Daniel Harris (bef. 1621 - 1701)

Born before 20 Sep 1621 in Newnham, Gloucestershire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Weld) Harris — married 26 Oct 1648 in Roxbury, Suffolk, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 30 Nov 1701 after age 80 in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut

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Biography

Daniel Harris immigrated to New England as a child during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640).

Daniel, son of Thomas Harris and Elizabeth Unknown, was baptized on 20 Sep 1621 at Newnham, Gloucestershire, England.^[1][2][3] He died on 31 November 1701 at Middletown, Hartford County, Connecticut.^[4][5][6]

Daniel married Mary WELD, daughter of Capt. Joseph WELD and Elizabeth WISE, on 26 October 1648 at Rowley, Essex Co., Massachusetts;^[7] (children surname HARRIS):^[8][9]

1. Mary - b. 2 Apr 1651, d. 1 Aug 1740
2. Sgt. Daniel - b. 16 Jul 1653, d. 18 Oct 1735
3. Joseph - b. 12 Feb 1654/55, d. before 1698/99
4. Thomas - b. 20 May 1657, d. 22 Aug 1700
5. Elizabeth - b. 22 Mar 1659/60, d. before 4 Dec 1710
6. Sarah - b. 17 Feb 1660/61, d. 15 Mar 1661
7. Sarah - b. 30 Sep 1663, d. before 1698/99
8. Capt. William - b. 17 Jul 1665, d. 19 Feb 1751
9. John - b. 4 Jan 1667, d. 29 Nov 1754
10. Hannah - b. 11 Feb 1669/70, d. before 23 May 1719

Daniel, head of the immigrant Harris family, emigrated with his parents about 1630 and arrived at Rowley, Massachusetts, with his brother William in 1643.^[4] He was made freeman at Rowley on 30 Sep 1651.^[10]

He and wife Mary resided at Rowley until he sold his property there in August of 1652 ^[11] and removed to Middletown, Connecticut, where he was appointed to keep an inn in 1660. On 19 May 1652, "Daniell Harris and Mary my wife, one of the daughters of Captain Joseph Weld of Roxbury ... late deceased" deeded to John Weld of Roxbury all their right to land in Roxbury "that was Captain Joseph Weld's and belonging thereunto which was bequeathed unto the said Mary Harris, by the last will and testament of her said father."^[1][2] He was a lieutenant in the militia there in 1661 and appointed captain of the Middletown militia in 1677.^[4] He was a wheelwright and innkeeper.^[10]

He was called brother Daniel Harris by the will of Anthony HARRIS dated 23 April 1651 at Winnesemet (Chelsea), Massachusetts.^[11] The will of Dea. William STITSON, dated 12 Apr 1688, mentioned Daniel Harris, child of his first wife.^{[2][3][10][11]}

On 1 Feb 1694/95, Capt. Daniel HARRIS and wife Mary deeded 382.5 acres on the Wallingford line and 60 acres south on Haddam to their son-in-law John Cooke.^[12]

His will dated 13 March 1699 and proved 1 Jan 1701/2 at Middletown, Hartford County, CT,^[3][4] mentioned his son Daniel, son Thomas, son William, son John, daughter Mary Johnson, daughter Elizabeth Honeywell, daughter Hannah Cook, grandchildren Thankfull Bidwell and Abial Honeywell (daughter of Elizabeth), and son-in-law Samuel Bidwell (to have what was to have gone to daughter Sarah).^[1][4][10] Daughter Sarah (Harris) Bidwell and possibly his son Joseph were deceased.^[13]

Disputed Child

Booth Genealogy; page 165: The author's notes confirm that Charles Edwin Booth had discovered, analyzed, and revealed the previously published misinformation asserting that Comfort Starr had a wife, Rachel or Rachel Harris, in his 1910 genealogy; but this marital misinformation continues to be propagated and has been re-published in scholarly work as late as 1965 (the Hovey Genealogy) and 1985 (Torrey's Marriages).

"Hinman's Early Puritan Settlers, 1846 ed., states on page 238 that Comfort Starr married Rachel Harris, which is incorrect. This error has been perpetuated in Savage, Vol. 4, page 170, Kirby Genealogy, page 19, Middletown Upper Houses, page 624, and Porter Genealogy, page 214, the latter even adding that she was the daughter of Capt Daniels Harris. It is very doubtful if Capt. Daniel Harris had a daughter Rachel. The writer has the authority of Mr. Frank F. Starr of Middletown, the historian of the Starr Family, for the corrections..."

