Thomas Wright

1610 - 1670  (59 years)

• Name	Thomas Wright  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15]
  Birth	19 Nov 1610	South Weald, Brentwood Borough, Essex, England   [8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15]
  Christening	19 Nov 1610	of Wethersfield, Conn   [2]
  Gender	Male
  Death	21 Apr 1670	Weathersfield, Hartford, Connecticut   [14, 15]
  Burial	Wethersfield, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States of America   [10, 14]
  Person ID	I6442	Ancestrees
  Last Modified	3 Mar 2026

  
  

  Father	Lord Sir John Thomas Wright, *,   b. 13 Sep 1577, South Weald, Brentwood Borough, Essex, England d. 30 May 1640, Greater London, England (Age 62 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Lady Grace Swindles Glascock,   b. 14 May 1579, Kelvedon, Essex, England d. 25 Jul 1653, Dagenham, Essex, England (Age 74 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Marriage	5 Nov 1600	Brook Hall in South Weald, Essex, Eng   [16]
  Family ID	F2470	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Margaret Elson,   b. 1612   d. 4 Apr 1671, Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut, United States (Age 59 years)
  Marriage	May 1647	Connecticut, United States
  Family ID	F875	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	3 Mar 2026

  
  

  Family 2	Mary Cranbroke,   b. 21 Sep 1609, Kent, England d. 1640, Watertown, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States of America (Age 30 years)
  Marriage	10 Aug 1629	South Weald, Essex, England   [11, 12]
  Children	1. Elizabeth Wright,   b. 1632, Isle Of Wight, Isle Of Wight, Virginia, United States d. 27 Mar 1727, Isle Of Wight, Isle Of Wight, Virginia, United States (Age 95 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   2. Lydia Harris,   b. 27 Oct 1634, Essex, England d. 15 Feb 1690, Wethersfield, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States of America (Age 55 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   3. James Wright,   b. 13 Aug 1638, Kelvedon, Essex, England d. Between 1628 and 24 Dec 1727, Middletown, Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States of America  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   4. Benjamin Wright,   b. 1630, England d. Yes, date unknown  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   5. Samuel Wright, Sr,   b. 14 Sep 1636, South Weald, Brentwood Borough, Essex, England d. 13 Feb 1690, Wethersfield, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States of America (Age 53 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   6. Joseph Wright, *,   b. 1640, Wethersfield, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States of America d. 17 Dec 1714, Connecticut (Age 74 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   7. Thomas Wright,   b. 13 Aug 1630, South Weald, Brentwood Borough, Essex, England d. 24 Aug 1683, Wethersfield, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States of America (Age 53 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   8. John Wright (M Abigail Warren) (B 1631 Charleston Ma)   d. 30 Apr 1714, Woburn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States of America  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   9. Mary Wright,   b. Massachusetts, United States d. Massachusetts, United States  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
  Family ID	F876	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	3 Mar 2026

  
  

• Documents

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  Histories		46155_b289776-00001.jpg
  		Thomas Wright.jpg

  
  

