Gillett Family Stories

With the ancestry of Reuben Revilo “Henry” Brown/ Charles Adams stretching back to c.1611 in Virginia and 1623 in the New England, there are many stories to uncover. As it takes some “doing to get one’s head around it all”, these have been broken into ancestral lines.This section  focuses on Stories of the Gillett Family lines:

Gillett Family

The first  people of the Gillett Family, of Peter Brown’s wife Mary Gillett,  are believed to have first arrived in America on the “John and Mary” on March 20 in 1630, viz brothers Jonathan Gillett and Nathan Gillett.

From Chris and Julie Petersen’s website: ‘The book “The ‘Mary and John,” chapter “The Passengers,” p. 37: “Jonathan and Nathan Gillett were the sons of Rev. William Gillett, Rector of Chaffcombe, co. Somerset, who died in 1641.’ 

Reuben Revilo Brown/Charles Adams was descended from both Jonathan Gillett and Nathan Gillett.

Another brother, Jeremian Gillett (c.1608 – 1676) may have also travelled with Jonathan Gillett to the New England, however he does not appear to have been an ancestor of Reuben Revilo Brown – WikiTree. Mostly the descendants of these three brothers remained near Windsor, Simsbury and Wethersfield, Conn. for the first four or five generations. I have found that I have over 30 DNA matches with Gillett descendants, many descended from Jonathan Gillett and Mary Dolbier.

Some have claimed that Jonathon, Nathan and Jeremiah Gillett were of a French Huguenot de Gylet Gillett family from the Bergerac area, while others dispute this. Looking into this debate,  it would appear hard to sustain an argument for French Huguenot ancestry. Though there were a number of people of French Huguenot origin in Colonial New England, eg Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s ancestors.

Jonathon Gillett was born 1609 in Chaffcombe Somerset England, while his brother Nathan Gillett was born there in 1613. Jonathon died in Windsor Connecticut on August 23 1677 (Findagrave), while Nathan died in 1689 – possibly in Windsor, though some say Simsbury. Jeremiah’s birth is more uncertain.

Major towns in Somerset in the West Country of England have been Taunton and Bath, however Chaffcombe seems to have been a relatively unremarkable village over many centuries, even with respect to Nonconformity in the Religious Context. “A house was licensed for dissenting meetings in 1704, (fn. 229) and an Anabaptist was living in the parish in 1776. (fn. 230) Two rooms were licensed for dissenters in 1799. (fn. 231) Bible Christians were meeting at Lidmarsh from 1831 and had eight members in the following year. An attempt to establish a cause at Chaffcombe failed in 1834–5 and the Lidmarsh group seems to have disappeared a year earlier. (fn. 232) Independents from Chard used a house from 1844. (fn. 233)” – British History UK. See also Genuki, WikiTree,

Jonathan’s wife Mary Dolbiere, daughter of Rawkey Dolbiere, was born in 1607 in Colyton Devon and died in Windsor Hartford County Connecticut c.1636. Nathan’s wife was possibly Elizabeth Wapples and was believed to be born in 1611 in Huntingdon, Huntingdonshire, then passing away in 1670 in Windsor Connecticut.

Jonathan Gillett is believed to have gone back to England, and then returned to America as early as 1632 on the “Recovery” with his new bride.Mary Dolbiere.  Although some place the date of his return as late as 1634, after a marriage in 1634 in England? Did they marry in  1634 at St. Andrew’s Church in Colyton, Devonshire, England, or earlier? It must be acknowledged that some of the information on the Gillett family in the 1630’s seems contradictory.

The other brother, Jeremian Gillett (c.1608 – 1676) may have also travelled with Jonathan Gillett to the New England – WikiTree. Jeremiah is believed to have returned to England, where he died. However his son, also named Jeremiah is believed to have emigrated to the New England, claiming land granted to his father for service in the Peoquot War of 1636-1637 – WikiTree, Rootsweb,

