Theophilus Eaton (1590 – January 7, 1658) was a merchant, farmer, and British colonial leader who was the co-founder and first governor of New Haven Colony, Connecticut. Events March 14 - Battle of Ivry - Henry IV of France again defeats the forces of the Catholic League under the Duc de Mayenne. ... January 7 is the 7th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events January 13 - Edward Sexby, who has plotted against Oliver Cromwell, dies in Tower of London February 6 - Swedish troops of Charles X Gustav of Sweden cross from Sweden to Denmark over frozen sea May 1 - Publication of Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial and The Garden of Cyrus by Thomas Browne September... The New Haven Colony was an English colonial venture in Connecticut in North America from 1637 to 1662. ... State nickname: The Constitution State Other U.S. States Capital Hartford Largest city Bridgeport Governor M. Jodi Rell Official languages English Area 14,371 km² (48th)  - Land 12,559 km²  - Water 1,809 km² (12. ...

He was born at Stony Stratford, Oxfordshire, England in 1590, to the Vicar of Great Budworth, Chester – Richard Eaton (1569-1616) and his wife, Elizabeth Shepheard (1569-1630). He was married to a Grace Hiller in 1622, and at least had a daughter (Mary), and a son (Samuel) before her death (some authorities think that he also had a son by the name of James). Stony Stratford (sometimes shortened to Stony) is a town in the Unitary Authority of Milton Keynes, England. ... Oxfordshire (abbreviated Oxon, from Latin Oxonia) is a county in South East England, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Warwickshire. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Religion... In the broadest sense, a vicar is anyone who is acting as a substitute or agent for a superior (compare vicarious). In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant. ... Great Budworth is a village in the county of Cheshire, in the north west of England, north of Northwich. ... This article is about Chester in England. ...

In 1625 he remarried, this time to a widow, Anne Yale, who was the daughter of George Lloyd, the Bishop of Chester (some authorities say Anne Morton, the daughter of Bishop Thomas Morton of Chester). The couple had three children (Theophilus, Hannah, and Elizabeth), but the household raised eight children. Besides their three, and Mary and Samuel, it included Anne, David, and Thomas Yale from Anne's first marriage to Thomas Yale. In 1631 the younger Anne Yale was married to Edward Hopkins, later the governor of Connecticut. Events February 5 - Roger Williams emigrates to Boston. ...

Thomas Yale, son of Thomas and Ann (Lloyd) Yale, settled in the New Haven Colony and signed the Fundamental Agreement of the New Haven Colony on June 4, 1639. The Fundamental Agreement of the New Haven Colony was signed on June 4, 1639. ... June 4 is the 155th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (156th in leap years), with 210 days remaining. ... Events January 14 - Connecticuts first constitution, the Fundamental Orders, is adopted. ...

For several years Theophilus was an agent for King Charles I to the Danish Court, then a merchant in London. He was a puritan interested in colonial development and was one of the original patent holders and president of the Massachusetts Bay Company. He actually emigrated to New England with other Puritans in the ship Hector, arriving in Boston on June 26, 1637. Charles I (19 November 1600–30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 27 March 1625, until his death. ... The Massachusetts Bay Colony (sometimes called by the name Massachusetts Bay Company, for the institution that founded it) was the direct predecessor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay and then the state of Massachusetts. ... The Puritans were members of a group of radical Protestants which developed in England after the Reformation. ... City nickname: Beantown, The Hub, The Athens of America Location in the state of Massachusetts Founded September 17, 1630 County Suffolk County Mayor Thomas Menino (Dem) Area  - Total  - Water 232. ... June 26 is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 188 days remaining. ... Events February 3 - Tulipmania collapses in Netherlands by government order February 15 - Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor December 17 - Shimabara Rebellion erupts in Japan Pierre de Fermat makes a marginal claim to have proof of what would become known as Fermats last theorem. ...

His group of colonists had John Davenport as their religious leader and they wanted to start their own settlement – probably due to Winthrop's persona who also caused the Rev. Thomas Hooker and others to go off and form their own colonies and was termed "an object of great fear in all the colonies." John Davenport(1597 - 1670) was a puritan clergyman and founder of the American city of New Haven. ... Thomas Hooker (1586-1647) was a prominent Puritan religious and colonial leader remembered as one of the founders of Connecticut. ...

In the spring his group moved from Boston and when they arrived on April 14, 1638 they named the site New Haven. April 14 is the 104th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (105th in leap years). ... Events March 29 - Swedish colonists establish first settlement in Delaware, called New Sweden. ... New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut, and is located in New Haven County, Connecticut, on New Haven Harbor, on the northern coast of Long Island Sound. ...

