigrant Ancestors says he comes from England^[2]
• He most definitely was not born in Connecticut or Massachusetts, as is listed on internet trees and Ancestry's AGBI Index. Neither of those places had been settled in the period of his birth.
• Plymouth, Devon, England. This comes from an indexed marriage record for John Hillier and Joann Escotte who were married in Plymouth Devon, England.^[3]

Parents

• NOT Hugh Hillyard/Hillier and Margaret^[4] Many secondary sources mention that Hugh and Margaret had three children: Benjamin, Job and John. No John is mentioned in the probate documents that touch on the lives of Benjamin and Job. The second husband of Margaret and Margaret herself mentions sons Benjamin and Job. If there was a John, he died young without issue.^[5]

Marriage ?

A John Hellier m. Joan Escotte, 21 May 1627, Saint Andrew, Plymouth, Devon, England^[6]

A John Hellier, son of John Hellier was bapt. 02 Apr 1630 at Saint Andrew,Plymouth,Devon,England^[7]

This one record, although it "fits" does not constitute proof of this relationship.

Biography

John Hillier (Hiller, Hillyer) of Windsor in 1640.^[8]

He married Ann _____.^[8] Ann married (2) 9 Dec 1656 John Fitch of Hartford.^[8]

John was one of the first settlers of Windsor recorded in the records of 1640, 5 years after their removal from Dorchester.^[9] He was there as early as 1637, when his first child was recorded, and perhaps there when the town was founded.

He died 16 July 1655.^[9][8]

An Inventory of John Hillier, of Windsor, was taken 24 July, 1655, valued at £39-17-11. He had wife Ann ; children : John age 18 years, Mary 16, Timothy 13, James 11, Andrew 9, Simon 7, Sarah 3, Abigail 1 year old.^[10]

In the Court Record, page 82, on 20 December, 1655 : "This Court desire and appoint the Townsmen of Windsor from year to year to take Care of the Childrens Estate until they receive further order from the Court."^[10]

Later "Court Record (Vol. 3), Page 132 — 4 Sept, 1673: Distribution of Estate of John Hillier : To John Fitch his wives part, £5 ; to John, Eldest son, £6; to Mary, £3 ; to Timothy, £4-17-11 ; to James, £5 ; to Andrew, £5 ; to Simon, £5 ; to Sarah, £3 ; to Abigail, £3."^[10]

Children

1. John b. 3 Jan 1637^[9][8]
2. Mary b. 25 Dec 1639^[9][8]
3. Timothy b. 3 June 1642;^[9][8] sold 1679, to his brother James, his share of the paternal homestead.^[8]
4. James b. 23 July, bpt 24 Aug 1644.^[9][8]
5. Andrew b. 4 Nov 1646;^[9][8] settled at Simsbury^[8]
6. Simon b. 25 Dec 1648;^[9] after his father's death he was boarded out to William Edwards of Hartford, who was to teach him the cooper's trade, reading and writing, and accounts (math). He later contributed to the "Fund for Relief of Poor of other Colonies.^[8]
7. Nathaniel b. 1 Jan 1650/1^[9][8]
8. Sarah b. 25 Aug 1652^[9][8]
9. Abigail b 21 Aug 1654^[9][8]

Sources

1. ↑ Burke, Bernard, Sir, 1814-1892. Burke's American Families With British Ancestry: the Lineages of 1,600 Families of British Origin Now Resident In the United States of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1975. (p. 2743)
2. ↑ Virkus, Frederick Adams. Immigrants to America Before 1750: an Alphabetical List of Immigrants to the Colonies, Before 1750, Compiled From Official And Other Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1965.
3. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J36X-W2X : accessed 13 February 2016), John Hellier, 02 Apr 1630; citing SAINT ANDREW,PLYMOUTH,DEVON,ENGLAND, reference ; FHL microfilm 0896648 IT 2.
4. ↑ Edmund West, comp.. Family Data Collection - Births [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2001. http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=genepoolb&h=2149941&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt Note: Data: Text: Birth date: 1610Birth place: Windsor, Hartford, CT, USA APID: 1,5769::2149941
5. ↑ Manwaring, Charles William (compiler). A digest of the early Connecticut probate records. Vol 1. Hartford District, 1635-1700. Hartford, Conn.:R. S. Peck & Co., 1904
   • John Elsen p. 8
   • Thomas & Margaret Wright pp 260-262
6. ↑ "England Marriages, 1538–1973 ," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N2SB-LZ7 : accessed 13 February 2016), John Hellier and Joan Escotte, 21 May 1627; citing Saint Andrew,Plymouth,Devon,England, reference ; FHL microfilm 481,081, 823,684.
7. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J36X-W2X : accessed 13 February 2016), John Hellier, 02 Apr 1630; citing SAINT ANDREW,PLYMOUTH,DEVON,ENGLAND, reference ; FHL microfilm 0896648 IT 2.
8. ↑ ^{8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 8.11 8.12 8.13 8.14} Stiles, Henry R. The History and Genealogies of Ancient Windsor, Connecticut; including East Windsor, South Windsor, Bloomfield, Windsor Locks, and Ellington. 1635-1891. Hartford, Conn.:Press of the Case, Lockwood and Brainard Company, 1892.
9. ↑ ^{9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10} "Early Records of Windsor, Connecticut." New England Historical and Genealogical Register 5:. (1st settlers p 366; p. 361)
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1 10.2} Manwaring, Charles William. A Digest of the Early Connecticut Probate Records Volume I Hartford District, 1635-1700. Hartford: R. S. Peck & Co., Printers, 1904. p. 127

See Also

• Great Migration: "John Hiller appears in Windsor in 1637 [Windsor Hist 391-2; Grant 61-2], but nothing connects him back to Scituate." There was a John Heliere in Scituate. Great Migration 1634-1635, G-H. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009.) Originally published as: The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume III, G-H, by Robert Charles Anderson. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2003.
• "Ancestral Heads of Windsor's First Families," Connecticut Nutmegger 16: 196.
• "Descendants of the Founders of Ancient Windsor." Eligible ancestor for Descendants of Founders of Ancient Windsor. Connecticut Nutmegger 16: 371.
• Connecticut Nutmegger 21: 419 explains that the surname Hillier means roof maker.
• Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May, 1692. Vol. I-IV. Boston, MA, USA: 1860-1862. V. 2 p. 422. Text: "JOHN, Windsor, had John, b. 3 June 1637; Mary, 25 Dec. 1639; Timothy, 3 June 1642; James, 24 Aug. 1644; Andrew, 4 Nov. 1646; Simon, 25 Dec. 1648; Nathaniel, 1 Jan. 1651; Sarah, 25 Aug. 1652; and Abigail, 21 Aug. 1654; and he d. 16 July 1655. All the ch. exc. Nathaniel, were liv. 1673."
• Hinman, Ralph Royal. A Catalogue of the Names of the Early Puritan Settlers of the Colony of Connecticut: With the ... Published Hartford: Press of Case, Tiffany and Co., 1852. (p. 767) This text does not have an entry for Hillier (he stopped at "D", but under the entry for Joseph Crowfoot, says that Joseph's wife Mary was the daughter of John Hillier of Windsor. The AGBI index for this entry gives his birth as 1610 in Massachusetts.
• Phelps, Noah Amherst. History of Simsbury, Granby, and Canton, from 1642 to 1845 (Case, Tiffany and Burnham, Hartford, 1845) Page 172
• Welles, Edwin. Births, Marriages, and Deaths Returned from Hartford, Windsor, and Fairfield (Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co., 1898) Page 43: "John Hiller dyed July 16th 1655"