• Notes

  "Thomas Wright, Esq., was born 19 November 1610 in England. His first wife's name is unknown. He came first probably to Watertown, Massachusetts. He was of the Massachusetts Court of Assistants before the Colonial Government was establisheoston, and removed to Wethersfield, Connecticut, probably about 1639. He was recognized as a man of influence and high standing. He was deputy to the General Court of Connecticut in 1643; Selectman, 1658; Commissioner on Town Lines, etc. He was made a freeman on 11 May 1654, and his name is on the 1669 list of freeman. He and Enoch Buck were Constables in 1668 to 1669, and he was on court jury at Hartford the same year. He also seems to have been prominent in the church fight which led many to remove to Hadley, Massachusetts. Thomas had one homestead of three and one-half acres on the west side of High Street, on which his house was built, probably before 1639. His property was bounded by Robert Abbott, north, and Samuel Clark, south. A house lot of three acres was recorded to him in Wethersfield on 11 December 1640. He received another homestead in 1654 consisting of a house, barn and five acres of land, bought of Samuel Hale, on the west side of Back Street, between Luke Hitchcock, north, and land belonging to Matthew Griswold, south. He bought the Richard Belden lot of twenty and one-half acres in west field in 1654. He became, by purchase, the owner of a large part of the Great Island, thereafter known as Wright's Island, and which he mostly gave to his sons Thomas and James, who bought other parcels of the island. Wright's Island, about six or seven miles below Hartford, lay a little north of an east and west line drawn through Wethersfield. Thomas Wright was given a grant of land which took in a part of the island, and he increased his part of it by purchase. He gave this to his sons Thomas and James. The latter increased his part of it by purchase, and left most of it to his son James, who acquired nearly all of it and built a house there in 1711. He had a ferry of his own, and a dock was built near the north end of the island. There was a noted fishing place there for salmon and shad. As time went on, the stream east of the island filled up, and a division of its bed was made by arbitration between James Wright and adjacent owners. About 1780/1790, what was known as the island was set off from Wethersfield to Glastonbury, which had been made a town in 1696. The river began to wear away the upper part of the island and continued to do so until the dock finally appeared on the other side of the river, and the Wright living there at that time went and claimed the land about it as his own, and received it too. At the present time, the river flows over what was the island -- "A ten thousand dollar farm gone into the river." The house was removed to Glastonbury, and is now occupied. The island was called by the Indians 'Mannahannock' (Great Laughing Place). The Indians used to meet there and have games and wrestling. Thomas married second on 2 May 1647, Margaret Elson, widow of John Elson, who had been killed by the Indians in the Wethersfield massacre of 1637. There were no children from the second marriage. In his will, Thomas also gave to his wife Margaret, "All the linen that I have in my possession that was of her own spinning." Margaret is said to have been before her marriage to Elson, the wife of, possibly, Hugh Hilliard, or Hillier, by whom she had three children, Ben, Job, and John. She died 1670-1. Her will dated 19 January 1670/1671, mentions her grandson William, son of Job Hillier, deceased, Margaret Woustan and Sarah Holamouth, daughters of her son Benjamin Hillier, and the wife of her step-son Thomas Wright, (she gives her towe [tow] and if that was not enough, for her labor of love, her executors were to give more.) Inventory of her estate amounted to 82-19/8." Wright Lineage at http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~legends/wright.html

  
  

• Sources

  [S1608] Ancestry.com, Connecticut, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1790-1890, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc Date:1999 Place:Provo, UT, USA;), 1,3537::0. [S230] Ancestry.com, North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Date:2016 Place:Provo, UT, USA;), Book Title: The Wright family, 1,61157::0. [S475] www.ancestry.com. [S968] Family Trees (www.ancestry.com). [S4] Ancestry Family Trees, (Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.;), Ancestry Family Tree, 1,1030::0. [S926] Wright Lineage (http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~legends/wright.html, including transcriptions of 1st hand records). [S230] Ancestry.com, North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Date:2016 Place:Provo, UT, USA;), 1,61157::0. [S1417] Heritage Consulting, Millennium File, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc Date:2003 Place:Provo, UT, USA;), 1,7249::0. [S1025] Ancestry.com, U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Date:2011 Place:Provo, UT, USA;), Volume: 292, 1,2204::0. [S426] Ancestry.com, U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Date:2012 Place:Lehi, UT, USA;), 1,60525::0. [S1067] Yates Publishing, U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc Date:2004 Place:Provo, UT, USA;), Source number: 3414.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: BFO, 1,7836::0. [S1586] Ancestry.com, U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc Date:2012 Place:Provo, UT, USA;), Genealogical Publishing Co.; Baltimore, MD, USA; Volume Title: New England Marriages Prior to 1700, 1,3824::0. [S1609] Ancestry.com, Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Date:2015 Place:Provo, UT, USA;), Author: Connecticut State Library (Hartford, Connecticut); Probate Place: Hartford, Connecticut, 1,9049::0. [S170] Ancestry.com, U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Lehi, UT, USA; Date: 2012;). [S1080] Ancestry.com, U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2011;). U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 [S25] Ancestry.com, Geneanet Community Trees Index, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Lehi, UT, USA; Date: 2022;).