From McCall Roots website: “Jonathan Gillet the progenitor of this branch of the family belonged with his brother Nathan to the company of about one hundred and forty Puritans, which was formed in the counties of Devonshire, Dorsetshire and Somersetshire, England, sailed with Revs. John Warham and John Maverick as pastors, in the “Mary and John,” March 20, 1630, and arrived at Nantasket, May 30th, following, settlement being made at Dorchester. He was made a freeman there, May 6, 1635. There was “graunted to Jonathan Gillett: to fence in halfe an acre of ground about his house leaving a sufficient highway.” Further “…the foresayed p’tyes do’ p’mise to fetch all the Cowes from Jonathan Gillett’s to Mr. Woolcotts” …. “graunted also to Jonathan Gillet 4 acres” (“over against fox poynt”) “the bounds being from Jonathan Gilets pale and one (lot] the other side, which was once Jonathan Gillet’s.“”

From Wikimedia Commons

Initially Jonathan Gillett and Mary Dolbier were at Dorchester (now Boston) Massachusetts, where their three eldest children were born – Jonathon (1634), Cornelius (1636) and Mary (Brown) (1638). A brief history of Dorchester can be found on the josfamily website – see also “Forming an Orderly Society in Dorchester, Massachusetts, 1630-1650: the Effect of Town Government on Daily Life” – Dorchester Historical Society

While still in Dorchester, Jonathon Gillett, and brothers Nathan & Jeremiah Gillett, had served in the Pequot War in 1637 – rootsweb. That year saw the defeat of the Pequot Indians and also the capture and enslavement of 17, mostly children.  The Hartford Courant has an interesting account of the expansion of Indian Slavery from this time – 29.9.2002. Ironically during King William’s War one of his own grandsons John Gillett would be captured by Indians, transported north to Montreal and sold into slavery there to French Catholoic nuns before being freed and returned to Connecticut.

Jonathon Gillett and Mary Dolbiere, along with Jonathan’s brother Nathan Gillett  had moved to Windsor Connecticut by 1639, possibly several years earlier. It is uncertain if Nathan was married to Elizabeth Whapples by then, or whether they married in Windsor. Jonathan and Mary’s seven other children were born in Windsor, as were most of Nathan and Elizabeth’s children.

While some have claimed that many of the Puritans in the 1630’s emigrated for religious reasons, a different perspective is presented in a thesis “Puritan Farmer or Farming Puritans: Physical Geography and Agricultural Practices in New England Community Formation” – Donald E Maroc, B.A Indiana University. Maroc instead argues that there were economic reasons, viz including unemployment levels, for emigration from England of men like the Gillett’s from Somerset, and also those from Dorset, who arrived on the “Mary and John” in 1630.  Further he went on to argue  that  their removal from Dorchester Massachusetts was for the better pastures and farmlands in Connecticut. Though he acknowledged that the impact of William Laud, later Archbishop Laud, and his persecution of Puritans would have provided some encouragement to depart England. Apparently some Puritans feared his reach might extend even to the New England.

Jonathan Gillett and brother Nathan were considered to be Founders of Windsor, ie having lived there by 1641. Jonathon Gillett, Nathan Gillett, Mary Gillett and her husband Peter Brown  are listed among the first Puritan settlers in Connecticut, along with Loomis, Moore, Tudor, Holcombe, Terry, Bushnell, Curtis, Eggleston, Fitch, Gallup, Judd, Marvin, Seymour, Sherwood, Staples Wadsworth, White, Wheeler and Hoyt family members.

See Windsor Founders Memorial below – featuring the “John and Mary” ship  – image source Windsor Historical Society. See also TourWindsor

From Rootsweb: On June 9, 1662 Jonathan Gillett Sen. was granted 2 parcels of swampland totaling 5 or 6 acres by the court-appointed committee to dispose of land without the west bounds of Windsor. On April 28, 1665, Nassahegan, sachem of Poquonock, sold to Jonathan Gillet, Sen., of Windsor a piece of land, swamp or marsh, containing 12 acres called by the Indians Matacomacok. This was situated without the west bounds of Windsor, southerly of the swamp belonging to John Moore & Edward Griswold.

According to Janet and Robert Wolfe‘s Notes for Nathan Gillet : Nathan was granted 50 acres in Connecticut for his service in the Pequot War. See also Lifefromtheroots blog

MyGenealogyAddiction website – covers descendants of the brothers Jonathan, Nathan and Jeremiah Gillett

The family trees of Jonathan, Nathan and Jeremiah Gillett – with references to their military service are shown below

Jonathan Gillett (Findagrave) and Mary Dolbiere were the parents of ten children (hutchfp, werelate, Descendants of Jonathan Gillet of Dorchester, Mass. and Windsor, Conn., Ancestry resource,

Family Tree of Nathan Gillett, brother of Jonathan Gillett

Some of Nathan Gillett’s family had moved from Windsor to Simsbury Connecticut.

