Edward Colver Sr (abt. 1600 - 1685)

Born about 1600 in London, Middlesex, England

Husband of Ann (Ellis) Colver — married 19 Sep 1638 in Dedham, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Descendants

Died 19 Sep 1685 at about age 85 in Old Mystic, Groton, New London, Connecticut

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Edward Colver Sr migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Directory, by R. C. Anderson, p. 84) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Edward "the puritain" Colver (Colver/Culver) Co-founder of Dedham, Massachusetts

The Arrival

Edward Colver was born circa 1610 in England. arriving in the New World on the same ship as his future wife, Ann Ellis, who came with her Brother-in-law and Sister - Thomas FANNING born 1655 and Frances ELLIS who died 27 Apr 1704 in Stonington, CT.

Edward was a millwright and wheelwright and took up farming as well. He was a member of the Massachusetts Bay Colony at Boston in 1635 and helped in the founding of the town of Dedham, Massachusetts in 1636, his name being sixty-eighth on the list of one hundred and twenty four who signed the covenant. In 1643 Dedham, he was granted a parcel of land for a house in the Upland and a swampe formerly grant to Hugh Stary who re*** into the town lands. ^[1]

1637-1653: The Prosperous Years

Edward Colver was granted 5 parcels of land to work between 28 November 1637, and 3 February 1645. He sold off the last of this land in 1651. He served in the Pequot war of 1637 as an Indian Scout. For this service he received two grants of land, one of two hundred acres in 1652/3 and another in 1654 of four hundred acres. These grants were situated about four miles north of the scene of the battle. ^[2].

On 19 September 1638, Edward Colver married at Dedham, Massachusetts, Ann Ellis, daughter of John Ellis. ^[3], which probably at that time consisted of a little congregation meeting in one of the houses of the settlers. The Rev. John Allin was the pastor, having been ordained shortly before he performed the marriage between Edward Colver and Ann Ellis. Ann Ellis Colver was admitted to membership in the First Church at Dedham 17 September 1641, and her first child, John, was baptized two days later.

Edward Colver assisted the Winthrops in building a fort at Saybrook, Connecticut, at the mouth of the Connecticut River. He owned land in Dedham, but in 1645 removed to Roxbury, Massachusetts.

There is a record of an allotment of twelve and one-half acres of land to Edward Colver about 1648. In 1650 and 1651 he built a grist mill for Governor Winthrop. About 1653 the family moved again to Pequot (now New London) and purchased a lot from Robert Burrows. Edward was granted land 20 November 1653 of that year as "Goodman Colver."

1654-1681: Back to War

Between 1654 and 1681 Edward Colver and Governor Winthrop's son, Major John Winthrop were engaged in a land dispute. The Governor won the case for his son, and a mill built by Edward was torn down, but in 1699 amends were made and the mill was rebuilt. In the 1920's Ray Culver, a descendant of Edward, found Indian arrowheads and a stone pipe on this land that had once belonged to John Winthrop, Esq.

In 1675 when King Philip made war against the New England colonies, Edward Colver, then an old man of sixty-five, went out with his four sons, Edward Junior, Ephraim, Joseph, and Samuel, to fight against the noted Indian chief. They took part in the "Swamp fight" which occurred near Tiverton, Rhode Island, 19 December 1675, when the tribes again met with defeat and heavy loss. Edward Colver was the only soldier engaged in the "Swamp fight" who had participated in the previous Pequot War, and as the tactics of the battle were the same as on that occasion, it is thought that the old soldier may have aided Captain Dennison, who commanded the Connecticut men at the "Swamp," to plan that attack.

Edward Colver and wife Ann sold land in New London, 10 February 1661/2, both signing by mark. Edward Colver, "Sr," of New London, wheelwright, "in consideration of my own age and weakness of memory and understanding," gave land to his wife, Ann, 28 July 1682, ^[4]. On 5 May 1662, Edward Colver was allowed to brew beer and make bread and was allowed on 9 January 1664/5 to sell liquors.

In 1664 Edward Colver deeded the homestead at Pequot to his son John. Edward moved to the farm of four hundred acres called "Chepadas," where he continued to live until after the close of King Philip's War. ^[5]

In 1678 Edward and his wife Ann deeded the "Chepadas" farm to their sons Joseph and Ephraim and moved to a house in the village of Mystic built by their son Joshua in 1668. The last years of Edward Colver's life were spent in this house on the Groton side of the Mystic River.

To Rest and Remembrance

Edward died on 19 September 1685 in the village of Mystic, Town of Groton, New London County, Colony of Connecticut. He was then put to rest at the Wightman Burying Ground, Groton, in New London County. His marker consists of a small headstone bearing upon one face the roughly cut initials of "E. C." Edward's wife, Ann (Ellis) Colver, has a similar tombstone with the initials of "A. C." A Colver-Culver monument was erected at Edward and Ann's graves in September 1982. The monument reads:

EDWARD COLVER

PURITAN

1600 - 1685

PATRIARCH OF THE COLVER/CULVER FAMILY IN AMERICA

ANN ELLIS COLVER

WIFE

DIED CIRCA 1685

^[6].

Research Notes

Alleged parents John Colver and MaryAnn Winthrop removed due to lack of sourcing.

Great Migration Directory entry: Culver, Edward: Unknown; 1637; Dedham, Roxbury, New London [ DeTR 1:37; DeVR 1, 126; DeChR 25; TAG 22:107-10, 31:129-54, 64:56-57]. GMB Sources

Profile Needs

There are a few unsourced statements that should be researched and reconcile conflicts with Anderson:

• bio says he was born about 1610, data say 1600. (And an estimate based on marriage would have him born about 1613. Are there any records pointing to him being older?
• Anderson puts his arrival as 1637, with the earliest record being DeTR 1:37. The first paragraph claims he arrived in 1635 and on the same ship as his soon-to-be wife... but I see no source of that. If it comes from a secondary source, maybe it could be added that it is family tradition, but then also provide what can be documented.

Sources

1. ↑ Dedham Land Grants https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/77926652:2495?tid=&pid=&queryId=6a321b8d-b764-4c68-a12d-cb26248df426&_phsrc=rnC5&_phstart=successSource
2. ↑ The two hundred acre lot was near the head of the Mystic River and the other about two miles further to the northwest (Land Records of Groton, Connecticut)
3. ↑ Their marriage is the second entered in the records of the First Church of Dedham (The Town of Dedham by Don Gleason -1881) written in Massachusetts Vital Records as "Edward Coluer & An Ellice , were married 19th, 7 m."
4. ↑ signing by a mark (New London Deeds, 3:10, 29, 63)
5. ↑ Edward and Ann Colver sold property to "our eldest son," John Colver, 25 November 1667; the witnesses were John Fish, Joshua Culver, and Joseph Culver.(Public Records of Connecticut, 1665-1677, Vol. 2, pg. 417)
6. ↑ The inventory of Edward Colver's estate was exhibited and administration was granted to John Culver 2 June 1685 (New London County Court Records 5:108)

• William S. Ellis; "The Benjamin Family in America," Gloria Wall Bicha and Helen Berry Brown
• Colver-Culver Genealogy; Descendants of Edward Colver of Boston, Dedham, and Roxbury, Massachusetts, and New London, and Mystic, Connecticut
• Pioneer Families of Northwestern New Jersey
• photo of Edward Colver's house taken by David Collver, Nov 1997 [Note: Flickr album that was previously linked is no longer online 9.17.22]
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/34831272/edward_colver