CALKINS, Hugh d. 8 Jan 1690 Norwichtown, New London, Connecticut, British Colonial America

1603 - 1690 (~ 86 years)

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Name	CALKINS, Hugh
Christening	8 Apr 1603	Waverton, Cheshire, England
Gender	Male
Burial	Jan 1690	Old Norwichtown Cemetery, Norwich, New London, Connecticut, British Colonial America
Death	8 Jan 1690	Norwichtown, New London, Connecticut, British Colonial America
WAC	26 Mar 1896	SGEOR
_TAG	Reviewed on FS
Headstones	Submit Headstone Photo
Person ID	I30302	Joseph Smith Sr and Lucy Mack Smith
Last Modified	19 Aug 2021

Family ID F17154 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Family 1 Ann , b. Abt 1605, England Englandd. 16 Dec 1688, Norwichtown, New London, Connecticut, British Colonial America (Age 83 years)

Children

+	1. CALKINS, John , b. Abt 1634, Waverton, Cheshire, England Waverton, Cheshire, Englandd. 8 Jan 1703, New London, New Haven, Connecticut, United States (Age 69 years)

Family ID F17153 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Last Modified 24 Jan 2022

Family 2 EATON, Ann Eston , b. 1605, England Englandd. Abt 1688, Norwich, New London, Connecticut, British Colonial America (Age 83 years)

Marriage 1623 Connecticut

Children 1 son and 1 daughter

	1. CAULKINS, John , b. 1638, Stratford, Fairfield, Connecticut, United States Stratford, Fairfield, Connecticut, United Statesd. 8 Jan 1702, Norwich, New London, Connecticut, United States (Age 64 years)
+	2. CAULKINS, Deborah , b. 18 Mar 1645, Gloucestershire, Essex, England Gloucestershire, Essex, Englandd. 2 Oct 1724, Lebanon, New London, Connecticut, United States (Age 79 years)

Family ID F17084 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Last Modified 24 Jan 2022

Photos At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.

