John Maynard (abt. 1613 - bef. 1658)

Born about 1613 in England [uncertain]

Husband of Editha (Stebbins) Holyoke — married about Oct 1648 in Hartford, Connecticut

Died before Feb 1658 before about age 45 in Hartford, Connecticut

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John Maynard migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Great Migration (Series 2), by R. C. Anderson, vol. 5, p. 104) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Deacon John Maynard - Founder of Hartford

John was born about 1613, probably in England. His name is on page 224 of Col. Charles E. Banks' comprehensive Topographical dictionary of 2885 English emigrants to New England, 1620-1650. It is not associated with a page in the body of the text, and the reason is found in the Introduction: Col. Banks died in 1931, before he could complete his research on 500 of the names. ^[1]

In 1634, John was in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ^[2] He was among those who followed the charismatic Puritan preacher Rev. Thomas Hooker over a hundred miles through the wilderness to build the city of Hartford on the banks of the Connecticut River. ^[3]

These were Puritans, who valued the virtue of Prudence. They did not charge off into the wilderness ignorant and unprepared. Six men went up the Connecticut River on the ship Blessing in July of 1634. They were sent to scout out the land, and returned with a good report. ^[4] Rev. Hooker sent Elder William Goodwin with a small number of settlers on October 15, 1635, to lay out the town lots and set up shelters. The Dutch had a fort on a neck of land on the Connecticut River, and the English were quick to put their own 'stake in the ground'. Indians were camped there also, and called the place "Suckiaug". The Puritans changed the name to Hartford. ^[4]

Puritans arriving in ships in 1635 found Newtown (later Cambridge) offering little in the way of new lots, but they were able to purchase homes and land from those who were selling to settle in Hartford. The main body of settlers left to join Goodwin's small group on May 31, 1636. They had packed their furnishings into ships that would bring their goods to Hartford by way of the Connecticut River. All that remained was to get their 160 cattle, with sheep, swine, fowls, and horses, plus themselves and their children, a hundred-plus miles over the Indian paths that led to Hartford. They expected the journey to take no more than a week. It took two. ^[5]

John Maynard was among the settlers of May 31, 1636. So were Edward Stebbins and his sister Editha (who would be John's wife in the future), and so was Robert Day, (recently a widower, who would soon marry Editha). ^[6] They all had but one short summer to build their houses, plow and plant their fields, and lay in stores of food for the winter. In later years, many of those hastily-built homes were replaced with sturdier dwellings.

John Maynard was "a surveyor of highways" in the year 1641, and again in 1648. He was "freed from watching, etc." in 1646. ^[2]

Before October 16, 1648, Robert Day, one of John's neighbors, died leaving his widow Editha with four children under the age of twelve. Robert's will was dated May 20, 1648, proven on an unknown date. The inventory of his estate was taken on October 16, 1648. ^[7]

John married Editha soon afterwards. ^[8] Robert Day left his widow with scant resources to raise four young children. At inventory Day's estate was valued at 142 pounds, 16 shillings and 6 pence. Much of that must have been in land and moveable goods, as he owned nine parcels of land in addition to his home-lot. ^[9] It could not have been easy for Editha to be a bride again, so soon after husband died. In that time and place, however, it was her only practical choice. ^[2]

Ten years later, Editha was about forty-five years old, and John may have been about fifty. His health was failing and he recognized that he did not have long to live. John Maynard wrote his will January 23, 1657/8. In it he bequeathed to his wife Editha, "my dwelling house with all my other houses, as also all other land lying and being in Hartford, during her life; and after her decease unto John Day, the youngest son of my wife". ^[7] John also left 20 pounds to each of Editha's three other children, and 40 shillings to "Rev. Mr. Stone, teacher of the church at Hartford". ^[7]

A description of John Maynard's house and furnishings at the time of his death is found in "The Colonial History of Hartford" (published 1914, copyright in the public domain) on page 327, as follows:

• The house of John Maynard... had two stories...the kitchen and hall occupied the first story. Above each, there was a chamber. In the hall, he had 'one long table, one short table, six joynd stools, two cubberds, with ironware and other implements, with one musket and sword, 3 books."^[10]

In the twenty years since the founding of Hartford, John Maynard earned considerable wealth. The wording of his will indicates that he owned at least three houses, and various other parcels of land. ^[7] Twenty pounds at that time would be the equivalent of £1,535.40 in 2005.