Family Tree of Jeremiah Gillett – known as The Other Gilletts

Additionally, one researcher’s hypothesis for another brother, Jeremiah Gillett family tree; and a tree compiled by also Donald Lines Jacobus of New Haven Connecticut, documented in The American Genealogist, Volume 25, 1949, page 174. This has been reviewed by Daniel N Klink in Genealogy Vermont in March 2020.

Jeremiah Gillett (c.1608 – 1676) –  emigrated to New England, lived in Wethersfield, Connecticut, before returning to England

The Windsor Historical Society has a fascinating story from 1990 about the Gillett family Bible known as the “Bear Bible“, – a Geneva edition “This edition is one of the many editions (140 or more) of the very popular Genevan translation of the Bible, with marginal notes, the first of which was printed in Geneva in 1599. Commonly called the Geneva Version, it was the favorite edition of the English Bible among the Puritans in England. It is also notable because it had a profound effect upon the English of the King James translation of 1611 (the Authorized Version). The Geneva Version is also known as the “Breeches Bible” because of its translation of Genesis 4:7, “And they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves breeches” (“aprons” in the King James Version).”

The Gillett “Bear Bible” had the following inscribed by the brother of Mary Brown nee Gillett, Jonathan Brown Junior:

“my fathar Gille(t) came Into new:inglon the secon time In June in the yeare 1634 and Jonathan his sonn was born about half a yeare aftar he came to land.”

“(my)y fathar Gillet dyed in 1677”

“(Jon)athan Gillett his first maredg – aprel 22 1661
Mary born october 12, 1667
Jonathan born feber 18 1670
William born december 4 1673
my second maredg in decem 14 1676
My sonne thomas born by my secon wife in may the last 16 1678
Ebenesor born in the yeare 79. octo 27
Samuel borne in the yeare 80.
decem 17 his grandmother dyed in may 14 81 (..)nna born september 10 1682
Jonathan born to me by my secon wife was born in 1685; octo 13
merriam born in 1688 May: 14”

In September 2021 the Windsor Historical Society celebrated its Centenary.

The family and descendants of Jonathan Gillett and Mary Dolbier are considered part of the Boston Brahmins aka Boston Elite aka Boston Upper Class. Activities of our American ancestors and relatives  so far identified these include:

