William Wadsworth (patriarch)

William Wadsworth (26 February 1594 [poss.] Long Buckby, England - 15 October 1675 Hartford, Connecticut) was an early pioneer of New England, a founder of Hartford, Connecticut and the patriarch of numerous and prominent Wadsworth descendants of North America, including the poet Ezra Pound.

William’s exact origins have challenged descendants and researchers over the centuries. Recent researchers have postulated that the William Wadsworth, who is born 1594 in Long Buckby, Northamptonshire, England and baptized on 26 February 1594, the son of William and Elizabeth Wadsworth, is one and the same as the subject of this article. This is not proven, though his age, place and onomastics point strongly to this connection.

William Wadsworth’s name appears on the top of a list of those who have taken the "Oath of Allegiance" and desired to be "transported to New England", dated 22 June 1632. William Wadsworth is found, again, at the top, on the list of 123 passengers on the ship Lion, who arrived in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts Colony on Sunday, September 16, 1632. He states his wife and three children are with him. Soon after his arrival to Boston he moved to “Newtowne” now Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was made a Freeman of this town on 2 November 1632. He built his home on the west side of Holyoke Street near Harvard Square. He was chosen to be on the Board of Selectmen for Newtowne, and held this position from 1634 to 1635.

William Wadsworth was one of the original Founders of Hartford, Connecticut. In 1635 Rev. Thomas Hooker and his followers from Chelmsford, England had arrived to Newtowne and soon, after dissenting with Puritan leaders in Massachusetts, made up their minds, in council, to move westward. In June 1636, William moved with his family and others of the congregation to a settlement they named Hartford. He was an original proprietor of the town. His home-lot, in 1639, was on the west side of the map from Seth Grant's to Sentinel Hill, extending along what is now the south side of Asylum St., from Trumbull St. to Ford St.

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