Immigrant William Chittenden, son of Robert Chittenden, was baptized at Marden, Kent, England according to a record dated March, 1594. He was a co-signer of the Covenant to form a new village while on board the St. John during the passage from England on June 1, 1639 and was one of the six co-purchasers of the land that became Guilford, Connecticut on September 29, 1639. William was one of four men entrusted with all matters of governance of Guilford until a new church was formed on June 19, 1643 and assumed this authority. He was admitted as a freeman on May 22, 1648.
He had been a soldier in the English army in the Netherlands during the Thirty Years War, and held the military rank of Lieutenant in Guilford, where he was a magistrate and deputy to the General Court from 1646 until his death.
While still in England, he married Joanna Sheaffe, daughter of Dr. Edmund and Joanna Sheaffe of Cranbrook, Kent. They had 4 sons and 6 daughters, a number of them born in England.
William Chittenden died in February, 1660/1 and left an estate valued at £677 16 s. 7 d. in the inventory taken February 21, 1660/1. The earliest burials in Guilford were in the Town Green; no burial marker remains. William Chittenden has a grandson, Josiah, buried in West Side Cemetery, which is closest to the homestead of William Chittenden on Broad Street near the Town Green.
Family Members
Spouse
Joanna Sheaffe Chittenden
1613–1668
Children
Elizabeth Chittenden Wright*
1637–1675
Mary Chittenden Leete*
1647–1712
*Calculated Relationship
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