Notes

VIEW BIOGRAPHICAL ITEMS IN STORIES (MEMORIES) FOR THIS RECORD, 9W4M-GCR

HUGH CALKINS was christened on 8 April 1603 in Waverton, Cheshire, England, the son of Rowland Calkins and Helen {Ellen} Payne. [Based on research preformed in 1998 by Mr. Roy Edwards of Hayes, Middlesex, England.] Another statement that has often been made is that Hugh Calkins was a direct descendant of Sir William Colkin, who was one of the Magna Carta Barons, and who was a member of a family who founded a hospital in Canterbury. Again, there is no known evidence to support this statement as a fact.
Because no marriage record for Hugh and Anne Calkins has been found the origin of Anne is even less well known. Her surname has often been given as Eaton, Easton, Eston, or a similar variation but, there is no evidence, other than frequent repetition, to support any of these names.
Hugh Calkins was a radical, in religion a non conformist, and living in the troublous times of Charles, the First, soon became satisfied that there were safer countries than England and Wales for men who wished to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences. He was one of the body of immigrants known as the Welsh Company that came to New England from Chepstow in Monmouthshire, Wales with their minister, the Rev. Mr. Richard Blinman in 1640. [Because this group departed from Chepstow, Monmouthshire, one of the border counties between Wales and England, many writers have been led to conclude that Hugh and his family were "born" in Chepstow. However, searches of the Parish Registers and Bishop's Transcripts of the area around Chepstow have been unsuccessful in finding any indication that Hugh or members of his family were born there.]
Hugh brought his wife, Ann, and several children with him when he immigrated to New England. They first settled at Green Harbor, now Marshfield, in New Plymouth, where he was made a freeman of the colony, 2 Mar. 1640/1. However, religious dissensions arose and he followed the Rev. Mr. Blinman to Gloucester, Massachusetts. While in Gloucester he served as a Selectman from 1643 through 1648; was commissioner for the trial of small claims in 1645; and was a Deputy to the General Curt of the Colony in 1650 and 1652, but did not finish out the term.
After seven-years they found the climate in Gloucester to bleak for farming and, hoping to find more productive land, the party moved to New London, Connecticut in 1651. There is a record in Gloucester which indicates that “Hugh Calkins went with the cattle to Pequot,” this implies that the main body of their company probably went to New London by ship while Hugh went overland. A narrow road on the west side of town was opened for the Gloucester immigrants, called Cape Ann Lane, now Ann street. Hugh had the first lot on the south east end of the street. While living there he was chosen twelve times Deputy to the Connecticut Assembly (the elections being semi-annual) and was one of the selectmen until he moved to Norwich. In 1653 and 1654 he was Commissioner of the Colony of Connecticut to enlist men for an expedition against the Indians.
Around 1659, the Rev. Blinman left the community, returning to England where he later died.
The town of Norwich was founded in 1659, by settlers from Old Saybrook led by Major John Mason and Reverend James Fitch. They purchased the land, "nine miles square", from the Mohegan Sachem Uncas. Hugh Calkins and wife, with other settlers, from New London, including their older son John and his family, moved northward and were among the founders of the town of Norwich, Connecticut. Hugh had the first lot by Lyme Road. Their younger son, David Calkins, and several of the sisters remained in New London with their respective families.
This area was then a wilderness and the land was owned by the Mohegan Indians. Just previous a treaty had been concluded between the celebrated Major Mason and others with the Mohegan Chieftains, by which a tract of land nine miles square around Norwich was ceded to the colonists for the price of £70, Sterling. Hugh Calkins and his son John were among the thirty-five original proprietors.
In those early days, the swamps in the New London-Norwich area were the habitat of number of wild animals - especially wolves. They created havoc with the colonists’ sheep, which were of great importance for their wool. An Act of the General Court required every town to pay a bounty of no less than fifteen shillings for the killing of a wolf within its bounds. In 1660 Hugh Caulkins and William Peake were paid four pounds each for killing four wolves that year
In Norwich, he was deputy at ten sessions of the Legislature, between March 1663, and October 1671, and was one of the first deacons of the Norwich church.
At each of the three towns in which he was an early settler and proprietor, he was largely employed in public business, being appointed committees for consultation, for fortifying, drafting soldiers, settling difficulties, and particularly for surveying lands and determining boundaries, for which he had apparently been trained in England. These offices would imply a considerable range of information, as well as activity and executive talent, yet he seems to have had no early education, uniformly making only a bold H for his signature.
Hugh Calkins died in New London, about 1690, at the age of 90 years. It is not known when or where his wife died.
Children of Hugh Calkins and Anne ________:
1. Sarah Calkins, chr. 6 May 1627, Waverton, Cheshire, England; married William Hough, 28 Oct 1645; she died 16 Oct 1683 at New London, Connecticut.
2. Mary Calkin, chr. 27 Dec 1629, Waverton, Cheshire, England; married 1st Hugh Roberts, 8 Nov. 1649 and 2nd Robert Bond, in 1672 at Newark, New Jersey; she died 23 Nov. 1717.
3. Rebecca Calkins, chr. 9 Nov. 1631, Waverton, Cheshire, England; died 14 Jan 1650/1651, Gloucester, Massachusetts.
4. John Calkins, born about 1634, of Waverton, Cheshire, England; married, in 1658, Sarah Royce daughter of Robert Royce and Mary Sims; died 8 Jan 1702/1703 at Norwich, New London, Connecticut.
5. David Calkins, born about 1637, of Waverton, Cheshire, England; married 1st in 1672, Mary Bliss daughter Thomas Bliss and Elizabeth Birchard and 2nd Hannah Baldwin. He died, 25 Nov. 1717, at New London, Connecticut.
6. Deborah Calkins, chr., 17 Apr. 1639, Chester St Oswald, Cheshire, England. She was buried, 4 Oct 1639, Chester St. Oswald, Cheshire, England.
7. Deborah Calkins, born 18 Mar 1643/1644, Gloucester, Essex, Massachusetts; married 1st John Woodward and 2nd, 4 Jun 1660, Jonathan Royce, son of Robert Royce and Mary Jackson; died 10 Aug. 1723, at Lebanon, Connecticut.
References:
• Kenneth W. Calkins, “Calkins Family in America”, Calkins Family Associaton, September 2000, pp 3-8.
• John Donald McGill, Jr., “Hough and Related Lines,” 1986, pp. 19-20
• Mrs. Turney Sharps, “Calkins Family Manuscript”, 1949, pp. 1-4.
• William Wirt Calkins, “The Calkins Memorial Military Roster,” Chicago, M. A. Donohue & Co.; pp. 15-17.

