Thomas Welles
| Thomas Welles | |
|---|---|
| 1st Treasurer of the Colony of Connecticut | |
|
In office 1639–1641 |
|
| Succeeded by | William Whiting |
| 2nd Secretary of the Colony of Connecticut | |
|
In office 1641–1648 |
|
| Preceded by | Edward Hopkins |
| Succeeded by | John Cullick |
| Deputy Governor of the Colony of Connecticut | |
|
In office 1654–1655 |
|
|
In office 1656–1657 |
|
|
In office 1659–1660 |
|
| 17th Governor of the Colony of Connecticut | |
|
In office 1655–1656 |
|
| Preceded by | Edward Hopkins |
| Succeeded by | John Webster |
| 20th Governor of the Colony of Connecticut | |
|
In office 1658–1659 |
|
| Preceded by | John Winthrop the Younger |
| Succeeded by | John Winthrop the Younger |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 10 July 1594 Stourton, Whichford, Warwickshire, England |
| Died | 14 January 1660 Wethersfield, Connecticut |
| Nationality | British |
| Spouse(s) | Alice Tomes Elizabeth Deming Foote |
| Children | John Welles (1622–1659) Thomas Welles Samuel Welles Anne Welles Sarah Welles Mary Welles |
| Religion | Congregationalist |
Thomas Welles (circa 10 July 1594 – 14 January 1660) is the only man in Connecticut's history to hold all four top offices: governor, deputy governor, treasurer, and secretary. In 1639, he was elected as the first treasurer of the Colony of Connecticut, and from 1640–1649 served as the colony's secretary. In this capacity, he transcribed the Fundamental Orders into the official colony records on 14 January 1638, OS, (24 January 1639, NS).
Welles was born in Stourton, Whichford, Warwickshire, England around 1590, the son of Robert Welles and Alice Robert Hunt of Stourton, Warwickshire, England, born about 1543. He married Alice Tomes on September 28, 1615 at St. Peter's Church, near Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. She was born around 1593 in Long Marston, Gloucestershire, England, the daughter of John Tomes and Ellen (Gunne) Phelps. A brother of Alice Tomes-Welles, also named John Tomes like his father, was a faithful royalist who during the escape of Charles II sheltered him in his home on the night of 10 September 1651 when the king was a fugitive after the Battle of Worcester.
After the death of Alice, Welles married again about 1646 in Wethersfield, Connecticut. His second wife was Elizabeth (Deming) Foote, who was a sister of John Deming and the widow of Nathaniel Foote (Who founded Wethersfield). Elizabeth had seven children by her previous marriage; there were no children from the second marriage.
The first appearance of Governor Thomas Welles's name in Hartford was on 28 March 1637, according to the Connecticut Colonial Records. Welles came to Hartford with Reverend Thomas Hooker in June 1636. Some believe a copy of a grant in which he is named confirms this statement. He was chosen a magistrate of the Colony of Connecticut in 1637, an office he held every successive year until his death in 1660, a period of twenty-two years. He was elected deputy governor in 1654, and governor of the Connecticut Colony in 1655, and in 1656 and 1657 was deputy governor to John Winthrop the Younger; in 1658 governor, and in 1659 deputy governor, which position he held at his death on 14 January 1660 at Wethersfield, Connecticut.
...
Wikipedia