  • Agriculture – many of our ancestors who were in America in the 17th and 18th Centuries were Farmers, with some lines continuing into the 19th Century
  • Civic and Activism
  • Entertainment
  • Founders of Settlements & Towns
  • Government and Administration
    • Andrew Peters, nephew of Isabel Brown nee Barnett, viz son of Ruth Ann Peters nee Barnett and John Peters, was Bradford Town Clerk 1798 – 1815
  • Legal
    • John Peters, husband Ruth Ann Peters nee Barnett, sister of of Isabel Brown nee Barnett, had been Judge of Probate for the Court of Common Pleas – and appointed Justice of the Peace, Judge of Probates, Registrar of the County, Clerk of the Court, and Judge of the Court of common pleas. in Mooretown, New York, British America about 1771, by Governor Tyron.
  • Merchants, Business and Commerce
    • Eliphalet Adams Bulkeley – Founder of Aetna Insurance
    • King Camp Gillette – Founder of Gillette Razor Blade Co – website – “No Stropping, No Honing.”business strategy “invest in an installed base by selling a product at low prices or even giving them away, then sell a related product at high prices to recoup the prior investment. King Gillette launched us down this road.” – from HBR – see also Chicago Unbound
  • Military
    • Jonathan Gillett and Nathan Gillett both served in the Pequot War. Jonathan’s son Joseph and Samuel were both killed during King Phillip’s War. Jonathon’s grandson John, son of Joseph, fought in King William’s War, taken captive and sold into slavery to the French in Montreal, before being freed, and returning home. “The effects of King Phillips War, on both the colonists and the natives, were disastrous. By the end of the war, more than 600 colonists had died, around 1,200 homes had been burned and around 12 out of 90 new settlements were destroyed. The wide scale destruction caused such devastating financial losses the English expansion in the region completely stopped for 50 years. The losses were far worse for the natives though. Out of the total population of 20,000 Native-Americans in southern New England at the time, an estimated 2,000 were killed, another 3,000 had died of sickness and starvation, around 1,000 were captured and sold into slavery, and an estimated 2,000 fled to join the Iroquois in the west or the Abenaki in the north. This adds up to a loss of between 60 to 80 percent of the native population in the region. The war also ruined New England’s economy by nearly halting the fur trade, killing 8,000 head of cattle, interrupting the importing and exporting of goods and causing a decline in the fishing industry. In addition, wartime expenses of around 80,000 pounds led to high taxes.”
    • Many Gillett’s served in other conflicts such as King Phillips War,  King Williams War, Queen Annes War, King Georges War, the French Indian War of 1755 – 1763, American Revolutionary War, War of 1812,
    • While more of the Brown Gillett Loomis Moore Barnett relatives of Reuben Brown/Charles Adams who served in the American Revolutionary War seem to have been Patriots in the Militia or Continental Army, Noah Brown Senior’s aunt Ruth Ann Peters’ nee Barnett and her husband John Peters were prominent Loyalists. They had fled to Canada in 1776, with John Peters being appointed as colonel of the Queen’s Loyal Rangers by Sir Guy Carleton. Subsequently, his troops participated in Burgoyne’s campaign and engaged in combat with the Continental Army during the Battle of Bennington. Prior to the War 1765 John Peters was appointed Captain Commandant of the Militia and Deputy Surveyor of the King’s woods in Piedmont, New Hampshire, British America by Governor Wentworth, and Captain Commandant of the Militia
      • John Peters, son of Ruth Ann Peters nee Barnett and John Peters, joined his father’s Loyalist regiment, the Queen’s Loyal Rangers as an Ensign in 1777, and served during Burgoyne’s ill-fated campaign. Returned to Quebec after the surrender at Saratoga, he was assigned to the Loyal Rangers, under Col. Jessop, which was created from the remnants of the King’s Loyal Americans and the Queen’s Loyal Rangers. Following the war he settled in Ontario. He was Lt. Col. of the 1st Regiment Northumberland Militia during the War of 1812.
      • Andrew Peters, son of Ruth Ann Peters nee Barnett and John Peters,  served in the British Navy during the American Revolution from 1780 -1783, including service on Lake Champlain.
  • Politics
    • Francis Gillette – Abolitionist – From Wikipedia – Gillette was prominent in the state as publisher of the Hartford Press, which he founded to counter the Hartford Courant as a vehicle to promote opposition to slavery. There is also some documentation supporting claims that he sheltered runaway slaves at his home – The Francis Gillette House. Although this type of Underground Railroad participation is claimed for many homes and is often not credible, here the claim dates from at least 1886 and been accepted by informed scholars – See also Tracking the Underground Railroad from the Hartford Courant
    • Frederick Huntington Gillett (1851–1935): 37th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
    • Andrew Peters, son of John Peters and Ruth Ann Peters nee Barnett, sister of Isabel Brown nee Barnett, had represented Bradford in the Vermont State Legislature 1798
    • Andrew’s father, John Peters had earlier been appointed a member of Continental Congress in 1774, but refused to take the office’s oath of secrecy. In 1776, choosing to remain loyal to the British Crown, John Peters and Ruth Ann Peters nee Barnett fled to Canada.
    • Boris Johnson – UK Prime Minister – 26th US Vice President
  • Religious
  • Writers and Artists

Links for future research:

  •   Reheboth Scituate Hadley Taunton

This section  focuses on Stories of the Gillett Family lines:

Stories of Other Family Lines can be found at the links shown below

  • Sherwood – which gets complicated as there are Sherwood’s from two totally different families across a number of family lines
    • Sherwood – Parruch Families
    • Staples – Rowland Families
    • Gregory – Smith Families – there are Gregory’s across various family lines
    • Burritt – Lockwood Families
  • Ford
    • Ford – Stetson Families
    • Bisbee – Pierce Families
    • Curtice/Curtis/Curtiss – Caulkins/Calkins Families
    • Grannis – Forbes Families
  • Shove
    • Shove – Bushnell Families – there are Bushnell’s across various family lines
    • Cornwell – Wheeler Families – there are Wheeler’s across various family lines
    • Knapp – Taylor Families