John Stanley (1624 - 1706)

Born 18 May 1624 in Ashford, Kent, England

Ancestors

Husband of Sarah (Scott) Stanley — married 5 Dec 1645 in Farmington, CT

Husband of Sarah (Fletcher) Stanley — married 20 Apr 1663 in Farmington, CT

Descendants

Died 19 Dec 1706 at age 82 in Farmington, Hartford, Connecticut

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Biography

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

This profile is part of the Stanley Name Study.

John Stanley was born in England.

Following are two slightly different accounts of John Stanley's life:

First

Captain John Stanley was born in England. He was baptized 26 Dec 1624 in Tenterden, Kent, England

He lost his father during the voyage to America. Was placed in the care of his uncle, Thomas, until the age of twenty-one. In 1636, he moved to Hartford. When he was 13 (1637), he went on the expedition against the Pequots.

He married (1)Sarah Scott on 5 Dec 1645 in Hartford, Connecticut. That was the same day his sister married Isaac Moore. Both couples settled in Farmington. When the families were graded by the church according to dignity, they ranked fourth among a list of forty families.

He was one of the most distinguished of the colonists, being appointed by his townsmen to nearly every office of trust and honor. He was a deputy to the General Court almost continually for thirty seven years. In King Philip's War, he was a lieutenant and captain; was the constable in Farmington in 1654.

He married (2) Sarah Fletcher on 20 Apr 1663.

He was sergeant in 1669; ensign in 1674; captain in 1676. He received a grant of 120 acres from the General Court in 1674 and another in 1687. He was on a committee on Indian troubles in 1689.^[1]

Second

John Stanley. … Eldest son of the emigrant John, was born in England in 1624, and after his father's death was placed by the Court at Cambridge, in the care of his uncle Thomas Stanley, till the age of twenty-one. He removed with his uncle to Hartford in 1656, and doubtless lived with him till of age. During this period, when a mere boy of thirteen, he went in the expedition against the Pequots, the very year after the settlers came to Hartford [So stated by his son in the "Stanley Manuscripts." (p. 37.). He married, December 5. 1645, Sarah, daughter of Thomas and Anna Scott, of Hartford, and on the same day his sister Ruth, then but sixteen, married Isaac More, and the two young couples settled in Farmington. John Stanley and his wife were received to the church Jan. 30, 1652-3, and subsequently, when the families were graded according to dignity, they ranked fourth in a list of forty families. He was one of the most distinguished of the colonists, being appointed by his townsmen to nearly every office of trust and honor. He was a deputy to the General Court almost continually for thirty-seven years, from 1659 to 1696, being, with few exceptions, the longest term of service known in the annals of the state. In King Philip's war he was a lieutenant and captain, from which he obtained the appellation by which he was most commonly known, of "Capt. John Stanley." Was constable in Farmington in 1654; sergeant in 1669; ensign in 1674; captain in 1676; received a grant of one hundred and twenty acres of land from the General Court in 1674, and another in 1687; was one of a committee on Indian troubles in 1689, etc. His wife died June 6, 1661, and he married 2d, April 20, 1663, Sarah Stodder (or Stoddard). [Savage says she was Sarah, daughter of John Fletcher, of Milford; but Deacon John Stanley expressly says she was "Sarah Stodder." Stanley MSS (apparently the later research has determined that she was Sarah Fletcher).] He died December 19, 1706, aged eighty-two, and his wife, May 15, 1713. His will is dated in 1705, and his inventory amounted to £360 7s. 1d.^[2]

When only 13 years old, while living in Hartford, CT with his uncle Thomas, John Stanley went on the expedition against the Pequot Indians. Later, he settled in Farmington, CT and became one of the most important men in the town.

He married his first wife on Dec. 5, 1645. She was Sarah Scott, daughter of Thomas and Anne Scott of Hartford, CT. On his same day, John's sister Ruth, age 16, married Isaac Moore. They settled in Farmington, CT. John Stanley and his wife were received into the church on Jan. 30, 1652-3, and when graded according to dignity they ranked 4th out of 40 families. He was one of the most distinguished of the colonists being appointed by his townsmen to nearly every office of trust and honor. He was a deputy to the general court almost continually for 37 years from 1659 to 1696; this is the longest term of service known in the annals of the state. [Ref: Film #908714 U.S. L.D.S. Library, Salt Lake City, Utah]. In the King Philip's War he was a lieutenant, and then a captain for which he obtained the appellation by which he was commonly known, "Captain John Stanley".

John Stanley was constable in Farmington in 1654; sergeant in 1669; ensign in 1674; captain in 1676; received a grant of 120 acres of land from the General Court in 1674; another in 1687; was one of a committee on Indian affairs or troubles in 1689, etc.

Farmington is often called the "second mother" of Connecticut. It was formed from the overflow of settlers from Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor. Its streets of old homes overlooking a river vista is one of the finest in the state. Here are the simple "salt-box" houses which with two stories in front and one in the rear suggest old salt boxes in shape. The Stanley-Whitman House, now the Farmington Museum, was of this style. It was built around 1665 [Ref: "Farmington Town Clerks and Their Times" by Mabel S. Hurlburst, 1943] by Capt. John Stanley for his second wife, Sarah Stoddard. Through the civic interest and generosity of the late Mrs. Laura Dunham Barney, the house has been restored to its original detail of construction and finish and reinforced with fireproof addition.

After John Stanley's death in 1706, his eldest son Dr. John Stanley sold the place to Ebenezer Steel. In turn, it was sold to Rev. Samuel Whitman as a home for his son. Still later, in 1922, it was purchased by Mr. D.N. Barney to become the Farmington Museum.

Farmington today is the home of the private girls' school Miss Porter's where Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy attended. Farmington is also the home of the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. ^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ This material most likely came from Genealogy Research in England but merged profiles make it unclear.
2. ↑ Warren, Israel P. (Israel Perkins). The Stanley Families of America: as descended from John, Timothy, and Thomas Stanley of Hartford, Ct., 1636. ( Portland, Me.: B. Thurston, 1887), 30-31.
3. ↑ http://www.geni.com/people/Capt-John-Stanley/6000000002797625284

See Also:

• Dexter, Franklin Bowditch. Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College (Holt, 1885) Vol. 1, Page 340
• Genealogy Research in England (Apr.1922) pg 126-129 Source Medium: Book
• http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:John_Stanley_%2816%29
• John Stanley, in Anderson, Robert Charles; George F. Sanborn; and Melinde Lutz Sanborn. The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635. (NEHGS, 1999-2011), VI:455-56. John Stanley, bp. Tenterden 26 December 1624 [TAG 80:220].
• Ricker, Jacquelyn Ladd. The Ricker Compilation of Vital Records of Early Connecticut. (Baltimore, Maryland: Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2006), 12018. Stanley, John, Capt., d. 19 Dec 1706 - Farmington VR.
• Connecticut. Probate Court (Hartford District); Ancestry.com. Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Vol 7 Pg 161-2 Image