KELSEY FAMILY
GEORGE AND JOANNE KELSEY Grandmothers Family Grandfathers Family Grandmothers Family

GEORGE AND ELIZABETH KELSEY

Hopkins

WILLIAM AND BETHIA KELSEY

From http://www.my-ged.com/db/page/hendersn/3986

BORN: 1600, Chelmsford, County Essex, ENG;  DIED: abt 1680, Killingworth, Middlesex Co, CT;  Wife is possible Bertia, born about 1600 in Newton, Eng.; MARRIED: Undefined, abt 1625, Eng

{sjt#1-19}Hand written notes from someone, the Hartford map is with it. Probably just paraphrased from a book:
William Kelsey - Born about 1600 - Cambriage freeman Mass. Mar 4, 1635. Moved to Hartford where he was original proprieter; his home lot in distribution of 1639 was on the road from Centenel Hill to the north medow (now Village Street). Removed to Killigwotrh about 1663; rep in 1671 from K.; He was living in June 1674 - Children 1) John, Killingworth 2) Abigail b april 1645 3) Stephen Bapt Nov 7, 1647 M Nov 15, 1672 to Hannah Ingersoll, dau of John Ingersoll; his father gave him his dwelling house and he remained in Hartford. 4) Daniel born July 1650.
Some notes about Bethia Hopkins I picked up in web searches:

William Kelsey and Bethia Hopkins married back in England.

Bethia Hopkins was not the daughter of Stephen Hopkins of the Mayflower.

There were two Bethia Hopkins in Hartford at about the same time. The older of the two was the one who married William Kelsey and settled in Hartford.

I am not aware of anyone who has found the parents of the Bethia Hopkins who married William Kelsey, we really do not know who Kelsey's Bethia's parents were.

There was a John Hopkins in Hartford at the same time as Kelsey's Bethia, but Bethia married back in England, so there is no reason to necessarily connect John and Bethia. However, the Hartford John Hopkins named his own daugher Bethia, but that Bethia is NOT the same person as the Bethia who married William Kelsey. Thus is is possible that John Hopkins and Kelsey's Bethia Hopkins might have been siblings (thus the two Bethias were aunt and niece)

{sjt#1-12} From The Kelsey Family News Bullition, Aug 1977, Vol. XXVII  No. 2. Published by the Kelsey Kindred of America (an Organization of the decendants of William Kelsey, Puritan Immigrant, 1632).

EARLY SETTLER LEFT HARTFORD UNDER DURESS Recently published in the Hartford Conn. Times by Audry Kane.

CLINTON--Members of the kindred from all parts of the country gather together each year during a September weekend. They all have at least one thing in common -- they are descendants of William Kelsey, one of the "original propietors" of Clinton.

Born in England about 1600, William Kelsey was among the original Braintree Company which emigrated to New England with the Rev. Thomas Hooker in 1632. Kelsey settled in "New Tone", now known as Hartford, with the Rev. Hooker and more than 50 families in 1636.

Kelsey's name is inscribed on the founders' monument in the lod cemetery of the First Congregational Church in Hartford as being one of the "original proprietor".

In 1663, the King of England granted William Kelsey six acres of land in Clinton, then known as Hammonassett and later known as Kenilworth. In 1838 the area was divided with the northern part named Killingwoth and the southern part Clinton.

Falling Out
It is uncertain why Kelsey wanted to move from Hartford. In the first volume of the Kelsey Genealogy, it is said that he may have left because of a dispute on theological matters in which he had "recieved the worst of the argument". ."original propietors" in Clinton. Part of the original grant is still owned by his descendants, 10 generations later. Another part of the grant is now the Liberty Street Green.

It is said that Kelsey made the first private donation to the church of Killingworth . . 20 shillings to be paid yearly for the use of the ministry.

The Kelsey kindred, now numbering 500 descendants, was formed in 1928 by Joseph Kelsey, Sr. who lived at 90 East Main St. Part of the kindred's program during annual reunions includes attendance at Sunday services at the First Church of Christ, Congregational.

Until last year, Kelsey's descendants gathered annually in Clinton. The reunion will take place in Mystic this September giving distant relatives the chance to vist Mystic seaport. However, they will return to Clinton to carry on the tradation of attending Sunday church services here.

Still in Family
One of the earliest warranty deeds shows William Kelsey giving his property to his sons, John and Daniel.

It was recorded on June 8, 1674 that he gave John "all my house lot containing six acres more or less -- also my cow yard on the north side of the street over agaynst my house sixty rods of land more or less -- also I give to unto him my division of medow lying on the river."

