Of my 9th G. Grandfather, Richard Baldwin (1622 - 1665) and Early Milford CT

Richard Baldwin, my 9th great-grandfather

(Now, y'see, that looks like great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandpa when you write it out, which is something, really, and when we get into the 38th and 45th generations later on, not on the Baldwin line, but on others, it's really going to be ridiculous. No one wants to read about great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandpa Richard over and over again, and so I use the numbers. See, 9th g. grandfather, now that looks neater, doesn't it?)

We are not related to Foghorn Leghorn.

Richard was born, y'see, August 25th 1622 in Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire England, according to my records. He was the second eldest child; only his sister Sarah was born before him, about April 21, 1621. So she would have been only about a year older than he was, of course. Being that the Baldwins arrived in America in 1638, Richard would have been only about a month shy of 16 years old, with his sister Sarah at the ripe old age of 17. That's normal marriage age back then, and sure enough it looks like she did marry one Benjamin Fenn around that same year, in 1638-1639. Records from this period may refer to her as Sarah Fenn, or Sarah Baldwin Fenn, from this point on.

Benjamin Fenn's stone on Milford Memorial Bridge.

So Richard and his mother Sarah were named as the executors of Sylvester's estate after his death on the ship. This was witnessed by other passengers aboard the Martin and bore out legally in court. Sometime after this, Richard's mother Sarah remarried, to a man named John Astwood. John Astwood is referred to as "one of the seven pillars and judges of Milford", and he died some time later in 1653 (although his stone says 1654) after going to London on business for the colony. Charles Candee Baldwin is unsure as to whether or not Sarah went with him on the trip, and returned alone after his death, or if she stayed behind in Milford, never to see him again. Either way, this Sarah wound up being a very wealthy widow some years later, still living in early Milford CT.

John Astwood's stone on Milford Memorial Bridge.

An 1899 issue of "Connecticut Magazine" states that Milford was a part of the New Haven colony around the time of the Baldwins' arrival in 1640. The article I refer to can be read online, and is interesting reading. I won't go into too much detail on the blog but will leave the link down here:

1899 Connecticut Magazine article, Early Milford CT

After her own death, Richard's mother Sarah went on to leave her granddaughter, that is, the daughter of Sarah Baldwin Fenn, now married and named Sarah Burwell, five shillings in her will. Sarah Bryan Baldwin Astwood, Sarah Baldwin Fenn, and Sarah Fenn Burwell. That's three 'Sarah's in three generations. You run into a lot of duplicate naming during genealogical research, so it is important to match names to dates with multiple records, if possible, to make sure you have the right person. I think I'm the ninth or tenth William Baldwin, counting g. uncles and cousins, and that's just what I can remember off the top of my head. I wish i'd run into a Ziggy Stardust Baldwin once in a while. Heck even with a name like Theophilus Baldwin, I've run into three of those!

Back to Richard Baldwin himself. According to Nareen, et al. from FindAGrave (which I am hesitant to abbreviate at the moment, haw haw haw), Richard was an original proprietor in Milford at the age of 17 in 1639, as I've concluded, and he joined the church on May 9, 1641. Given what is known of the New Haven colony, this must have then been the puritan church, and his admittance to it opened up the possibility for Richard to become involved in the political system, which was only open to church members. This made non-members testy and antsy and this may be one of the reasons for the New Haven colony's ultimate failure. Oliver Cromwell was involved at this point in history.

"The Baldwin Book" lets us know that Richard appeared frequently before the general court of New Haven, and his arguments were described as "redolent of the shrewd, technical manner of the time", that is, it seemed he had some legal training. Charles suggests that Richard was involved with the legal office of his uncle Henry, who was a lawyer, and he may also have been involved with Chief Justice Sir John Baldwin back in England. This John Baldwin is suggested as a possible relative, although on this matter, I am unclear.

Richard married on February 5, 1642 at the age of 19 years old, Elizabeth Alsop, when she was about 17. Elizabeth Alsop Baldwin will be covered in my next post. She is what is known as a 'gateway ancestor', or an ancestor that people can look for during research, in order to find a familial connection to royal houses, ancient kings, and Magna Carta signers. All of those Shapers of Western Civilization As We Know It.

But, next post.

In 1646, Richard and Elizabeth lived west of the Wepawaug River. Nareen gives this lot as being between his stepfather John Astwood, a captain, and Benjamin Fenn, at this time his brother-in-law. Richard was Milford Town Clerk in 1648, and an ensign of the New Haven Colony Troop in 1654. He took part in the demonstration against the Dutch on the Hudson River at this time. A year later he became a Sergeant of the "Train Band" in 1655, and appeared in the New Haven court from 1662 and 1664. He also kept an Inn in his house, described as an "ordinary". This means that it was an Inn which served a complete meal, at a fixed price.

Richard died a year later in 1665. Nareen gives the following: "The inventory of his estate was taken Sept. 28, 1665 by Robert Treat and William Fowler and was distributed as follows: to the widow 150 pounds, to the eldest son, Silvanus 70 pounds, and to each of the other children: 36 pounds at legal age or at their marriage."

Speaking of Richard and Elizabeth's children, this generation had nine.

First came Elizabeth (1644), who married Zachariah Burwell, then Sylvanus (1646) who married Mildred Prudden (she was the daughter of Reverend Peter Prudden, the first pastor of Milford), Sarah (1649) who married Samuel Riggs, and Temperance (1651) who married Nathan Burwell. Temperance may have been named after Elizabeth Alsop's mother Temperance Gilbert. Then followed Mary (1653) who married Daniel Comstock.

Here is a monument I found which is located in Newark, New Jersey. The Ephriam Burwell listed on this monument is said to be the brother of Nathaniel Burwell, who married Temperance Baldwin, and Zachary Burwell, who married Elizabeth Baldwin. (This would not be the only time that two Baldwin siblings would marry two siblings of another family directly. See Baldwins and Siddells in upcoming posts). I also found Zachary's name on the monument, along with others familiar to Milford's history. Since Elizabeth is listed in The Book as moving to Newark New Jersey around 1667, there can be little doubt that these people listed on the monument are indeed my somewhat distant relatives.

A monument located in Newark, NJ.

Baldwins and Burwells are listed on the monument.

Richard's sixth child was named Theophilus Baldwin, and he was born about April 16, 1659. This Theophilus is my 8th great grandfather, and his son, also Theophilus, is my 7th. This is one of the lines which stayed relatively local, and we see their many descendants living in Milford, Cornwall, Goshen, Litchfield, Torrington, and Winsted Connecticut. We arrived in Connecticut in 1638 and haven't moved in 379 years!

Richard's youngest three children were named Zachariah (1660), Martha (1663), and Barnabas (1665). Martha married a man named Samuel Nettleton.

And that's just about all I have to say about great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandpa Richard.


Some sources:
Charles Candee Baldwin's The Baldwin Genealogy
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=28222832