Elizabeth (Hawes) Olmstead (abt. 1578 - bef. 1651)

Richard was born in 1608 at Fairsted, County Essex, England. He was the son of Richard Olmsted I and Frances Slany. On 20 February 1612, Richard was christened at Fairsted, County Essex, England. He moved to Norwalk in 1650/51 and purchased property from Rodger Ludlow on 15 February 1651. He was given the honor of being Norwalk's first representative to Hartford and did well enough to be sent back a dozen other times as their relpresentative. His list of civil services is extensive and was also active in the military as well. He spent the remainder of his life here. Richard married Elizabeth Hawes circa 1644. Richard, with his brother and sister, came to this country with his Uncle James Olmsted. He came to Hartford with a party from Newtown, Massachusetts. He was one of the first settlers and proprietors of Hartford. Richard made his will on 5 September 1684 at Norwalk, Fairfield County, Connecticut. To all Christian People to whome these p'sents shall come greeting, etc. I Richard Olmsted of the towne of Norwalk, in the County of Fairfield, in the Colony of Connecticut, Aged seventy six yeers, or thereabout, being [by the hand of God upon mee] at prsent, infirmed& weake of body, yet [through the mercy of the most high] of perfect understanding & memory, doe make appoint manifest & declare, this to bee my last Will and Testament.

Imprimis I doe comitt my soule into the hands of God, my Creator, that hath made it & of my Deare Redeemr, Jesus Christ that hath bought it, and my body I bequeath unto the dust from whence it was, to bee decently Interred & buryed in hopes of a happy & glorious resurrection at the last day. And as for that temporall estate which God hath pleased to endow mee withall, I doe will & dispose as followeth, wiz.: I doe will & bequeath unto my son John, my prsent dwelling house houseing barne, home lott, orchard to be him & his heirs evr , to haue hod & possesse after my decease, vnless my son James shall [according to a writing vnder my hand] make exchange of his prsent house & homestead, with the sayd John, within a yeere & one day, providing in this my will that my son James, haue a joint use of the barne two or three years, with free egresse & regresse till hee can [if hee doe not before] provide himselfe of a barne. Iten I doe will & bequeath to my eldest son James Olmsted, my fruitfullspring lott of medow, to bee to him & his heirs to haue hold possesse for eur aftr my decease. I do also bequeath to my son James my cowe lott of upland, also three acres of plowing land at Sacatuck Plaine, to be added to the side of what hee is there already possessed of, moreovr one acre of my fruitfull spring lott of vpland; Iten my pasture lott: All the affore sayd lands, I doe will to my son James to him & his hiers to haue hold possesse for eur after my decease. I do will & bequeath to my son John Olmsted, one acre of land in my fruitfull spring lott, to be added to that which is now his, And also the lott called the pine hill lott, as also the remainder of Sacatuk lott, aftr James hath resined his three acres before evprssed, Item my lott called the house lott, all the afforsayd parcells of land, I doe giue & bequeath to my son John, to haue hold possesse for euer aftr my decease. I doe also bequeath unto my two sons, James & John, my medow lott on the othr side of Norwalk River, which shall bee equally divided crosswide, providing that hee whose part lyeth lowest, shall haue liberty granted by the other, of free egresse & regresse, the sayd parcells of medow so divideded to bee to each of my sons & their hiers to have hold & possesse foreur aftr my decease. Item I doe will & bequeath unto my sons, James & John all my medow lying in the great marsh, to each of them an equall share, [as neere as it can bee divided] to bee to them & their heirs for ever after my decease. Moreover I do will unto my sons, James & John, my lott of upland called a gratuity lott, lying upon the hill on the other side of the river, by the land of Thomas Bennedick Senior; also my lott at Sticky Plaine; & my lot that lyeth aboue the Sawmill; Item sisty acres of land, granted mee by the Genrall Court; Also all my right of land at Pequiog, all these afforesayd parcells of land, I doe will unto my two sons, unto each an equall share by a just distribution; the sayd landsto bee to them & their heirs for eur after my decease. Item I doe will & bequeath to my son James; one fether bed that is in the chamber; also one flock bed that is now in his hand, to bee to him & his heirs for eur , aftr my decease: Also I do giue to my son John; one flock bed to bee his aftr my decease: It is also my will that the cloaths of my first wife & daughter now deceased; bee to my sons & their wiues, by as equall a distributionas may bee. Item I doe will & bequeath as a legacy of my love, unto my cousin NicholasOlmsted of Hartford, the summe of twenty shillings; I do also will & bequeath to my cousin Bazies, his two daughters, viz: Elizabeth Peck; and Lidea Baker, to each of them the summe of twenty shillings, these afforesayd legacyes to be payd unto them in currnt pay by my executors & administrators within two yeers aftr my decease. Item I doe will & bequeath unto Samuel Smith, the bed that was my last wiues, also one pillow, & the blew rugge, and the great chest, that was my wiues:these all forementioned to bed the sayd Samuell, to haue hold & possesseafter my decease. Finally it is my will that all other my goods not before distributed & mentioned as disposed in this my will, all my chattells, chattel; horse, neat, sheep, swine, comonage of lands, I day it is my will [all just debts, legacyes, funerall charges being first discharged] that all the rementioned goods, bee equally divided between my two sons James & John; by the help of my ouerseer: It is also my will & I do hereby constitute & appoint my two sons, James & John to bee sole & joint executors & administratoras of this my last will & testament. And I do will & appoint, ordr & request, my trustee & beloved friend, Sergeant John Platt, to bee the ouerseer of this my will, to advise according to his wisdome, in the distributions specifyed. And it is my will that hee should recieue rationall satisfaction from the executors & administratorsfor his pains and helpfulnes therin. In confirmation of the prmises, & that this is my last will & testament; I have Interchangeably sett to my hand & seale, this fifth day f September in the yeare of or Lord, One Thousand, Six Hundred, Eighty and Foure. Sighned & Sealed in the. Richard departed this life after 5 September 1684 at Norwalk, Fairfield County, Connecticut. Family Elizabeth Hawes Children Captain James Olmsted b. c 1645, d. b 28 Apr 1731 Lieut. John Olmsted+ b. before 30 December 1649 (chr., d. b 22 Dec 1704 Citations [S100] Henry King Olmsted, A.M. revised & completed by George K. Ward and Right Rev. Charles T. Olmsted, Mrs. Henry S. Stearns, Prof. Everett Ward Olmsted, Ex-off. Advisory Committee: John Bartow Olmsted, Genealogy of the Olmsted Family In America - Embracing the Descendants of James and Richard Olmsted and covering a period of nearly Three Centuries 1632-1912, pages 187-191 - Richard Olmsted, Norwalk, Conn. bap. at Fairsted, Essex County, England, Feb. 20, 1612; son of Richard Olmsted, who was son of James and Jane [Bristow] Olmsted, of Great Leighs, Essex County, England. His will is dated Sept. 5, 1684 ... [will] "aged seventy six yeers or thereabouts ..."

Compiler: Kathy and Larry McCurdy, 2710 Sophiea Parkway, Okemos, MI

http://mccurdyfamilylineage.com/ancestry/p6404.htm