1330–1331.  John Sackett was born in England about 1628, and died in New Haven, Connecticut Colony, on September 3, 1684. Agnes Tinkham was born in 1632, and died in New Haven in 1707. Her birth place has also been reported as Plymouth, Massachusetts. They were married in New Haven Colony on Thursday, May 20, 1652. She took the name Agnes Sackett. They had six children:

The parents of John Sackett are uncertain. Several IGI entries claim them to be the same as his son: Joseph and Sarah (Denison) Sackett. Other IGI entries claim his father to be John Sackett, sometimes called "John the Colonist". Of course, none provides any proof or source reference.

John Sackett's origins

Despite extensive research, it has not yet proved possible to establish the origins of John Sackett of New Haven. Weygant's conclusion that this John was the son of another John, who would have been a brother of Simon the colonist, has since been disproved. At least, Weygant's main evidence for the existence of a senior John [that he survived John of New Haven who died in 1684] has been disproved. The parentage of John of New Haven remains unknown and, of course, his father may have been named John. Again, while it is difficult to prove a negative, there is no evidence of a John Sackett having accompanied Simon on his migration to the New World.

Weygant's evidence

Weygant's main evidence was a 1684 inventory of the estate of John Sackett. It would seem that Weygant did not, himself, have sight of this document but, relying upon a report of it from the Hon. L. B. Sackett, he stated in The Family Record, 1897 [p. 50], "That he [the alleged elder John] outlived his son John, Jr. is made apparent by following extract from a search of Probate office of New Haven, ... viz:"

John Sackett, inventory of the estate of John Sackett, Junior, late of New Haven, deceased, taken this 6th day of Oct. 1684.

Weygant took the first mentioned "John Sackett" in the above heading of the inventory to refer to John Sackett Sr. as he states in his 1907 book [p. 14], "On October 6 [1684], he [the alleged elder John] filed an inventory of the estate of "John Sackett, Jr."

Further study of the inventory reveals that the first mentioned "John Sackett" was indeed John Sackett, Sr. but that the second mentioned "John Sackett" was also John Sackett, Sr. Thus, the two mentions are of the same man, the first being merely an index entry, rather than an indication of who filed the inventory. Our 'translation' of the text of the heading is:

Jno Sackett Snr/ An inventory of the estate of Jno Sackett Senior late of N=Haven deceased taken this Octobr 6th 1684.

Confirmatory evidence that the word in the inventory is Senior and not Junior is obtained from the New Haven Vital Records 1649-1850 [p. 49]: "John Sackett senior dyed 3 September 1684."

For some time prior to 1684 John Sackett of New Haven would have been referred to as John Sackett Sr, his own son John, born 1653, being referred to as John Sackett Jr. Indeed, in the records of town meetings held in November and December 1682, there is reference to John Sackett Jr. There can, thus, be no doubt that the John Sackett who died in 1684 was John Sackett Sr., i.e. John Sackett of New Haven who married Agnes Tinkham.

Anderson (see Appendix) refers to Weygant's proposed existence of an elder John Sackett who would be a brother of Simon, but dismisses this with, "The proposed elder John seems to be an imaginary construct, and there is no evidence of any relationship between the immigrant Simon and John of New Haven."

Weygant relied, too, on the "family tradition" as told to him by his father-in-law, that Simon with his brother, John, traveled on the Lyon in company with Roger Williams. Whilst the further research described above disagrees with Weygant's proposal for an elder John, it still leaves the question of John's parentage unknown. His migration also remains unsolved. Was he taken to New England as a boy by his parents, or by Simon? Or did he go in the service of a Mrs Stolyon with whom he was involved in a court action? Research continues to try to resolve this tantalizing mystery.

New Haven

John Sackett arrived in New Haven at a very early stage of its settlement, the first mention of him in the records being within three years of its foundation. The colony was established in the spring of 1638 when the companies of Davenport and Prudden sailed from Boston to Quillipiac, where they began the settlement that would become New Haven. The New Haven church was established, with seven founding members, Davenport included, on 21 or 22 April 1639, and on the latter day Peter Prudden and his following organized the Milford church. [Anderson: Great Migration Newsletter].

