Matthew Beckwith

1610 - 1680

• Name	Matthew Beckwith
  Born	22 Sep 1610	probably, Ponteferact, Yorkshire, England   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Died	21 Oct 1680	Lyme, New London Co, Connecticut   [2, 3]
  Notes	MATTHEW BECKWITH was born about 1610 of undetermined English parentage, and not unlikely was nearly or remotely related to his namesakes of Yorkshire. The history of the first-half of his life is as obscure as that of 95 per cent of earliest New England colonists; but in its latter half a few points are clearly enough established by the meagre records at Hartford, New London, and Lyme. He bought the homestead of William Pratt, an original proprietor, at Hartford in 1645. About 1652 he was at New London and Lyme, his land lying in both towns. He was able to give land somewhat liberally to his sons, and it is recorded that in 1675 thirty acres more were "laid out" to him, all of which he gave to his son Joseph. October 21, 1680 he was killed when "missing his way in a very dark night, fell from a Ledge of rocks about 20 or 30 feet high and beat out his braines against a stone he fell upon. Another may yt was wth him was wthin a yard of ye place but by gods Provide(nce) came not to such and end" This gave occasion for a sermon on the providence of God which took away Matthew Beckwith and spared his fellow wayfarer. The inquest showed that he was then seventy years old, and this is the only evidence as to the year of his birth. He left a widow, Elizabeth, who married Samuel Buckland,(*) and died before 1690. Children:-- 2. MATTHEW. 3. John. 4. Joseph. 5. Nathaniel. 6. Catharine. 7. Widow of Robert Gerard. 8. Widow of Benjamin Grant !MARVIN BECKWITH AND HIS WIFE ABIGAIL CLARK THEIR COLONIAL ANCESTORS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS; Binders Title: Marvin Beckwith of Southington; ELKHORN, WISCONSIN 1899 MATTHEW, New London 1652, Hartford 1658, then a freem., and had first liv. there 1639, rem. to Branford, there in 1668 was one of the founders of ch., thence to Lyme, there d. 21 Oct. 1680, aged a. 70, by fall in a dark night down a ledge of rocks. See Rev. Mr. Bradstreet's journal in Geneal. Reg. IX. 50. He had two ds. beside s. Matthew, John, and Joseph. His wid. m. Samuel Buckland; and of the ds. one m. Benjamin Grant; the other, Robert Gerard; but the name of either is not seen. !Savage VOL 1 DICTIONARY of the FIRST SETTLERS OF NEW ENGLAND Matthew Beckwith came to New England from Ponteferact, Yorkshire, England in 1635, residing first at Saybrook Point. His first child, Matthew, may have been born at the Point in 1637, but this has not been confirmed. He was in Branford in 1638 and was among the first settlers of Hartford in 1642. By 1651, he was in East Lyme, having purchased large tracts of land along the Niantic River. !The Founders of Saybrook Colony and their Descendants
  Person ID	I33366	Bryant
  Last Modified	18 Feb 2001

  
  

  Family	Mary,   b. 1625,   d. Bef 30 Jan 1694
  Married	Abt 1642	probably, New London, New London Co, Connecticut   [4]
  Children	1. Marie Beckwith,   b. 1643,   d. Aft 07 Feb 1693   2. Matthew Beckwith,   b. 1645, probably, Saybrook Point, Middlesex Co, Connecticut ,   d. 04 Jun 1727, Lyme, New London Co, Connecticut   3. Elizabeth Beckwith,   b. 1647, probably, Connecticut ,   d. Aft 01 Sep 1719   4. Sarah Beckwith,   b. 1650,   d. Bef 02 Jun 1674   5. Joseph Beckwith,   b. 1653,   d. Aft 20 Dec 1707, Lyme, New London Co, Connecticut   6. Nathaniel Beckwith,   b. 1656,   d. Bef 10 Jan 1726   7. John Beckwith,   b. 1665, New London, New London Co, Connecticut
  Family ID	F1191	Group Sheet

  
  

• Event Map		Born - 22 Sep 1610 - probably, Ponteferact, Yorkshire, England Married - Abt 1642 - probably, New London, New London Co, Connecticut Died - 21 Oct 1680 - Lyme, New London Co, Connecticut  = Link to Google Maps   = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Sources

  [S233] Saybrook Founders, Descendants, Staplins, Elaine F., Chairman, (The Founders Committee, Saybrook, CT, 1985), Matthew Beckwith. [S233] Saybrook Founders, Descendants, Staplins, Elaine F., Chairman, (The Founders Committee, Saybrook, CT, 1985), Matthew Beckwith; "December" probably wrong.. [S47] Ancetry of Emily Angell, Smith, Dean Crawford & Melinde Lutz Sanborn, (New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA, 1992), p.223 "October". [S47] Ancetry of Emily Angell, Smith, Dean Crawford & Melinde Lutz Sanborn, (New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA, 1992), p.224.