John Maynard died in 1657/8, between January 23, when he wrote his will, and February 24 of the same year, when the inventory of his estate was taken. ^[11] He had no children with Editha Stebbins/Day. He did not bequeath his DNA to posterity yet he put his stamp upon the future, with the parenting he gave to his four step-children. That his influence was appreciated cannot be doubted: Robert Day's youngest son John Day, who was a toddler when his father died, named one of his sons Maynard Day. ^[12]

Deacon John Maynard was a Founder of Hartford: his name is inscribed on the monument to the Founders there, and he left the stamp of his influence upon the city.

No more info is currently available for John Maynard. Can you add to his biography?

Notes

Likely it was because John Maynard left no descendants and held no high office that little attention has been paid to his life. Looking up various references has been singularly unrewarding. Lucius Barbour died in 1934. The Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., published "Families of Early Hartford" from Barbour's notes in 1977, since republished. The paragraph on John Maynard is a verbatim quote from a book published in 1866, "The Memorial History of Hartford County, Connecticut". It is the same information that is repeated by the Society of the Descendants of the Founders of Hartford on the section for John Maynard. In the Great Migration Begins and elsewhere, John Maynard is described more in the context of his relationship to other people, than by his accomplishments. It is in that lack of records where we find a picture of John Maynard - who he was and who he was not.

His name may have made but few appearances in the church and civil records, because he was not in litigation or brawls or dissension with his neighbors. He took on responsibility and was faithful in it to his death: Editha and her children lived comfortably with John, and he secured their well-being after his death through his industry and his will. Puritans were famous for acrimonious religious debates, yet John held the office of Deacon with not a whisper of dissent or quarrelsomeness in his brief record.

It takes a sense of humor, and considerable humility, to wade along the messy shores of life with such serenity and peace. Although there is no portrait of John Maynard, I suspect he often had a twinkle in his eye, and perhaps a mild jest upon his lips. For one thing is known: that his foster son John named his own son Maynard Day, and no one names his child after a step-parent unless that person was a good parent to them.

So let this be John Maynard's epitaph: He was Puritan who did not quarrel, he was a Deacon who was not glum, and he was a childless man who was a good father.

Sources

1. ↑ Topographical dictionary of 2885 English emigrants to New England, 1620-1650, database, HathiTrust.org (accessed 13 Nov 2013) Entry for Holyoke, Edward; extracted from Charles Edward Banks, book of the same name (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Bertram Press, 1937), page 224.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} "The Memorial History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884", database, Internet Archive, extracted from J. Hammond Trumbull Editor, The Memorial History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884 (Boston, Massachusetts: E. L. Osgood 1886) page 251-252
3. ↑ Drawing by S. H. Clark: frontispiece of "Hartford in the olden time; its first thirty years" database, Internet Archive (accessed 10 Nov 2013) extracted from book of the same name by Isaac William Stuart. Hartford, F. A. Brown, 1853
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} page 2-3, "The Colonial History of Hartford: Gathered from the Original Records", database, Google Books: 2008. Extracted from William DeLoss Love, Ph.D. The Colonial History of Hartford: Gathered from the Original Records. Hartford, Connecticut, Publisher: William DeLoss Love, 1914. 369 pages.
5. ↑ page 8, 11, 31, 42, "The Colonial History of Hartford: Gathered from the Original Records", database, Google Books: 2008. Extracted from William DeLoss Love, Ph.D. The Colonial History of Hartford: Gathered from the Original Records. Hartford, Connecticut, Publisher: William DeLoss Love, 1914. 369 pages.
6. ↑ page 32 "The Colonial History of Hartford: Gathered from the Original Records", database, Google Books: 2008. Extracted from William DeLoss Love, Ph.D. The Colonial History of Hartford: Gathered from the Original Records. Hartford, Connecticut, Publisher: William DeLoss Love, 1914. 369 pages.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3} "Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-33", database, (accessed Oct. 25, 2013) entry for John Maynard on the page for Robert Day 1634; extracted from Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633. Vol. 1-3 (Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995) Ancestry.com
8. ↑ "Genealogical and Family History of Northern New York," database, Google Books (accessed Nov. 7, 2013), entry for Deacon John Maynard, Oct. 1648; extracted from William Richard Cutter, "Genealogical and Family History of Northern New York" (Lewis historical publishing Company) 1910, Vol 1, page 256
9. ↑ Hale, House and Related Families: Mainly of the Connecticut River Valley, database, FamilySearch.org: (accessed 13 Nov 2013), entry for Edward Holyoke, extracted from Donald Lines Jacobus and Edgar Francis Waterman, book of the same name (Baltimore, Massachusetts: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1978), page 510.
10. ↑ "The Colonial History of Hartford: Gathered from the Original Records", database, Google Books: 2008. Extracted from William DeLoss Love, Ph.D. The Colonial History of Hartford: Gathered from the Original Records. Hartford, Connecticut, Publisher: William DeLoss Love, 1914. 369 pages.
11. ↑ "Our colonial and continental ancestors: the ancestry of Mr. and Mrs. Louis William Dommerich," database, Ancestry.com (accessed Oct. 27, 2013), entry for Deacon John Maynard, Jan. 23, 1657; extracted from Louis Effingham De Forest, "Our colonial and continental ancestors: the ancestry of Mr. and Mrs. Louis William Dommerich." (DeForest Pub. Co., New York, N.Y.) 1930, page 83
12. ↑ "The Founders of Hartford", database, Society of the Descendants of the Founders of Hartford (accessed Nov. 7, 2013) entry for John Maynard

