Webster, the son of Matthew and Elizabeth (Ashton) Webster, married Agnes Smith in 1609 at Cossington, where their first five children were born. They had more children in America.
The Thomas Hooker Group
This Webster family settled at Watertown, MA, in the early 1630s and moved to the present Hartford in 1636, probably with Rev. Thomas Hooker’s group. Webster was one of the original Hartford landowners.
Webster was involved in the Connecticut Colony government from as early as 1639, when he became Assistant for the General Court, a post he held until 1655. He was named Commissioner to the United Colonies of New England in 1654, became Deputy Governor in 1655 and was named Governor in 1656 and Chief Magistrate in 1657. He later was a magistrate at Hadley, MA.
When Hooker died, his congregation became split, first over who the successor would be, then over the liberalized baptism policy the new minister supported. Webster was part of the dissenting group that broke away and moved to Hadley, MA.
Webster and his wife Agnes Smith had these children: Matthew (b. ca. 1608/9; m. Sarah Waterbury and Mary Reeve), Margaret (b1609/10; m. William Bolton and Thomas Hunt), William (b. 1614; m. Mary Reeve), Thomas (b. 1616; m. Abigail Alexander), Robert (see below), Anne (b. 1621; m. John Marsh), Elizabeth (b. 1622/23; m. William Markham), Mary (b. 1623; married Jonathan Hunt) and Faith (b. & d. 1627). (Some genealogists do not name Margaret or Faith.) Their most famous descendant is Noah Webster of dictionary fame.
Line of DescentThe following genealogical data was compiled by family researcher Elizabeth (Scott) Karpf. This is her line of descent from John and Agnes (Smith) Webster.
- John Webster and Agnes Smith.
- Robert Webster (1627-1676) of Hartford; in 1652 married Susannah Treat (1629-1705).
- John Webster II (1653-1694), born at Middletown, CT; m. Sarah Mygatt (1661-aft.1728)
- John Webster III (1680-bef.1753) of Hartford and Southington, CT, wed on Christmas Day, 1712, Abiel Steele (1693-1789).
- John Webster IV (1728-1772) of Hartford and Southington, CT; m. in 1755 Rhoda Lewis (1733-1789).
- Philologous Webster (1759-1824) of Southington, CT and Clintonville, OH; m. in 1784 Sarah Scott (1757-1822).
- Harvey Webster (1788-1847) of Southington, CT and Clintonville, OH; m. in 1809 Lucinda Brown (1784-1847).
- Lewis Harvey Webster (1819-1896) of Columbus, OH, in 1846 wed Susan Agler (1824-1865).
- Georgianna Medora Webster (1848-1933) was born in Franklin Co., OH, and died at Omaha, NE; married in 1867 Philip Newman Ault (1842-1914).
- Carrie Adelaide Ault (1873-1954), born in Bartholomew Co., IN and died in Omaha, NE; in 1898 married Frederick James Bolshaw (1870-1960).
- Helen Dorothy Bolshaw (1901-1969) of Lincoln and Omaha, NE, in 1921 married Wray Moore Scott (1901-1980).
- Elizabeth Jean Scott, born 1925 at Omaha; in 1948 she married Charles Tiffany Karpf (b. 1921). They were divorced in 1966.
Descendants of Gov. John Webster are eligible for membership in The Hereditary Order of Descendants of Colonial Governors. Companion articles give lines of descent from Colonial Connecticut Governors William Leete and Thomas Welles.
Sources:
Connecticut State Library (biography of Gov. John Webster); line of descent furnished in 1988 by Elizabeth (Scott) Karpf of Green Valley, AZ.
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