A stone monument erected to William Kelsey's memory now stands to the east of the house at 90 East Main Street ... The last parcel of land remaining in the family for more than 300 years.

{sjt#1-3}From a scrap of paper Robert Kelsey Thomas wrote: Landed in Clinton CT. Married a lady who came over on the Mayflower.  I have looked into this Mayflower possibility. There was a Stephen Hopkins on the Mayflower but there does not seem to be any connection.
http://www.mayflowerfamilies.com/cooke/d19.htm#P1340 There might have been a John Hopkins of Hartford, Connecticut. Could be related to William Kelseys wife. -SJT
At the site: http://www.mayflowerfamilies.com/important_names_events/important_dates_in_connecticut.htm it is stated as one of the "Important Dates in Connecticut's History" that  "1636-Thomas Hooker and company journey from Newtown (Cambridge), Massachusetts to found Hartford." - SJT
http://members.aol.com/randsherm/family/kelsey.html A site that has the paragraph:

William Kelsey was born in 1600 in England. His ancestry is speculation. He imigrated to Boston in 1632/33 as a member of the Thomas Hooker congregation, and was residing in Cambridge by Aug 5, 1633, when he was granted lots there. He was admitted freeman Mar 4, 1635, and shortly removed to Hartford, CT, where he received several land grants after 1639. He removed to Killingworth, now Clinton, CT, between Dec 21, 1666, and May 1669, when he was admited freeman there. He married in 1625 in England Hester ?, not Bethia Hopkins as once thought. She was born in England about 1613 and died after December, 1666. He died before Sept 21, 1676.
Thier children were:

1. Priscilla Kelsey Abt 1632 - 1711  +Cornelius Gillett 1636 - 1711
2. Mark Kelsey Abt 1634 - +Rebecca Hoskins
3. Hester Kelsey 1635-1720 +James Eggleston  *2nd husband of Hester Kelsey +James Eno *3rd husband of Hester Kelsey+John Williams
4. Mary Kelsey 1644-1676 +Jonathan Gillett, Jr
5. Abigail Kelsey 1645 -
6. Stephen Kelsey 1647 - 1710 +Hannah Ingersoll
7. Daniel Kelsey 1650 - 1727 +Mary Stevens
8. William Kelsey 1653/54 -
9. John Kelsey Abt 1638-1709 +Phebe Disborough *2nd wife of John Kelsey+Hannah Disborough

From: http://www.cslib.org/foundhtfd.htm

Founders of Hartford

The following is a list of names of the Founders of Hartford that are engraved on the Founders Monument in the Ancient Burying Ground, also sometimes referred to as the "Old" or "Center" Cemetery. The original brownstone Monument erected in 1837 was replaced by one of pink Connecticut granite in 1986. The cemetery is located at the rear of the First Congregational ("Center") Church at the corner of Main and Gold Streets in Hartford.

Jeremy Adams
Matthew Allyn
William Andrews
John Arnold
Andrew Bacon
John Barnard
Robert Bartlet
John Baysey
Richard Butler
Francis Andrews
John Bidwell
Thomas Birchwood
William Bloomfield
Thomas Bull
Thomas Bunce
Benjamin Burr
William Butler
Clement Chaplin
Richard Church
John Clark
Nicholas Clark
James Cole
John Crow
Robert Day
Joseph Easton
Edward Elmer
Nathaniel Ely
James Ensign
Zachariah Field
William Gibbons
Richard Goodman
Ozias Goodwin
William Goodwin
Seth Grant
George Graves
Samuel Greenhill
Samuel Hale
Thomas Hale
Stephen Hart
William Hayden
John Haynes
Thomas Hooker
William Hills
William Holton
Edward Hopkins
John Hopkins
Thomas Hosmer
William Hyde
Thomas Judd
William Kelsey
William Lewis
Richard Lord
Thomas Lord
Richard Lyman
John Marsh
Matthew Marvin
John Maynard
John Moody
Joseph Mygatt
Thomas Olcott
James Olmsted
Richard Olmsted
William Pantrey
William Parker
Stephen Post
John Pratt
William Pratt
Nathaniel Richards
Richard Risley
Thomas Root
William Rusco
Thomas Scott
Thomas Selden
Richard Seymour
John Skinner
Arthur Smith
Thomas Spencer
William Spencer
Thomas Stanley
Timothy Stanley
Thomas Stanton
Edward Stebbing
George Steele
John Steele
Goerge Stocking
Samuel Stone
John Talcott
William Wadsworth
Samuel Wakeman
Nathaniel Ward
Andrew Warner
Richard Webb
John Webster
Thomas Welles
William Westwood
John White
William Whiting
John Wilcox
Gregory Wolterton
George Wyllys

For additional information, see:

Talcott, Mary Kingsley. The Original Proprietors. Reprint, Society of The Descendants of the Founders of Hartford, Inc., 1986 [CSL call number: HistRef F 104 .H353 A26 1986]. Includes information on the individuals above as well as additional individuals having been proved to have resided in Hartford prior to 1640. Should you wish to purchase a copy of this booklet or correspond with the Society, contact the Connecticut Historical Society, 1 Elizabeth St., Hartford, CT 06105.

