William TUTTLE

Notes:

Name:
"Connecticut Ancestry": William Tuttle and his young family signed on to the list of passengers on the "Planter", Mr. Nicholas Travice (Travis), master, bound from London to the New England in the spring of 1635, leaving Gravesend on 2 April, 1635, bound for Boston.

"William Tuttell, husbandman 26 (abt. 1609)
Elizabeth Tuttell 23 (abt. 1612)
John Tuttell 3 1/2 (abt. 1632)
Ann Tuttell 2 1/4 (abt. 1633)
Thonas Tuttell 3 months (b. 1635)

The overall list of names of passengers on the "Planter" is extremely important in that it contains the names of the other related Tuttle families as well as such other well-known early connecticut settlers as William Wilcockson and William Beardsley, and (Mrs.) Eglin Hanford and her daughters Margaret and Elizabeth Hanford, mother and sisters of the Rev. Thomas Hanford later to become the first pastor of the settlement at Norwalk, Connecticut. This was indeed a handsome passenger list and the potential connections between and among these people is typical of Great Migration settlers who migrated together to New England and were associated in various ways thereafter.

William Tuttle settled in Charlestown, Massachusetts, while his brother Richard went to Boston proper and John went on to Ipswich. During his first year at Charlestown, William Tuttle was given permission to build a windmill there, and his wife joined the Boston Church shortly afterward on 24 July 1636, as did many other Charlestown families.

His incentive for joining with the Davenport - Eaton group in the founding of New Haven is not known. For whatever reason, however, he moved with his family to New Haven sometime between his son David's baptism at Boston on 7 April 1639, and 4 June 1639 when his name appeared as a signer of the Fundamental Agreement of the first planters of New Haven.

"Will Touttle" was listed in a place of importance (5th on the list even though his estate was not among the highest in value) on New Haven's comprehensive grand list of planters and heir properties and tax rates in late 1640. This list tells us that there were 7 persons in William Tuttle's household at that time. Bob Anderson used this fact, couples with the fact that an additional child was baptized on 22 November 1640, to determine one boundary of the time of making this otherwise undated list.

With other colonial interests beginning to contend for rights in the Long Island Sound region, the New Haven Colony demanded an Oath of Fidelity be taken by its residents in the summer of 1644 (and afterward until the Colony was absorbed by Connecticut in 1662). William Tuttle was among 28 planters taking that oath on 5 August 1644.

There are several good printed summaries of William Tuttle's numerous records in New Haven, and they will not need to be repeated here. Of these, the most comprehensive are the Tuttle Genealogy itself, Paul Prindle's Gillespie Ancestry (178-90), Branch of Simon (85-105), and Moore Genealogy (532-47). From these records most researchers have concluded that William Tuttle was held in high regard for his judgment and fairness; that he was regularly assigned prominent seating positions in the church sanctuary, also indicating high regard in the community (and solid support for the church); and that he often held positions of responsibility having to do wit boundaries and personal disputes, but did not seek or fulfill any major elected offices.

He owned a considerable amount of property throughout the greater New Haven area, described in detail in many of the same references just cited. After his death and that of his widow, his homestead property at the corner of College and Chapel Streets in New Haven was sold out of the family by its administrators and in 1717 became the site of the newly organized Yale College, later yale University. "The Tuttle homestead was the only land owned by the college for nearly 30 years. It was the first of a long series of purchases (by the college) extending through a period of more than a century, which finally bought the whole of the College Square into its possession. In these transfers, descendants of Wm. Tuttle, who at one time or another owned a considerable part of the square, appear as grantors, either directly to the college or to intermediate holders."

I have not been able to find a concrete reason why three of the Tuttle children married into families from Stamford Although Stamford was originally part of the New Haven Colony, it was quite well separated by distance, and the towns of Norwalk, Fairfield and Stratford, all part of the Connecticut Colony, lay between Stamford and the nearest New Haven Colony Settlement at Milford. Jonathan married Rebecca Bell who had been born in Stamford, Sarah married John Slason who had been born in Stamford, and many of their brother John's children moved to Norwalk and Stamford as well, so his wife Catherine Lane may have been a Stamford girl. Since William Tuttle's brothers both settled in other parts of New England, it may have been Elizabeth (?) Tuttle William's wife, who was one who had the Stamford associations. Until her identity can be determined, this curious connection with Stamford families will have to remain a mystery.