Source: Cathy L Gannon - Family Treemaker - Ancestry.com

Hugh Calkins was born 8 April 1603 in Waverton, Cheshire, England or Chepstow, Monmouthshire, England and died about 1690 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut. He married Ann Eaton about 1623. She was the daughter of Robert Eaton and Sophia Hollister. She was born about 1605 in Cheptow, Monmouthshire, England and died June 1688 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut.

The family immigrated to America in about 1640 with a company called "The Welsh Company" under the leadership of Pastor Richard Blynman. They left from Chepstow, Monmouthshire. They landed at Green Harbor in the Plymouth Colony, near what is now Marshfield, Mass, where Hugh was made a Freeman on 2 March 1640. They soon moved to Gloucester, Essex county, Mass; possibly because of a religious conflict with the Pilgrims of the Mayflower colony. Hugh was a Deputy to the General Court (Legislature) of the Colony, and a Representative to the Mass. Court of Glouster from 1650 to 1652. Finding the climate too bleak for farming, they moved to Pequot, now known as New London in the Colony of Connecticut in the fall of 1650. From 1651 until 1653 Hugh was a Deputy from New London in the General Court (Legislature) of Connecticut. On June 6, 1659 Hugh, with his son John, and thirty two others founded the town of Norwich in the Colony of Connecticut, now Norwich, New London County, Connecticut. He was one of the 35 proprietors and was several times a representative to the Connecticut Assembly and Legislature from 1663 to 1671. He signed his name with an "H" and was called "Deacon Hugh".

A BRIEF HISTORY OF HUGH CALKINS AND ANN
(4th great-grandfather of Martha Minerva Calkins who
is the mother of Martha Fillmore)

Although we do not have any personal records to give us insights into the life of Hugh Calkins, a study of public records indicating his service in the early governments of Massachusetts and Connecticut reveals a man “of sound discretion and considerable experience and activity.”

Hugh Calkins probably came to New England in the year 1640. He brought with him his wife and several children. The first record we have of him is his taking the oath of allegiance at the General Court in Plymouth, Massachusetts on March 2, 1641, thereby being “propounded to be made free…” Next, we find him accompanying Rev. Richard Blinman to help found the settlement of Gloucester, a town on the eastern coast of Massachusetts.

In Gloucester, Hugh was elected to serve the town as one of the selectmen in each of the years from 1644 to 1649. He was a representative at the General Court in Boston in 1650 and 1651.

In 1650, fourteen families arrived as a covenanted church from Gloucester with their minister, Richard Blinman, in New London (then Pequot), Connecticut. They united with the families already there to form the first community church there. Although Hugh and his family did not move until 1651, they were undoubtedly part of this group as land grants were made to Hugh Calkins and others of the Blinman congregation on October 19, 1650.

A town meeting was held on August 29, 1651 to elect two deputies to the General Court at Hartford, Connecticut. Hugh Calkins was one of the men elected. During the ten years Hugh lived at New London, he was chosen deputy to the General Court twelve times, elections being held semi-annually, representing that town from 1652 to 1660. He was also one of the town’s elected townsmen (selectmen) from 1652 to 1660.

In 1660, Hugh and his son John and son-in-law Jonathon Royce and their families moved to Norwich, Connecticut. There Hugh was elected as a deputy to the Hartford general court in 1663 and served there annually until 1671. He was appointed by the town as one of the four commissioners and the following year was elected a townsman (selectman). He was also one of the first deacons of the town church.

Hugh Calkins was not an educated man in the usual sense of the term. Having had no early education, he uniformly made a bold “H” for his signature. But his years of public service show him to have been a man of knowledge and executive talent. At each of the three towns in which he was an early settler and proprietor, he was largely employed in the public business, usually being appointed to committees charged with fortifying the settlement, drafting soldiers, settling difficulties, and particularly, surveying lands and determining boundaries.

