| Alexander Bryan migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Directory, by R. C. Anderson, p. 46) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm |
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Surname was spelled both Bryant and Bryan in the same documents. Baptized in Aylesbury September (9, 23, or 29) 1602.
Married Anne Baldwin in England around 1631.
Alexander and his wife Anne were among the first settlers of Milford, Connecticut, living there by 1639. They had one child together (Richard), who was born in England by 1629.
Alexander was a man of great influence in the colony of New Haven, and after the union with Connecticut, assistant from 1668 to 1673. Anne died there 20 Feb 1651.
Alexander married 2nd, Susanna (Wiggin?) Whiting Fitch, the widow of William Whiting and Samuel Fitch. Whiting had been a prominent Fitch had been the schoolmaster in Hartford.
It is unclear if Alexander had any children other than Richard; it is certainly unlikely that any were still living at the time he wrote his will on 24 April 1679 with a codicil on 22 July 1679.[1] His inventory was taken on 6 November 1679 and recorded in New Haven.[1] Richard was the only child Alexander named in his will, although he specifically named grandchildren and even great-grandchildren.
Alexander died in Milford between 20 July and 6 Nov 1679. He and his son Richard were prominent and leading merchants, engaged in domestic and foreign trade.
From Find A Grave Memorial #64986552?
His homelot consisted of four acres and twenty-five poles bounded north on the home-lot of Timothy Baldwin, east and south on the highway (on the north side of Broad Street in later years). On July 11, 1668, he and his son, Richard, both of Milford, purchased from George and Mary Baldwin of Huntington, LI for 200 pounds a tract of land known as Eaton's Neck located in Huntington on the east side of the harbor. In his will, he bequeathed the house and land at Eaton's Neck, Long Island, to his grandson, Alexander Bryan, being held in trust until his nineteenth birthday. Alexander Bryan's will and inventory showed that he held considerable property including an old and a new warehouse, pasture land on the Indian side, his house & home-lot in Milford, and a house & home-lot he bought from Samuel Eells. He owned the "great Brig" and brought a complaint to the New Haven Court against James Roggers of Milford in regard to damages in 1655. He was a contemporary of Mr. Allerton and "...Ensign Bryan of Milford sent thence his ships to England, to the Azores, To Virginia, and as far east as Nova Scotia. For many years his credit stood as high as his notes of hand passed as current in Boston as bank notes do anywhere in our own time." (From "History of the Ancient Maritime Interests of New Haven" by Thomas R. Trowbridge, Jr.) In May, 1650, the townw of Milford granted Ensign Bryan and William East a piece of land 20 feet wide and e score foot long on which to build a warehouse. The records also show that he spent money on the dock at the landing place, where he unloaded his goods. On the 7th of Oct. 1653, he gave the town any interest he might have in the dock providing the town keep it in good condition. He held various offices in Milford over the years of his life and was trusted along with Thomas Topping to pay the town's soldiers in the King Philip's War out of the public treasury. In Oct., 1663, he was given the responsibility for three delegates from the New Netherland Colony who came to talk to the Connecticut authorities. He did this by providing horses for them and protecting their sloop in the harbor. His will was made April 24, 1678 and the following July, he added a codicil to his will. Within three and a half months after this, his inventory was taken. His inventory was valued at 712 pounds and 5 shillings. In his will, he names: son, Richard Bryan; grandchildren: Alexander & Samuel Bryan, Hannah Harriman, Sarah Fitch, Richard Bryan, Jr., Frances Bryan Abigail Bryan, Mary Maltby and husband, John Maltby ; great grandchildren: John and Mary Maltby; stepson: John Whiting. He gave Rev. Roger Newton 5 pounds and the town of Milford 8 pounds to purchase a bell for public use. If the bell was not hung within three years, the money was to be given to the poor."
Spouses:
Children:
Burial: Milford Cemetery, Milford, New Haven County, Connecticut, USA Plot: The oldest section of the Milford Cemetery
Per Maltby Book pg. 224, 226:
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Alexander is 23 degrees from Herbert Adair, 20 degrees from Richard Adams, 17 degrees from Mel Blanc, 23 degrees from Dick Bruna, 17 degrees from Bunny DeBarge, 29 degrees from Peter Dinklage, 19 degrees from Sam Edwards, 16 degrees from Ginnifer Goodwin, 20 degrees from Marty Krofft, 13 degrees from Junius Matthews, 14 degrees from Rachel Mellon and 19 degrees from Harold Warstler on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
Does anyone have any more information, or object to these proposed estimated dates?
edited by M Cole