HISTORY OF STONINGTON CT, by Wheeler, page 418 & 419.
So far as is known from reliable sources, Thomas Hewitt, who was a seafaring man, was the first person of the Hewitt name that made Stonington his abiding place. The first we know of him is from the diary of Thomas Miner, Sr., who speaks of him as in command of his vessel in Mystic River in the year 1656, where he was receiving the surplus products of the early planters here, in exchange for Boston goods. In his business transactions he made the acquaintance of Walter Palmer, whose daughter, Hannah Palmer, he married April 26, 1659. In order to make Stonington his abode for life he purchased a tract of land on the east side of Mystic River. The land embraced the present site of the Elm Grove Cemetery in Stonington, CT, on which he erected a dwelling house of primitive dimensions, pending which he continued his coastal trade, extending his business to the West Indies. During the year 1662 he purchased a cargo of neat stock, sheep and poultry, designed for the West Indies market, with which he set sail for that place, expecting a pleasant voyage and successful exchange of his cargo for goods in merchandise suitable for the inhabitants of this region round about. Months and years passed, and no glad tidings came of his safe arrival in the West Indies, nor any trace of him anywhere, which forced the conclusion upon his wife and friends, that amid some fearful storm, his vessel had foundered and all on board had found a grave in the cold, dark, heaving sea.
THE DESCENDENTS OF EZEKIEL MAINE, by A. A. Aspinwall, pp. 103.
Thomas-1 Hewitt was early of Scituate, MA. He was a seafaring man. Captain of a sailing vessel - Removed to Stonington CT, where he married April 26, 1659, Hannah daughter of Walter and Rebecca (Short) Palmer.
DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN THOMAS HEWITT OF STONINGTON, CONN., Compiled by Virginia Hewitt Watterson, 1996. Found in the Joseph Smith Library, Salt Lake City, UT. Page 1.
The ancestry of Thomas Hewitt, a sea captain, has yet to be discovered. He probably came from England or Ireland, and possibly from one of the coastal towns since he took to the sea for his livelihood. The first record of him in the Colonies is from the diary of Thomas Miner, which mentions Thomas Hewitt in 1656 as having command of the ship n the Mystic River. He was a trader taking surplus products from the early Connecticut planters in exchange for goods from Boston. Thomas purchased a tract of land on the east side of the Mystic River, in present day Stonington, Conn., to use as a home base when he was not at sea. There he built a primitive dwelling house. Through his trading transactions, Thomas was aquatinted with the planters in the area. Walter Palmer, one of the wealthy planters, has a daughter who became Thomas Hewitt's wife.
HANNAH PALMER was born in Charlestown, Mass. in 1634, daughter of Walter Palmer and his 2nd wife, Rebecca Short. The First Church of Charlestown recorded Hannah's baptism on 15 Jun 1634. Walter moved his family to Rehoboth, Mass. and by 1653 had settled in Stonington, Conn. Thomas Hewitt married Hannah Palmer on 26 Apr 1659 a Stonington. (Wheeler).
Thomas continued his coastal trading business and extended it to include the West Indies. In May 1662, he sailed from Mystic River with a cargo of livestock and poultry, which he purchased to trade for goods in the West Indies. The ship was lost at sea and Thomas was never heard from again. Hannah and their two infant sons waited months and years for his return. It was finally concluded that the ship floundered and sank during a storm. Before the General Court of Conn. in 1670, Hannah presented a petition to allow her, as a widow, the liberty to marry again. She and neighbors testified that not a word had been heard of Captain Thomas Hewitt or his vessel or his company from the time they left eight years before. The court granted Hannah's petition. The following year, on 27 Dec 1671, she married Roger Sterry. Two children were born to them. Roger died sometime prior to 1680 and Hannah married a 3rd time, on 25 Aug 1681, to John Fish as his 3rd wife. Hannah lived in Stonington the rest of her life. No report has been found of her date of death.
Sources:
Vital Records of Stonington, Connecticut
Richard Anson Wheeler, HISTORY OF STONINGTON, CONN., New London: 1900, pp. 418, 419 & 508.
Doris Palmer Buys, WALTER PALMER OF STONINGTON, CONN., Fallbrook, Ca., 1986, p. 77.
James Savage, GENEALOGY DICTIONARY OF NEW ENGLAND, Baltimore: 1909, Vol. II, pp. 490 & 491.
Researching this line is Ginny Hewitt at [email protected]
Researching this line is Nancyann Norman at [email protected]
Researching this line is Lawrence H. Bentley at [email protected]
Researching this line is William Hewitt at [email protected]
Researching this line is Scott R. Cunningham at Scott@customstaffing,com