He was a true servant to his fellowmen. On one occasion in New London when the town was involved in a war with Nini-gret, the Indian chieftain, three places in New London were fortified—the mill, the meetinghouse, and the house of Hugh Calkins. The inhabitants were divided into three squadrons, and in case of alarm, one squadron was to repair to Hugh Calkins’ house.

The swamps of New London were infested with wild animals, which were a particular menace to the woolgrowers, as wolves were killing the sheep. In the year 1660, Hugh was paid a bounty of four pounds for killing four wolves at Nahantick.

While Hugh was a town surety in New London, a barn owned by William Rogers had been used as a church. Later, after Rogers died, his heirs claimed that the rent on the church had not been fully paid and subsequently sued Hugh Calkins for the rest of the rent of three pounds and ten shillings. Hugh, now a member of the Norwich community, did not hesitate to pay the debt, after which was delivered in the form of one barrel of pork.

In 1673, when Hugh was about 73 years old, a new meetinghouse was to be built for the town of Norwich. The country at that time was “in a disturbed condition, the Dutch at New Amsterdam having assumed a threatening attitude, and several of the larger Indian tribes appearing surly and vindictive. It was the prudence and foresight of Hugh Calkins and his fellow building-committeemen that led them to select for the meetinghouse an appropriate site, to serve as a watch tower, an arsenal, and a garrison post, as well as a house of worship.”

A knowledge of some of the political beliefs and practices of the Connecticut Puritans helps us appreciate the kind of man Hugh Calkins must have been to have been an elected official in that society. During the1600’s, the towns were covenanted groups quite as much as were the churches. The welfare of the community was sought above all, and thus, those in authority did not hesitate to be very particular about who could participate in government. According to the Fundamental Orders ratified in 1639 and made binding on all Connecticut settlements, the franchise could be held by only two groups. Those termed “admitted inhabitants” could take part in town matters. But those who could participate in the affairs of the colony were only those made “freemen.”

“Admitted inhabitants” were “householders of honest conversation…who had taken a carefully phrased oath of fidelity to the common wealth…When admitted by majority vote of those properly qualified in town meeting, (they) could take part in local affairs, join in the election of local officials, and vote for deputies to the general court. But, being an ‘admitted inhabitant’ did not make a man a ‘freeman.’”

A “freeman” was “any ‘admitted inhabitant’ who had been selected for freemanship either by the general court itself or by some one or more of the magistrates who was authorized by the court to make ‘freemen.’ Only when thus admitted to freemanship could the adult male house-holder offer himself for election as a deputy, vote for higher officials of the colony and himself fill the post of magistrate…The ‘freemen’ were only such of the ‘admitted inhabitants’ as were deemed by the general court fit to take part in the affairs of the commonwealth.”

“In the towns, the ‘admitted inhabitant’ had to be religious and godly men with a competence of estate, though not necessarily members of a congregation, and they were the ones who ran local affairs and voted for deputies; but in the colony the control of the government lay in the hands of the ‘freemen’ only, constituting probably less than one third of the ‘admitted inhabitants,’ the specially chosen of the godly men, the last sifting in the winnowing of the grain…” (In “Early Government in Connecticut,” Papers, New Haven Colony Historical Society, 3, 313, Dr. Bronson says, “Evidently the freemen were not numerous…I cannot find that more than 23 were admitted in the first ten years after 1639. From 1639 to 1662, 229 admissions are on record, while the increase in population may have been three thousand, one quarter of them males of legal age.” This observation is especially interesting since the public service of Hugh Calkins was as a freeman beginning in Massachusetts in 1644 and continuing in Connecticut beginning in 1651.)

“The founders of Connecticut…were willing to concede a share in government to anyone who was godly, in their sense of the word, and was responsible, trustworthy, and law-abiding…To the Puritan…only those who were Christians of honest and peaceable conversation, substantial. Respectable, and reliable fathers in Israel were considered worthy to build up a community the design of which was religious.”