Barbour, Lucius Barnes. Families of Early Hartford, Connecticut. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1977 [CSL call number: HistRef F 104 .H353 A22 1977]. Contains genealogical information on over 950 families of early Hartford.

Hosley, William. By Their Markers Ye Shall Know Them: A Chronicle of the History and Restorations of Hartford’s Ancient Burying Ground. Hartford: The Ancient Burying Ground Association, Inc., 1994 [CSL call number HistRef: F 104 .H362 H68 1994]. Includes a transcription of headstone inscriptions in the cemetery keyed to a map in the back of the volume.

From: http://www.soak.net/steph/familytree/kelseytree_3.html  - SJT

William KELSEY was born Abt. 1600 in Wanehester, Baintree, Essex, England and died Abt. 1680 in Killingworth, Middlesex, CT. He married Bethia HOPKINS May 27, 1652 in England or Windsor or Hartford, Hartford, CT; born Btw. 1605-1610 in Newton, England and died Abt. 1680 in Hartford, Hartford, CT; daughter of John Hopkins and Jane (Goody) Strong.

Children of William Kelsey and Bethia Hopkins are:

Mark KELSEY b. Abt. 1628 in Windsor, Hartford, CT or England; d. Feb. 27, 1723 in Windsor, Hartford, CT; m. Mar. 2, 1659 in Windsor, Hartford, CT
Priscilla KELSEY b. Abt. 1632 in Cambridge, Middlesex, MA; d. June 2, 1711 in Windsor, Hartford, CT; m. Jonathan GILLETT Jan. 16, 1658 in Hartford, Hartford, CT
Anna or Mary KELSEY b. Abt. 1633 in Cambridge, Middlesex, MA; d. Apr. 18, 1676 in Windsor, Hartford, CT; m. Apr. 23, 1661 in Windsor, Hartford, CT
Bethia KELSEY b. Abt. 1634 in Milford, New Haven, CT
Hester KELSEY b. Abt. 1635 in Hartford, Hartford, CT
John KELSEY b. Oct. 16, 1636 in Hartford, Hartford, CT; d. July 22, 1709 in Hartford, Hartford, CT; m. Hannah DISBOROUGH Btw. 1666-1668 in Killingworth, Middlesex, CT or Hartford, Hartford, CT
Abigail KELSEY b. Apr. 19, 1645 in Hartford, Hartford, CT; d. May 12, 1717 in Killingworth, Middlesex, CT; m. Dec. 3, 1668 in Windsor, Hartford, CT
Stephen KELSEY b. Nov. 7, 1647 in Hartford, Hartford, CT; ch. Nov. 17, 1647 in Hartford, Hartford, CT; d. Nov. 30, 1710 in Hartford, Hartford, CT; m. Hannah INGERSOLL Nov. 15, 1672 in Wethersfield, Hartford, CT
Daniel KELSEY b. July 6, 1650 in Hartford, Hartford, CT; d. June 5, 1727 in Killingworth, Middlesex, CT; m. Mar. 27, 1672 in Killingworth, Middlesex, CT
William KELSEY b. Mar. 23, 1654 in Hartford, Hartford, CT; d. Nov. 8, 1698 in Hartford, Hartford, CT; m. Abigail WHITCOMB Mar. 25, 1695 in Windsor, Hartford, CT

Notes: William is listed in the Freemen made at the General Court, March 4th, 1634/1635.

William is listed in The Residents of New Towne, 1632 - 1635 (later known as Cambridge):

William Kelse --- 7 Jan 1632/33 William Kelse --- 5 Aug 1633 Will Kelsy --- 4 Aug 1634 William Kelsy --- 20 Aug 1635

From "History of the town of Shirley, Massachusetts", pg. 487:

"The first of this name known in New England was William Kelsey, who was settled at Cambridge as early as 1632, and who probably immigrated to America in 1630. He had a wife, one son, and perhaps more children, while in Cambridge. In 1636, Rev. Thomas Hooker, the first minister of Cambridge, removed, with his congregation,--consisting of one hundred souls,--to the banks of the Connecticut river, and settled what is now the city of Hartford. Mr. Kelsey was one of the followers of Hooker, and became a resident of the new colony while comparatively a young man. He had two sons and one daughter born at Hartford, and perhaps more. In 1663 he removed from Hartford to Killingworth, where he probably died."