William and Elizabeth Tuttle had to deal with more than their share of problems in their children's lives. This heavy dose of family difficulty was glossed over and generally not even mentioned by the 1883 Tuttle Genealogy, probably out of a desire to spare many descendants fro embarrassment. Later writers, however, notably Prindle and DeForest, have felt it more appropriate to document these serious problems along with their genealogies, providing readers with a more complete understanding of what we would now call the "family history."

Prindle introduced the subject by discussing a Connecticut State Law that provides for sterilization of individuals who might "produce children with an inherited tendency to crime, insanity, feeble-mindedness, idiocy, or imbecility...", the implication being that William Tuttle's family was somewhat formally considered to be an example of the inheritance of undesirable character traits. Prindle then added (without personal commentary) the observation that William Tuttle also shared blood lines with many highly regarded persons, including the Rev. Timothy Edwards and Sir Winston Churchill, and pointed out that the Tuttle Genealogy had estimated that "at least four hundred, or one in twenty-five (graduates of yale University) are known to be of this lineage or affinity, and so of its professional schools (including two Yale Presidents)."

Writing a generation earlier than Prindle, Donald L. Jacobus had mentioned William Tuttle's family as an example in a chapter titled, "Genealogy and Eugenics." Jacobus presented evidence that so-called "defective" persons could produce offspring that were perfectly responsible and desirable citizens, and that well-meaning attempts at selective breeding among humans(eugenics) could therefore potentially do as much damage as good. He cautioned that, "There may be the risk that in eliminating an undesirable trait, a desirable trait linked with it may also "bred out'", and also offered the comforting thought that "I have concluded fro my own studies that in the long run nature eliminates the most degenerate human strains."

Our immediate interest is in the daughter Sarah, born in 1642 at new Haven. In 1660 (when she was 18 and still unmarried) she was called into New Haven court for "imodest, uncivell, wanton, lascivious manner" in her speech and behavior. Actually, all she was accused of was kissing another man in public (which she denied) and having some fresh words for a newly married couple about what they would do that night (which she did not deny). But she was found guilty and fined 20 shillings, the sentence later reduced by half at the request of her father.

Except for this questionable instance in New Haven, we have no evidence that Sarah Tuttle could have been considered unsociable or otherwise degenerate in any way. She married John Slason of Stamford in November 1663, moved back to Stamford with him and began her own family with four children being born to them by 1672. On 17 November 1676, Sarah's younger brother Benjamin Tuttle, age about 28 years, unmarried and living in the Slason household, went berserk about an hour and a half after dark and brutally murdered his sister with an ax in front of her own hearth and in full view of the Slason children. Benjamin confessed to the crime, was found guilty, and was executed by hanging at New Haven on 13 June 1677. the jury who made the original inquest at Stamford the night of the crime consisted of twelve respected male citizens of Stamford, including (at least) two other ancestors of William Weed: Henry Smith and Daniel Scofield. Writing to his friend the Rev. Increase Mather in April 1677, Stamford's pastor the Rev. John bishop reported, "An horrid murther committed among us, here at Stamford. A brother killing his own dear sister, "a very good woman that loved him dearly",...It was one Benjamin Tuttle...."

William married Elizabeth MATHEWS in 1631. Elizabeth was born in 1612 in England; died on 30 Dec 1684 in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

John married Kathareen LANE on 08 Nov 1653 in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Anna married Joshua JUDSON about 1654. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Anna married John HURD, Jr. on 10 Dec 1662 in Stratford, Connecticut. John (son of Adam HURD and Hannah ?) died before 27 Nov 1716. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Thomas married Hannah POWELL on 21 May 1661 in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. Hannah was born in Aug 1641 in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, USA; died on 15 Oct 1710 in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Baptism: 08 Jul 1637, Charlestown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts

Family/Spouse: Rebecca BELL. Rebecca (daughter of Francis BELL and Rebecca ?) was born in Aug 1643 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA; died on 02 May 1676 in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Joseph married Hannah MUNSON on 02 May 1667 in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. Hannah was christened on 11 Jun 1648 in New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut; died on 30 Nov 1695 in Guilford, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Baptism: Apr 1642

Notes:

Murdered with an ax by her brother. Her brother was hanged for the offense.[Slosson 11-20-00 Greene.FTW]

Sarah was killed with an axe on 17 Nov 1676 by her brother Benjamin Tutle, who, though probably insane, was executed for it 13 Jun 1677.