The foregoing sheds light on the esteem Hugh Calkins’ fellowmen had for him. From his arrival in the New World until his death 50 years later, he was a freeman. For about 25 years of that time, he served as an elected official, usually being a deputy to the general court, which was the supreme authority in the commonwealth.

“Deacon Caulkin,” as he was affectionately called, died about 1690, at the age of ninety years. He is supposed to be the progenitor of most, if not all, of those who bear the Calkins name in the United States. He is the ancestor of Stephen Grover Cleveland, 22nd and 24th President of the United States and George Albert Smith, 8th President of the LDS Church.
---by Margaret Ann Call

Information and quotes on Connecticut Puritan politics were taken from The Colonial Period of American History, The Settlements, Volume 2, Charles M. Andrews, New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1964, pp. 104-107, 112.

(1) BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION ABOUT HUGH & ANN CALKINS COMPILED BY
kENNETH W. CALKINS, Historian of the Calkins Family Association:
It has been well established that Hugh and Ann Calkins, with at least four of their living children, came to the New World between 1638-1640, as members of the "Welsh Company" under the leadership of Reverend Richard Blynman. The exact date and the ship that they came on have not been clearly determined.
It is also well established that this group departed from Chepstow, Monmouthshire, one of the border counties between Wales and England. These facts have led many writers to conclude that Hugh and his family were "born" in Chepstow. However, thorough searches of the Parish Registers and Bishop's Transcripts of the area around Chepstow have been unsuccessful in finding any indication that anyone named Calkins, by any spelling variation, lived there around the time that Hugh or members of his family would have been born.
By comparison, similar searches conducted in other areas have located a number of families, with a spelling variation of the name Calkins, in counties to the east and north of Monmouthshire. In particular, the name has been found in the early 1600's in Gloucestershire, Cheshire, and Staffordshire.
As a result of these early searches, and following some additional clues provided, in 1998 Mr. Roy Edwards of Hayes, Middlesex, England, initiated intensive research on the records of the area near Chester, Cheshire. Mr. Edwards found clear evidence that Hugh Calkins was the son of Rowland and Elen {Ellen}(Payne) Calkins, christened on 8 April 1603 in Waverton, a village south and east of Chester.
He also found records of the christening of Hugh's three oldest children in Waverton, within a few years after the birth dates that were deduced from later records. An article describing the research and the proof is being prepared by Mr. Edwards for submission to a recognized genealogical publication.
The origin of Hugh's wife Ann is even less well known. Her surname has often been given as Eaton, Easton, Eston, or a similar variation. To our knowledge, there is no evidence - other than frequent repetition - to support any of these names. The research by Mr. Edwards described above provided no evidence on Ann's family name.
Because the Ancestral File records of the LDS Church are so frequently used by genealogy researchers, it should be mentioned that these records list the fathers of Hugh and Ann to be William Calkins and Laurentine Eaton, respectively. We believe this information is in error. At the very least it is certainly unproven..
Upon their arrival in America, Hugh and his family, together with the rest of the Welsh Party, landed first at Plymouth, and settled briefly at Green's Harbor, near Marshfield, Mass. Probably in 1641, they relocated to Gloucester, Mass., where Hugh Calkins and others were nominated as Freemen.
In about 1651, most of the original Welsh Party, including Rev. Blynman and Hugh Calkins and family moved again to what was then named Pequot Harbor and founded the town of New London, Conn. Around 1659, the Rev. Blynman left the community, returning to England where he later died.
Hugh Calkins and wife, with a number of other settlers including their older son John and his family, moved northward and founded the town of Norwich, Conn. Younger son David Calkins and several of the sisters remained in New London with their respective families.
Accounts of the early movements of these groups can be found in several articles in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register and in the histories of New London and Norwich, Connecticut.
[CONTRIBUTED TO ANCESTRY.COM BY " Matthewsanng]"

