John Latimer, Hartford Founder

‹ Back to The Founders

Compiled by Timothy Lester Jacobs, SDFH Genealogist

JOHN1 LATIMER, HARTFORD FOUNDER was born abt. 1625 in England, and died 09 Apr 1662 in Wethersfield, CT. He married ANNA ____ abt. 1645 in prob Wethersfield, CT.

The ancestry, origin, and when John Latimer arrived in the American colonies is unknown. His name is not among those listed as founders of Hartford in “The Original Proprietors” section of the “Memorial History of Hartford County” (1886) by Mary K. Talcott, nor does he have a listing of holdings in the Hartford land inventory of February 1639/40, however, as noted elsewhere, this listing was done years after 1639/40.

He was first noted in Hartford on 1 Aug 1639 when he was “censured & was fined for vnseasonable and imoderate drinking att the pinnance”, along with Thomas Cornwell, Matthew Beckwith, Samuel Kitcherell, and Thomas Upson. The pinnace in reference was a small boat, probably used to go across the river from Hartford to holdings on the east side. That he was indeed among the founders of Hartford is shown in “Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society”, Vol. VI, “Hartford Town Votes, Volume I, 1635-1716”, page 46, on which is recorded “March 24 [1639/40] ye towne being asembled it was left to mr hopkins mr haynes mr wiles and mr welles with the townesmen to speak with ieruise [i. e. Jarvis] mudge and John latymer and to Determine whether the shall haue the sequestried grownd or not and wher the shall inhabit yf the doe they axept of it”. On page 47, continuing notes of the same town meeting state: “it is furdermore ordred yt thear shall bee Sequestered 2 tooe aceres of that growne that shall be for the vse of John Latymore if the towne shall think meet to admit him an inhabitante”. Finally, he is listed among those to be inhabitants “by the courtesie of The Towne”.

In the Hartford land inventory of February 1639/40 of lands held by Jeremy Adams, one of the listings is: “one parcel of Meadow lying in Hoccanum containeing by estimation Nineteen Acres & a rood be it more or less parte where of was John whites & parte Andrew warners abutting on mr. Hookers land Sowth on land now Jeremy Adams North the Great River west & upland East: This Sold to John Lattimore & by Lattimor sold to Jeremy Adams”.

Although a litigant in several lawsuits, he also served as a juryman in June 1646.

He had removed to Wethersfield by at least 6 October 1646, when his first known child Rebecca is shown in the Wethersfield vital records. He was Wethersfield selectman in 1651. In the vital records he is noted to have died on 9 April 1662. His will was dated 8 April 1662, his inventory was taken 29 Apr 1662 and his will was proven 12 May 1662.

Genealogy: no published genealogy known

‹ Back to The Founders