A list of planters and their estates was drawn up in October/November 1640, although it was not written into the records until 1643. [Lambert, Jacobus]. John Sackett's name does not appear in this list [nor does that of Mrs Stolyon]. If he were at New Haven by this date, he would not have qualified for inclusion in the list being a youth of 12 years of age.

The Stolyon case

The first mention of John Sackett found in the New Haven records concerns a court action brought against him by Mrs Stolyon:

"Att a Court held att Newhaven the 4th of the 6t M: 1641 John Seckett servant to Mrs. Stolyon for goeing about to slaunder and reproach his said Mrs, was admonished to tender to his Mrs such satisfaction as she might accept, wch was referred to Mr. Goodyeare to determine. [Hoadly, p. 56]

This John "Seckett" is now taken to be John Sackett of New Haven [at the time of the court action he would have been aged about 13, assuming his birth in c 1628], although Weygant concluded that it referred to the proposed elder John. He gave this account of the case in his 1897 The Family Record:

"His [the proposed elder John's] name is first mentioned in New Haven records under date of 1640, at which time he was in the employ and would seem to have been superintending the estate of a widow named Stolya. According to a tradition which is in the main verified by official records, he was a man of pleasing address, and the widow Stolya from playing mother to the son fell desperately in love with the father, who does not appear to have reciprocated her affection and spoke slightingly of her love making. Whereupon she made complaint to the General Court that he had slandered her. When the case was heard the finding of that August body, "then the supreme power in the province," was that "John Seckett (Sackett) be admonished to tender to the widow Stolya such satisfaction as she might accept.

Although there is a discrepancy in the dates given for the court hearing [Hoadly 1641, Weygant 1640], there can be no doubt that Weygant refers to the same case. His rather colorful description presumably owed more to the "tradition" to which he refers than to the court record itself. Research of the New Haven records has failed to find any reference to John Sackett in 1640. [The dates discrepancy would seem not to be the result of the often confusing Julian calendar then in use, as the "6t M" would mean September, a month not subject to double-dating].

Histories of New Haven

Atwater, in his History of the Colony of New Haven (publ. 1902), gives lists of the seating plans in the meeting house of New Haven for March 1646, February 1655/56, and February 1661/62. Dexter, New Haven Ancient Town Records, 1917, also gives the 1655/56 and 1661/62 lists. John Sackett's name appears in the 1655/56 and 1661/62 lists but not in the first (1646) list. His omission from the first list is consistent with his being underage at that date (he was then about 17 assuming a birth in c1628). Had there been an elder John Sackett, then he would surely have appeared in this 1646 list. Similarly, had there been two John Sacketts, father and son, they would both have appeared in the two later lists.

John Sackett swears oath; is fined; sues for a debt

On 1 July 1644, aged about 16, John swore the oath of fidelity at a General Court of New Haven. [Hoadly, pp. 136–139]. The court record of 6 Oct. 1646 when John Sackett was fined 6 pence for attending a training without a rest for his musket is reported by Hoadly at pp. 270–271. John appeared in court again later that year on 2 March 1646 [1647 new style] when he "demanded a debt dew from Stephen Medcalfe of 18s." At a further court hearing two months later, on 4 May 1647, two townsmen who had been appointed to assess work carried out by John on Medcalfe's house confirmed that John had erected fencing, and John "gave in a noate to the court" showing that he had spent 17s 8d on materials. [Hoadly, pp. 300 & 307].

John Sackett's occupation

Atwater does not report this case but records John Sackett's occupation as "carpenter". [p. 703]. He may have deduced this from the above court action. It could equally be concluded from the report of a later case [John Sackett v. Samuel Andrews, 1665/66] that John was also a "horse doctor"! The truth is likely to be that John, along with most of his compatriots, was both a farmer and, by necessity, a "jack of all trades." Atwater also gives 1641 as the date of the first mention of John in the New Haven Colony records and records his death date as 1684.

John Sackett's bull

John Sackett appeared in court again in May 1656 when he, with three others, "were complained of because their cattell trouble the cowheards." They were advised "to take care that it be no more so." In particular, John was "warned of a bull which is wont to runn at some people." He was instructed to ensure that the bull was properly secured "that hurt may not come thereby, for if it doe, after this warning, the blame will lye wholy upon him."