The following sources incorrectly say Daniel Harris and Mary Weld had a daughter Rachel who married Comfort Starr.

• 1846: Hinman, A Catalogue of the Names of the First Puritan Settlers of the Colony of Connecticut; page 238, 239.
• 1862: Savage, A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, Vol. 4; page 170.
• 1893: Andrews, The Descendants of John Porter of Windsor, Conn. 1635-9., Vol I.; page 214. {Note the 1882 Porter Genealogy by Col. Joshua Porter shows the wife of Comfort Starr to be Marah Weld: 1882: Porter; The Descendants of John Porter, of Windsor, Conn.; Portera Genealogy, page 42. }
• 1898: Dwight, The Kirbys of New England : a history of the descendants of John Kirby of Middletown, Conn. Kirby Genealogy; page 19.
• 1908: Adams, Middletown Upper Houses, page 624
• 1964: Williams; The Ancestors and Descendants of Daniel and Lovina (Hovey) Williams of Wethersfield, Connecticut; Page 196.
• 1985: Clarence Almon Torrey, U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Gale Ion Harris, "The Brothers William² and Daniel² Harris of Middletown, Connecticut," New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 164 (2010):281-2.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, (AmericanAncestors.org: NEHGS, 2010), Thomas Harris, page 865.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Randy A West, "The English Origin of Thomas1 Harris of Winnisimmet (Chelsea), Massachusetts," New England Historical and Genealogical Register, (AmericanAncestors.org: NEHGS, 2001-2018), Fall 2022, 176:364-368.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4} Albert Wilcox Savage Jr, The New England Ancestry of Albert Wilcox Savage, Jr, (Baltimore, MD: Gateway Press Inc., 1988), p 476.
5. ↑ "Middletown (Conn.) Vital Records (Land Records, Vol I)," The American Genealogist, (New Haven CT: D L Jacobus, 1937-), AmericanAncestors.org, 1935, 12:211; giving last day Nov 1701, place.
6. ↑ "Record of the Births, Marriages and Deaths of the First Proprietors of Lands in Middletown, Ct.," New England Historical and Genealogical Register, (AmericanAncestors.org: NEHGS, 2001-2018), Jan 1860, 14:65; giving dod, place.
7. ↑ Jane Devlin, DUNHAM - WILCOX - TROTT - KIRK, (online: Jane Devlin, 1 Jan 2012), "Descendants of John Harris," 4th generation, #9, Captain Daniel Harris. [1]
8. ↑ Douglas Richardson, "New England Weld Family," The American Genealogist, (New Haven CT: D L Jacobus, 1937-), AmericanAncestors.org, Jul 1979, 55:148; giving a1646, Rowley.
9. ↑ Torrey’s New England Marriages Prior to 1700. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Vol. 2, p. 703.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3} Walter Goodwin Davis, The ancestry of Bethia Harris, 1748-1833 : wife of Dudley Wildes of Topsfield, Massachusetts, (Portland ME: The Southworth Press, 1934), Internet Archive, p 3-34. Ancestry.com. [2]
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1 11.2} Harris, T. W., "Notes on The Will of Richard Hills," The New England Historical & Genealogical Register, (AmericanAncestors.org, NEHGS, 2001-2018), 1848, 2:219-220. Page 220
12. ↑ Jane Fletcher Fiske, "John Cooke of Warwick, R.I., and Middletown, Conn.," The American Genealogist, (AmericanAncestors.org, NEHGS, 2009), 52:6.
13. ↑ Henry R. Stiles (1904) Families of Ancient Wethersfield, Connecticut: Surnames, G-H, Vol. 2, pp. 421-2 (Ancestry.com)

• See profile of Comfort Starr (bef. 1644 - 1693).
• "The Genealogists" Vol.2 p.214 addresses 'Register Extracts of Dimock Family (late 17th c. vital records). Unable to find this Williams referenced source.
• James Savage, A Gen. Dict. of the First Settlers of New England, Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publ Co, Inc.
• Connecticut Deaths and Burials 1772-1934.