From "Genealogical Notes", pg. 120:

"HANNAH INGERSOLL was married to Stephen Kelsey, of Hartford, Conn., November 15, 1672. He was son of William Kelsey, one of the first settlers of Hartford, and was baptized November 7, 1647. Mr. Stephen Kelsey died November 30, 1710, aged 63."

From "National Society Sons & Daughters of the Pilgrims", pg. 208:

"The said Stephen Kelsey was the son of William Kelsey, born 1600, died after 1674, and his wife Bethiah Hopkins."

From "ABRIDGED COMPENDIUM", pg. 3333:

"William Kelsey (1600-after 1674), from Eng., ca. 1630, was at Cambridge, Mass., 1632 removed to Hartford, Conn., in 1636, to Killingworth, Conn., 1663"

From "Marvin Blackwith of Southington", pg. 17:

"KELSEY. 1. WILLIAM, at Cambridge in 1632; at Hartford about 1635; at Killingworth in 1663; deputy in 1671."

From "Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England", Vol. 3, pg. 6:

WILLIAM, Cambridge 1632, freem. 4 Mar. 1635, rem. to Hartford, thence, a. 1663, to Killingworth, but at H. the only ch. b. were Abigail, in Apr. 1645; Stephen, 7 Nov. 1647; and Daniel, 1650; but, no doubt, others were omit. in the rec. or were earlier b. at C. was rep. in 1671, when the rec. is Callsey, but oft it is Kelse, Kelso, Kelsea, Kelsa, or Kelsy.

http://members.aol.com/WinthropSQ/alpha.htm The Freemen of Massachusetts Bay, 1630 - 1636: An Alphabetized Index - SJT


LINKS TO CHILDRENS FAMILIES

MARK

BORN: bef 1628, Eng DIED: bef 27 Feb 1722.

MARRIED: Rebecca HOSKINS, 8 Mar 1659, Windsor, Hartford Co, CT. Had 8 Children.
Married Abigail Atwood, married: 26 Dec 1683 in Windsor, CT . Had 6 children. http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~debbie/charts/kelsey.htm

BETHIA

 BORN: abt 1630, ENG/Milford, New Haven Co, MA, DIED: 27 Feb 1722, Milford, New Haven Co, CT. MARRIED: David PHILLIPS, 3 Sep 1665, Milford, New Haven Co, CT

PRISCILLIA

 BORN: abt 1632, Cambridge, Middlesex Co, MA, DIED: 2 Jun 1711, Windsor, Hartford Co, CT. MARRIED: Cornelius GILLETT, 16 Jan 1658, Hartford, Hartford Co, CT

MARY

 BORN: abt 1633, New Towne (Cambridge), MA

DIED: 18 Apr 1676, Killingworth, Middlesex Co, CT

JOHN

 BORN: 16 Oct 1636, New Towne (Cambridge), MA

DIED: 22 Jul 1709, Hartford, Hartford Co, CT

MARRIED: Hannah DISBOROUGH, abt 1668, Hartford, Hartford Co, CT Had one child.
MARRIED: Phebe DISBOROUGH, abt 1666, Hartford, Hartford Co, CT  (this is incorrect, he never married Phebe, see: http://www.nwlink.com/~pbronson/bronson.htm)

ABIGAIL

 BORN: 19 Apr 1645, Hartford, Hartford Co, CT, DIED: 12 May 1717, Killingworth, Middlesex Co, CT, MARRIED: John HULL, 3 Dec 1668, Killingworth, Middlesex Co, CT.  Had 4 children.

STEPHEN

 BORN: 7 Nov 1647, Hartford, Hartford Co, CT, DIED: 30 Nov 1710, Hartford, Hartford Co, CT.

MARRIED: Hannah INGERSOLL, 15 Nov 1672, Westfield, Hampden Co, MA  Had 10 Children.

 STEPHEN AND HANNAH KELSEY

DANIEL

 BORN: 6 Jul 1650, New Towne (Hartford), CT, DIED: 5 Jun 1727, Killingworth, Middlesex Co, CT
MARRIED: Mary STEPHENS, 27 Mar 1672, Killingworth, Middlesex Co, CT. Had 4 children.
MARRIED: Jane CHALKER, 1688, Killingworth, Middlesex Co, CT. Had 5 children.

WILLIAM

 BORN: 23 Mar 1654, DIED: young

KELSEY REFERENCES

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