John Sackett's wolf

It would appear that townsmen were rewarded with a bounty of £1 per head for the capture of wolves. At the same court, John appealed against a decision of the town treasurer who had refused to pay him for the capture of a wolf at the last harvest. John explained to the court that the wolf was "catched in a pitt" but was so "devoured by flyes" that "the head was not fitt to bring to the Treasurer, and he refuseth to pay." The Town agreed that if he could provide sufficient proof "he shall be alowed halfe, which is ten shillings." [Dexter, vol. 1, p. 278].

John Sackett's brook

Mention is made in a general court hearing at New Haven on 28 February 1658 [old style] of John Sackett's brook. To provide an adequate water supply for the town, the court decided "to make a dam over ye creeke, . . . & there to sett up a brest mill, which with the help of the brooke at John Sackett's . . . would be sufficient to serve ye towne." [Dexter, vol. 1 pp. 390–391].

John Sackett, horse doctor

In a court hearing on 5 March 1665/66, John actioned Samuel Andrews for the cost of treating a sick horse. Andrews "denied that [John] had cured ye horse" but the court found in John's favour and awarded him five shillings and court costs. [Dexter, vol. 2, p. 173].

A highway through John Sackett's land, & the burning of woods

On 12 February 1671/72, it was reported at a town meeting that agreement had been reached for the construction of a "hie way through the playne field" belonging to John Sackett and, in consideration, John was given about three acres of swampy land. [Dexter, vol. 2, p. 302]. At a town meeting on 11 March 1673/74 it was decided that areas of woodland were to be burnt. The sections of the woods to be burnt were allocated to various townsmen and John Sackett and Edmund Dorman were to burn the area from "ye west rockes to ye Mill river." [Dexter, vol. 2, p. 316].

John Sackett's division of land

A town meeting of 20 December 1680 determined the division of land on the western side, John Sackett being allocated an area of 48½ acres. [Dexter, vol. 2, p. 408]. The next entries in the records of town meetings refer to John Sackett, Jr. who, in November and December 1682, was granted land to set up a business as a glazier.

Proprietors in 1685

The last mention of John Sackett Sr. in the New Haven records appears in a report given to a town meeting on 22 December 1712 when a list was submitted of proprietors of the town in the year 1685. The list included: "John Sackets heirs" [i.e. the heirs of John Sackett, Sr.] and "John Sacket, Junior."

Weygant's 1907 account

It is interesting (and surprising in light of how little other information he had available to him) that Weygant did not repeat the Stolya story in his 1907 Sacketts of America book. It may be conjectured that he had, by then, had second thoughts about his interpretation of the case. Weygant's account of the proposed elder John is given at p. 14 of The Sacketts of America:

(2) JOHN SACKETT, colonist, and founder of the New Haven branch of the Sackett family, came to New England, from Bristol, England, with his brother Simon, on the ship Lyon, in the winter of 1630-31. He brought with him his son, John Sackett, Jr., who at the time was about three years of age. No record of any other member of his immediate family has been found. Either before leaving England, or during his tedious mid-winter voyage hither, he became strongly attached to the brilliant and popular non-conformist minister, Roger Williams, whom he followed first to Plymouth settlement and afterwards to Rhode Island. Tiring of life in the wilderness he made his way to New Haven settlement, in the records of which he is mentioned as early as 1640 and as late as 1684. On October 6, of the year last mentioned, he filed an inventory of the estate of "John Sackett, Jr."