(2) TIMELINE FOR HUGH AND ANN CALKINS FROM CONTRIBUTIONANCESTRY.COM BY " Matthewsanng: :
1638-1649: "Hugh Calkins was a radical in religion, a non-conformist, and living in the troublesome time of Charles the First, soon became satisfied that there were safer countries than England and Wales—for men who wished to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences.
Accordingly, he with his wife, Ann, and John, their son, then four years old, joined a body of emigrants called the 'Welsh Company,' and with their pastor, Rev. Richard Blinman [Blynman], embarked and came to America, about 1638 or 1640. They left from Chepstow, Monmouthshire, across the Severn from Bristol.
After landing at Green Harbor in the Plymouth Colony, near what is now Marshfield, Massachusetts, the family settled first at Marshfield, then moved to the rough promontory of Cape Ann Lane, Gloucester, Essex County, Massachusetts; possibly because of a religious conflict with the Pilgrims of the Mayflower Colony.
1642: Made a freeman at Gloucester 27 Dec 1642.
1650/1651: In the fall of 1650, after eight years of finding the climate too bleak for farming, they moved to Pequot, Colony of Connecticut, now known as New London; following Rev. Blynman, who had been wooed there by Governor Winthrop, along with many others of the "Welsh Company." The first grant to Deacon Hugh was 19 Oct 1650, made by the townsmen of Pequot. Early in 1651, nine lots of six acres each, were laid out on Cape Ann Lane, New London;
Mr. Calkins had the first lot by the Lyme road to Nahantick, and next to him his son-in-law, Hugh Roberts, (Miss Caulkins' Hist. N. London, p. 71.)
In Mr. Bruen's list of the inhabitants of New London, dated Jul 1651, of all who wrought at the mill dam, the name of Hugh Calkin is not found.
In 1651, the town of Pequot or 'Nameage,' directed Hugh Calkin and Thomas Mynor to state to the court 'that the town's name may be called London.' Three places in New London were fortified in 1652, viz., the mill, the meeting-house, and the house of Hugh Caulkins, near the entrance of Cape Ann Lane, and in case of an alarm, Sergeant Minor's squadron was to repair to Hugh Caulkins' house, &c. Wampassock Neck, of 550 acres of upland, and a small neck adjoining it, were given to Hugh Caulkins, which afterward went into the hands of Mr. Winthrop by purchase, about 1651.
1650-1654: Hugh was a Deputy to the General Court (Legislature) of the Colony and a Representative to the Massachusetts Court from Gloucester from 1650 to 1652. He was "Deputy of the Generall Courte" on 14 Sep 1654 at Hartford, Connecticut.
1654: By order of the general court, held October 3, 1654, Hugh and another were appointed a committee for enlisting men to fight the Naragansett Indians. August 28, 1654, Goodman Calkin with six others, were appointed by the town of New London, and three of Pockatucke and Mistike, to debate and conclude whether Misticke and Pockatucke should be a town, &c. May 21, 1653, Hugh Calkin was appointed by the General Court one of a committee at Pequot, to advise the constables as to pressing men for an expedition then getting up. In Sept., 1654, he was deputy, and in October he and Capt. Denison were appointed, with the constables of Pequot, to press men and necessaries for an expedition, with one drum and one pair "cullers," from Pequot.
1659: In June, 1659, he, with James Morgan and James Avery were appointed to lay out the governor's land, (which Gov. Winthrop had before requested) at the head of Pocatanack Cove, for a plantation at Quinibauge, and the court gave him 1,500 acres on the Fresh River, if not prejudicial to any other plantation, and to include but 150 acres of meadow.
1659/1660: On 6 Jun 1659, Hugh, with his son John, and thirty two others founded the town of Norwich in the Colony of Connecticut, now Norwich, New London County, Connecticut. (Just previously a treaty had been concluded, by and between the Major Mason and others with the Mohegan chiefs, by which a tract of land nine miles square around Norwich was ceded to the whites, for the sum of seventy pounds sterling.) He was one of the 35 original proprietors and was several (12) times a representative to the Connecticut Assembly and Legislature from 1663 to 1671. He signed his name with an "H" and was the first deacon of the Norwich Church and called "Deacon Hugh."
