Thomas Upson, Hartford Founder

Compiled by Timothy Lester Jacobs, SDFH Genealogist

THOMAS¹ UPSON, HARTFORD FOUNDER was born abt. 1615 in England, and died 19 Jul 1655 in Farmington, CT. He married (1) _________ _________ bef. 1638 in prob England. He married (2) ELIZABETH FULLER 23 Jan 1646/47 in Hartford, CT. She was born in England, and died 1671.

The origin of Thomas Upson is unknown. It is claimed in the “Upson Family in America”, (see below) that he emigrated from England in 1638, having left his wife and daughter Mary in England, arriving in Saybrook, Connecticut, thence moving to Hartford in the same year. He was listed as among those who were “Granted lotts to haue onely at The Townes Courtesie”. In the Hartford land inventory of February 1639/40, he held: two acres and two roods, where his house lot was located on the west side of the road from Centinel Hill to the Cow Pasture; four acres on the east side of the Great River; and four acres, two roods, and sixteen perches abutting on the Little River.

On 01 August 1639 he was fined for “unseasonable and immoderate drinking at the Pinnace”. On 21 August 1646 Elizabeth Fuller was sentenced to be severely corrected for an offense against morality. It is probable that she was pregnant without benefit of marriage, as she married Thomas Upson on 23 January 1646/7, and their daughter Hannah was born soon after.

He does not seem to have held any public offices.

Thomas Upson had removed from Hartford in 1640, becoming one of the original proprietors of Farmington, where he died 19 July 1655, and his inventory was taken 6 September 1655, although his estate was not fully probated until 7 September 1671.

Recommended Genealogy: “Upson Family in America”, Upson Family Association, New Haven, 1940 (although genealogies presented by family associations are generally not regarded highly, this is a very well researched and documented work. It is, however, a patrilineal genealogy, thus past the third generation it concentrates on the line of Stephen Upson, the son of Thomas Upson.)