That fall, Eaton led a exploration to the south, and located a site at Quinnipiack on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. On November 14, 1638, he and his company entered into an agreement with the chief sachem Momauquin agreeing that in exchange for protection from the Quinnipiack Indians' ancient enemies, the Mohawk and the Pequot, Momauquin would relinquish his right, title, and interest to the lands that both parties agreed would not later evolve into feelings of animosity, hate, or regret. [Cf. J. W. Barber, History and Antiquities of New Haven, (Conn.) (1831) pp. 25–29]. Long Island Sound near Guilford, Connecticut Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean and various rivers in the United States. ... November 14 is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 47 days remaining. ... Events March 29 - Swedish colonists establish first settlement in Delaware, called New Sweden. ... A sagamore is the head of a Native American tribe. ... The Quinnipiacks -- also spelled Quinnipiac -- were a Native American tribe of the Algonquin family who inhabited south-central Connecticut in the area around what is now the present-day city of New Haven and New Haven harbor. ...

The Mohawks and the Pequots had all but wiped out the New Haven Indians, leaving but 40 surviving males, and to that end Theophilus and his company also covenanted to protect them when unreasonably assaulted and terrified, that they would always have a sufficient quantity of land to plant on, and by way of free and thankful retribution that they give to the sachem and his council and company: twelve coats of English cloth, twelve alchemy spoons, twelve hatchets, twelve hoes, two dozen knives, twelve porringers, and four cases of French knives & scissors. The Kanienkehaka, or Mohawk tribe of Native American people live around Lake Ontario and the St. ... The Pequot were a tribe or nation of Native Americans who, in the 17th century, inhabited much of what is now Connecticut, and spoke a variety of the Algonquian language. ... Porringer A small, pewter dish that colonial Americans ate their porridge from. ...

This agreement was signed and legally executed by Momauquin and his council as well as by Theophilus Eaton and John Davenport.

Some still say, however, that Theophilus simply traded thirteen coats to the local Indians for seven townships of land; but what is a fact is that in the following December of 1638 he and his company did also purchase the usage of a large area of land from Monotowese, son of the sachem at Mattabeseck, which was 10 miles in length and 13 in breadth. He did pay 13 coats to Monotowese as per their agreement, but again, the English gave the indians ample grounds to plant on and free usage of all the lands for hunting. Further, even though Monotowese's tribe consisted of but 10 males with their women and children, it was understood that the English would also protect them from the Mohawk and the Pequots. Mattabeseck According to Dutch maps of the American Colonies from the early 17th Century, Mattabeseck is a large area of American Indian land just to the north of New Haven, Connecticut. ...

Upon arrival in the new colony, Theophilus at first attempted to resume his trade as a merchant. He was not successful, however, since the colony was too new to afford imports and the Indian fur trade was more successful at the Dutch outposts at Hartford, so he soon turned to farming. HARTFORD is the capital of the state of Connecticut, in Hartford County. ...

When the New Haven Colony established its administration, he was chosen as one of the "seven pillars of the church" acting as one of the 7 councilors who formed the body of freemen and elected civil officers.

Their names were: Theophilus Eaton, John Davenport, Robert Newman, Matthew Gilbert, Thomas Fugill, John Punderson, and Jeremiah Dixon.

He was elected as the first governor on June 4, 1639 and reelected each year until his death on January 7, 1657/8 (Julian Calendar timing). He was buried on the green in New Haven and later his remains were removed to Grove Street Cemetery, New Haven. One of his major accomplishments as governor was the creation of a written legal code for the colony in 1655 known as the Blue Laws of Connecticut and is whereby considered by many to be the father of American Law. June 4 is the 155th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (156th in leap years), with 210 days remaining. ... Events January 14 - Connecticuts first constitution, the Fundamental Orders, is adopted. ... January 7 is the 7th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Julian calendar was introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC, taking force in 45 BC or 709 ab urbe condita. ... Events New Sweden (Delaware) attacked and captured by Dutch forces. ... A blue law, in the United States and Canada, is a law restricting activities or sales of goods on Sunday, to accommodate Christian Sunday worship. ...

Although deposed in 1639 by the then governor John Winthrop in what many consider to be Massachusetts' first Witch Trial, Theophilus' younger brother Nathaniel Eaton (1609-1674) was the first schoolmaster of Harvard College. Another brother, Samuel Eaton (1597-1665), was a Minister who accompanied Theophilus to New Haven, but then later chose to return to England to fight the anti-puritanical persecutions. John Winthrop was the name of several prominent figures in colonial New England. ... 1876 illustration of the courtroom The Salem witch trials of colonial America resulted in a number of convictions and executions for witchcraft in 1692 in Massachusetts, the result of a period of factional infighting and Puritan paranoia which led to the deaths of at least twenty-five people and the... Nathaniel Eaton (1609 – 1674) was the first schoolmaster of Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts and later became a clergyman. ... Today Harvard College is the undergraduate portion of Harvard University. ...

Theophilus' epitaph reads as follows ...

"Theophilus Eaton, Esqr. Govr. dec'd Jan'y 7, 1657, Ætat. 67.

Eaton so fam'd, so wise, so just,

The Phœnix of our world, here lies his dust,

This name forget, N. England never must."

External Links

New Haven's Fundamental Agreement (http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/ct01.htm)