1659: Appointed in 1659 with James Morgan and J. Avery, to lay out to Governor WInthrop, 1500 acres of land at the head of Paugatuck Cove on fresh river. [A Catalogue of the Names of the First Puritan Settlers of the Colony of Connecticut, collected from the state and town records by R. R. Hinman, Hartford, 1846, Reprinted Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1968, p. 122]
1663: Deacon Hugh Calkins--deputy in 1663, two sessions, from New London, with James Rogers.
1663-1671: He was deputy at ten sessions of the legislature, between March, 1663, and October, 1671. 1652-1671: Was Selectman, 1652-1660. His first election to the General Court in Connecticut, was May 20, 1652, also May, 1653, May, 1654, Sept., 1654, May, 1656, Oct., 1656, Oct., 1657, May, 1658, May, 1659, May, 1660, March, 1662-3, May, 1663, August, 1663, May, 1664, May, 1665, May, 1666, Oct., 1666, May, 1669, Oct. elected and absent, Oct., 1671.
1669: Hugh and John Calkins are found in the Norwich list of freemen, Oct. 9, 1669.
At each of the three towns in which he was an early settler and proprietor, he was largely employed in public business, serving on committees for consultation, for fortifying, drafting soldiers, settling difficulties, and surveying lands to determine boundaries. Offices that imply a wide range of information as well as executive ability
1690: Hugh died c1690, at age 90, and Ann died in July 1711, both in Norwich.
Known/Believed Children of Hugh Calkins and Ann Eaton (Easton) Calkins:
1. Sarah Calkins Born and Christening: 6 May 1627, Waverton, Cheshire, England.
Died 16 Oct 1683, New London, New London, Connecticut. (Another sources gives her death as 5 Sep 1684 in of New London, New London, Conneticut, New England and burial in Gloucester, Essex County, Massachusetts.) Married: William Hough (Deacon), (born 1618/1619 in Westchester, Cheshire, England and Christened 2 Feb 1619 in Frodsham, Cheshire, England. He died 10 Aug 1683 in New London, New London, Ct. ....Marriage: 28 Oct 1645, Gloucester, Essex, Massachusetts.
2. Mary Calkins Born and Christened: 27 Dec 1629,
Died: 23 Nov 1717, ,, New Jersey.
Married 1: Hugh Roberts, (born 1629, Gloucester, Essex, Massachusetts and died 1671, Newark, Essex, New Jersey.) Marriage 1: 8 Nov 1649, Gloucester, Essex, Massachusetts.
Marriage 2: Robert Bond, (born about 1616, Gloucester, Monmouth, England and died Apr 1677, Elizabeth, Morris, New Jersey.)Marriage 2: 1671/1672, Newark, Essex, New Jersey.
3. Rebecca Calkins Born: 14 Jan 1631, Waverton, Cheshire, England. (Another source gives Rebecca's birth as 9 Nov 1631.)Died: 14 Jan 1651/1652, Waverton, Cheshire, England.
4. John Calkins Born: About 1634, Waverton, Chesire, England.
Died: 8 Jan 1702/1703, Norwich, New London, Connecticut.
Married: Sarah Royce, (born 1634, Martock,, Somerset, England and died 1 May 1711, Norwich, New London, Connecticut.) Marriage: ca 1658, New London, New London, Connecticut.
5. David Calkins Born: 3 Nov 1637, Waverton, Chesire, England. (Another source gives David birth as 3 Nov 1642, Massachusetts.)
Died: 25 Nov 1717, Nahantiek (Niantic), New London, New London, Connecticut.
Married 1: Mary Bliss, daughter of Thomas Bliss, of Norwich, who was the son of Thomas Bliss, of Hartford., (born 7 Feb 1648/1649, Saybrook, Middlesex, Connecticut and died about 1700, Norwich, New London, Connecticut.)
Marriage 1: 1672/1673, New London, New London, Connecticut. (David and Mary had 8 children.)
Married 2: 3 Nov 1688. Hannah Abell, (born 1667, Gloucester, Essex, Massachusetts and died after 1688.)
NOTE FOR DAVID CALKINS: When his father and brother left in 1659 to found Norwich, David stayed behind on the family farm at Nahantiek, which remained in the family for 6 generations.
6. Deborah Calkins (#1)Born: 17 Apr 1639.Died: Before 1643 as the Second Deborah was born in 1643.)
7. Susan Calkins Born: About 1640, Gloucester, Essex, Massachusetts.
Died: Unknown date, Gloucester, Providence, Rhode Island. Married: Samuel Hough.Marriage:
8. Deborah Calkins (#2) Born: 18 Mar 1643/1644, Gloucester, Essex, Massachusetts.
Died: 11 Feb 1723/1724, Lebanon, New London, Connecticut.
Married 1: Nathaniel (OR Jonathan) Royce; son of Robert Royce, (born about 1636, Norwich,, Connecticut and died unknown.)
Marriage 1: Jun 1660. Settled in Norwich.
Married 2: Jonathan Royce, (born 1637, Norwich, New London, Connecticut and died 22 Sep 1690, Norwich, New London, Connecticut.
Marriage 2: 4 Jun 1660, Norwich, New London, Connecticut.
Married 3: John Woodward, (born 28 Mar 1649, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts and died 5 Oct 1724, Lebanon, New London, Connecticut.)Marriage 3: 4 Jun 1660, Lebanon, New London, Connecticut.