At p. 19, he gives the following account of John Sackett Jr. (John of New Haven):

"(5) JOHN SACKETT, JR., 16??-1684, of New Haven, Conn., son of (2) John the colonist, was born in England and brought to New England by his father in 1631. He was at the time about three years of age. Very little is known of his boyhood days. In 1646 he was a member of the New Haven Train Band. The general court of that year first brought him to notice and gave him a place in the recorded history of Connecticut by fining him six cents "for wanting a rest at a training he attended." A rest was a stick crotched at one end which was used to steady the heavy musket then in use when taking aim. On May 20, 1652, he was married to Agnes Tinkham, who probably was a younger sister of the colonist Ephraim Tinkham, of Plymouth settlement. He remained a resident of New Haven until his death in 1684. The records there show that on October 6, 1684, "John Sackett" made and filed an inventory of the estate of "John Sackett, Junior." Agnes Tinkham Sackett died at New Haven in the early part of the year 1707. An inventory of her estate was filed on April 25th of that year by her grandson, Lieut. Joseph Sackett, who had previously been appointed administrator of her husband's estate. The records show that on July 8, 1712, Lieut. Joseph Sackett made a final accounting of said estates and was discharged from his bonds.

Weygant's 1897 account

As well as the omission in his 1907 work of mention of the Stolion case, there are other significant differences between the 1897 Family Record and the 1907 Sacketts of America. These differences would seem to point to Weygant having had doubts or second thoughts by the time he came to compile his magnum opus. It does seem strange that, given the scant data which he has available in 1907 on both the alleged elder John and on John of New Haven, he should choose to omit information which he had previously reported in 1897.

In the Family Record, he reports that [the alleged elder] John Sackett signed the oath of fidelity and continues, "and in 1646 was made the custodian of the Public Building in which the General Court was held", quoting the 1647 court record of the action by John Sackett [of New Haven] against Stephen Medcalfe. Weygant's quote from the court records does not mention Medcalfe, and says, "John Sackett presented to court bill for putting up some poles and spending some nayles; the said John gave in a note to the court, of charges which had been spent about the house, to the value of about 17s 8d." It would seem that Weygant took the reference to "the house" to mean the Court House and concluded that John had been made the custodian of the building. It is not known whether Weygant had access to Hoadly's work, which had been published in 1857. Hoadly's account makes it clear that the work carried out was to Medcalfe's house, not to the court house. Weygant did not include reference to this court action in his 1907 book.

References:

• Atwater, History of the Colony of New Haven, 1902
• Cutter, Genealogical and Family History of the State of Connecticut, 1911
• Dexter, New Haven Ancient Town Records, 1917
• Hoadly, Records of the Colony and Plantation of New Haven, 1857
• Jacobus, Donald Lines, Families of Ancient New Haven
• Lambert, History of the Colony of New Haven, 1838
• Savage, A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, 1860–62
• Smith, Families of Ancient New Haven, 1923–1931
• Torrey, New England Marriages prior to 1700, printed 1997
• Weygant, The Family Record, 1897

New Haven Probate Records, vol. 1, Part 1, LDS film #0005293, Page 200
 
Jno Sackett Snr
An Inventory of ye estate of Jno Sackett senior late of N-haven deceased taken this Octobr 6th 1684.

Impris:

Note on Mrs Stolion

The Mrs Stolion of the 1641 court case is believed to be: Jane Stollian, bapt. 8 June 1600, Warbleton, Sussex, England, dau. of Thomas Stollian and Jane. [Source: IGI]. A New Haven court case on 6 April 1647 concerned the estate of Mrs Stallion, indicating her recent death. Coldham's Book of Emigrants has the following: "1647, May. Probate of will of Jane Stolion of London, widow, who died overseas having goods in New England." [Source: Fonken, Carolyn: Coldham, Peter: Complete Book of Emigrants, vol. 1, p. 234: Coldham, Peter: English Estates, vol. 1], and "1680, November. Administration of will of Thomas Stolyon of Warbleton, Sussex, who had goods in New England." [Source: Fonken, Carolyn: Coldham, Peter: Complete Book of Emigrants, vol. 2, p. 372: Coldham, Peter: American Wills]. It is known from the 1645 Turner v. Stolion case that Mrs Stolion had a son, although his name was not stated. Given the unusual surname and coincidence of addresses, it is a reasonable guess that Thomas was Mrs Stolion's son.

• New Haven Vital Records, vol. 5, pt. 1, p. 3;
• Jacobus, Donald Lines, Families of Ancient New Haven vol. VII, p. 1583
• Weygants, Charles, The Sacketts of America pp. 14, 19, 28.
• Savage, James, New England Dictionary
• International Genealogical Index