Governor John Webster 1
- Born: 16 Aug 1590, Cossington, Leicestershire, England
- Christened: 16 Aug 1590, Cossington, Leicestershire, England 2
- Marriage (1): Agnes Smith on 7 Nov 1609 in Cossington, Leicestershire, England
- Died: 5 Apr 1661, Hadley, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA at age 70
- Buried: 5 Apr 1661, Old Hadley Cemetery, Hadley, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA 2
General Notes:
John Webster (August 9, 1590 \endash April 5, 1661) was governor of the Colony of Connecticut in 1656.
Webster was born in Cossington, Leicestershire, England, the son of Matthew Webster (1548\endash 1623) and his wife, Elizabeth Ashton. He entered the Massachusetts Bay Colony with his wife and five children in the early 1630s, settling in the area of Newtowne (now Cambridge, Massachusetts). He left for Suckiaug, Connecticut (now Hartford) in 1636, in all probability with Thomas Hooker and his adherents. His first public office was as a member of a committee that joined with the Court of Magistrates in determining the course of war with the Pequot Indians. According to the records at the time, he was chosen from 1639 to 1655 to be magistrate, in 1655 he was chosen as Deputy Governor of the Colony of Connecticut, governor of the Colony of Connecticut in 1656, and first magistrate from 1657 to 1659.
A split amongst the church members in Hartford grew when the current reverend at the First Church in Hartford, Samuel Stone, declared that the requirement that stated only parents that had both taken communion should be allowed to have a child baptized would be removed, and non-communicants would be allowed to vote. John Webster, among others, were a part of a council that agreed that this was not acceptable. Reverend Stone chose to ignore this sentiment, and the issue was taken up with the General Court in Massachusetts. The Court ruled that although Reverend Stone had been too strict in ignoring the majority of his parishioners, he was right in liberalizing the baptism ritual. It was also found that those who disagreed with the reverend could remove themselves to a location in Massachusetts to practice how they saw fit. This eventual location chosen was Hadley, Massachusetts, and in 1659, a new community was built there. John Webster only enjoyed it for less than two years, for in the year 1661 he contracted a fever and died.
Baptized: August 16, 1590, Cossington, Leicestershire, England
College: None
Political Party: None
Offices: Assistant, General Court of the Colony of Connecticut, 1639-1655
Commissioner to the United Colonies of New England, 1654
Deputy Governor, Colony of Connecticut 1655
Governor, Colony of Connecticut, 1656
Chief Magistrate, Colony of Connecticut, 1657
Magistrate, Hadley, Massachusetts, 1660
Died: April 5, 1661, Hadley, Massachusetts 3
Noted events in his life were:
• Occupation: Magistrate, 1639 to 1655, Connecticut, USA.
• Deputy Governor of the Colony of Connecticut, 1655, Connecticut, USA.
• Occupation: Governor of the Colony of Connecticut, 1656.
• Occupation: Chief Magistrate, Colony of Connecticut, 1657.
• Will of Governor John Webster, 25 Jun 1659, Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA.
• Magistrate, Hadley, Massachusetts, 1660, Hadley, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA.
John married Agnes Smith, daughter of Richard Smith and Agnes Wraske, on 7 Nov 1609 in Cossington, Leicestershire, England. (Agnes Smith was born on 29 Aug 1585 in Warwick, Warwickshire, England, christened on 29 Aug 1585 in Cossington, Leicestershire, England, died on 15 Jul 1655 in Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut, USA and was buried on 15 Jul 1655 in Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut, USA.)
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