(3) "England, Cheshire Parish Registers, 1538-2000"
Name: Hugh Calkin [Calkins]
Event Type: Christening
Event Date: 08 Apr 1603
Event Place: , Waverton, Cheshire, England
Gender: Male
Father's Name:Rowland Calkin

Hugh Calkins or Caulkins was born in Chepstow, Mommouthshire, Wales, in the year 1600. He was descended from an ancient and long line of that name - one of whom, William Colkin, lived in the time of King John, A.D. 1200. He was a man of wealth, evidently, as he founded a hospital which was named after him. He was unquestionably one of those who - sword in hand - extorted the Great Magna Charta from reluctant King John at Runingmede, June 15, A.D. 1215. there was a Coat-ofArms, very ancient, for which we have no use in this Republic. In the past in a monarchical country, it meant something. There are some who claim that they can trace the name back to the Norman Conquest, A.D. 1066, but no such record is at hand.

Deacon Hugh was the earliest American ancestor of this line, He was a radical in religion, a non-conformist, and living in the troublousome times of Charles the First, soon became satisfied that there were safer countries than England or Wales, for men who wished to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences. Accordingly he, with his wife Ann, and John, their son, then four years old, joined a body of emigrants called the "Welsh Company", and with their pastor, the Rev. Richard Blinman, embarked and came to America in 1638 - 40. They settled first a the Green's Harbor (now Marshfield), in New Plymouth Colony. But religious dissensions arising, the Rev. Mr. Blilnman, Hugh Calkins, and others, removed to Gloucester. Hugh Calkins became one of the first board of selectmen, and in 1650 he was chosen Deputy to the General Court (Legislature) of Massachusetts Colony; was chosen again in 1651 but for some reason he and others removed in that year to Connecticut Colony, some say to Saybrook, but he could not have remained there very long, as we find him soon in New London. (The Conn. Colonial Records, Vol. I, page 230), show Hugh Calkin as Deputy at the General Court (Legislature) from New London, at May 20 session, 1652. In all, he served twelve times as a Deputy from New London. By order of the General Court held October 3, 1654, Hugh and another were appointed a committee for enlisting men to fight the Narraganset Indians, (Vide Vol. I, p. 264.)

We learn also from the Colonial Records that he was a Deputy Magistrate. In 1660, he again changed his residence to the place where the city of Norwich now stands, then a wilderness and owned by the Mohegan Indians. Just previously a treaty had been concluded by and between the celebrated Major Mason and others with the Mohegan Chieftains, by which a tract of land nine miles square around Norwich was ceded to the whites for what seems to us a ridiculously low price - 70 lbs. sterling. Hugh and his son, John were of the thirty-five original proprietors. Hugh appears in the Colonial Records as a Deputy from Norwich to the General Court (Legislature) ten times. He was an active worker there in all measures for the public good; and also at home constantly identified with public interests; he was a deacon in the first church built in Norwich.

Hugh died at Norwich in 1690, at the great age of ninety years. Of his wife we know only that her name was Ann. There were six children, John and David, and five daughters, Rebecca, Sarah, Mary, Susan and Deborah.

ID: Merged with a record that used the ID 7532

DEATH: Also shown as Died Deceased