See also:

• Hale, House and Related Families: Mainly of the Connecticut River Valley, database, FamilySearch.org: (accessed 13 Nov 2013), entry for Edward Holyoke, extracted from Donald Lines Jacobus and Edgar Francis Waterman, book of the same name (Baltimore, Massachusetts: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1978), page 510.

• Topographical dictionary of 2885 English emigrants to New England, 1620-1650, database, HathiTrust.org (accessed 13 Nov 2013) Entry for Holyoke, Edward; extracted from Charles Edward Banks, book of the same name (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Bertram Press, 1937), page 224.

• Drawing by S. H. Clark: frontispiece of "Hartford in the olden time; its first thirty years" database, Internet Archive (accessed 10 Nov 2013) extracted from book of the same name by Isaac William Stuart. Hartford, F. A. Brown, 1853.

• "The Colonial History of Hartford: Gathered from the Original Records", database, Google Books: 2008. Extracted from William DeLoss Love, Ph.D. The Colonial History of Hartford: Gathered from the Original Records. Hartford, Connecticut, Publisher: William DeLoss Love, 1914. 369 pages.

• "The Memorial History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884", database, Internet Archive, extracted from J. Hammond Trumbull Editor, The Memorial History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884 (Boston, Massachusetts: E. L. Osgood 1886) Vol 1, page 236, 251-252.

• "The Founders of Hartford", database, Society of the Descendants of the Founders of Hartford (accessed Nov. 7, 2013) entry for John Maynard.

• "Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-33", database, (accessed Nov. 7, 2013) entry for John Maynard on the page for Robert Day 1634; extracted from Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633. Vol. 1-3 (Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995) Ancestry.com.

• "Genealogical and Family History of Northern New York," database, Google Books (accessed Nov. 7, 2013), entry for Deacon John Maynard, Oct. 1648; extracted from William Richard Cutter, "Genealogical and Family History of Northern New York" (Lewis historical publishing Company) 1910, Vol 1, page 256.

• "Our colonial and continental ancestors: the ancestry of Mr. and Mrs. Louis William Dommerich," database, Ancestry.com (accessed Oct. 27, 2013), entry for Deacon John Maynard, Jan. 23, 1657; extracted from Louis Effingham De Forest, "Our colonial and continental ancestors: the ancestry of Mr. and Mrs. Louis William Dommerich." (DeForest Pub. Co., New York, N.Y.) 1930, page 83.

• Source: #S32 Record ID Number: 5148.

• Source S32: Title: Ancestral File (TM) Author: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Database: June 1998 (c), (accessed 5 JAN 1998). Repository: #REPO6
• Repository REPO6: Name: Family History Library: Address: 35 N West Temple Street: Salt Lake City, UT 84150 USA.

• Barbour, Lucius Barnes, 1982, Families of Early Hartford, Connecticut, Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc., Baltimore, Maryland and Connecticut Society of Genealogists, Inc., Glastonbury, Connecticut pp.390.

Acknowledgements

• -117 created through the import of Savage.ged on 21 February 2011 by Garin Savage.

• Acknowledgement - Lois Hirsch.

• Maynard-569 created through the import of alucindajonesWikiTreedone.ged on May 16, 2012 by Tami Osmer.

• Maynard-310 created through the import of BDM7-7-11.ged on Jul 8, 2011 by Brian McCullough.

• See the Changes page for the details of edits by Lois, Tami, Brian and others.

• For the work on the Founders of Hartford - including the Monument image, and the map image, both with linked names of the Founders of Hartford, thank the following persons: Michael Lechner, Jillaine Smith, Daniel Thompson, Sheri Havens, Becky (Nally) Syphers.

• Bio narrative by April Dauenhauer