Sarah married John SLAWSON, Sr on 22 Nov 1663 in New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. John (son of George SLAWSON and Mrs. George SLAWSON) was born on 14 May 1641 in Sandwich, Barnstable County, Massachusetts; died on 16 Oct 1706 in Stamford, Fairfield Co., Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

From Conn. Quarterly: "The branch of the Tuttle family from which Elizabeth Tuttle came, was erratic to the degree of insanity, and is so to a certain extent to the present day. This family taint was restrained by the strong will and great spirituality and intellectual vigor of the Rev. Timothy and Rev. Jonathan, only to crop out again in the renewed activity in the son (Pierpont Edwards) and the grandson (Aaron Burr), of the 'divine Jonahtan', both of whom were profligate, vicious and licentious. Mrs. Richard Edwards' brother was found quilty of slaying his sister, by the Colonial Court, and executed; and another sister was found quilty of killing her own son, but through the confusion existing at that time, she escaped the penalty of the law."

From Tuttle Genealogy: "A remarkable feature in our family history, as it would be in any other, is the branch of Elizabeth. It is an interesting genealogical study. Both the parents were of the same Wlesh race. There is evidence that the mother had the sensitive and excitable temperament of genius. Richard Edeards, being an only child, inherited ample means and gave his children the best education the country afforded. To educate is to bring out, and to train, it cannot create talents or character. The ministerial profession was then almost the only field for the employment of able and educated men. So all things conspired to favor the natural bent for their son Timothy. The process was continued and in the next generation reached its hightest development in his son Jonathan. From the very geginning this branch has been noted for its higth regaard for education, its scholarly culture, and its religious disposition. It is said to include a larger number of eminent persons than have sprung from any other one of the New England founders. It is wonderful, says a late writer, how much of the grace and culture of American society has sprung from this root. The same pursuits continued generation after generation in the same families, or originally set apart by nature for a chosen work, has resulted in a heritage of confirmed aptitudes, enlarged natural capacities, delicacy and refinement of physical organization, manners, sentiments and tastes; a sort of 'Brahmin Caste in New Entland', as Dr. Holmes put it, of which the Edwards family form a considerable proportion, and in which it holds a high rank."

Elizabeth married Richard EDWARDS on 19 Nov 1667 in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, USA, and was divorced in Oct 1691 in By Act of the Connecticut General Assembly. Richard (son of William EDWARDS and Agnes HARRIS) was born on 16 May 1647 in Hartford, Hartford Co., Connecticut; died on 20 Apr 1718 in Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Abigail ?. Abigail died on 11 Aug 1722 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Cause of Death (Facts Pg): Executed for the murder of his sister Sarah.

Notes:

Name:
"Connecticut Ancestry": Mercy Tuttle was the second ax murderer in this family, murdering her son Samuel Brown Jr. at Wallingford on 23 Jun 1691 when she was almost 41 years old and her son only 17. The son died of his injuries 6 days later. There was no question of her guilt, but because of the confusion of law and authority resulting from the removal of Governor Andros in 1689, Mercy somehow escaped execution for this murder and was still living in 1695.

Mercy married Samuel BROWN on 02 May 1667 in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. Samuel was christened on 7 Aug 1645 in New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut; died on 04 Nov 1691 in Wallingford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Nathaniel married Sarah HOWE on 10 Aug 1682 in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. Sarah (daughter of Ephraim HOWE and Anne HAUGH) was born on 25 Jan 1654/55 in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, USA; died in Nov 1742 in Woodbury, Litchfield, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]