| Notes |
- What Is It with Those Tuttles? On an April evening in 1676, one Elizabeth Tuttle, a widow, age sixty-seven or thereabouts, was sitting in her chair by the fire. She had a comfortable house in New Haven, Connecticut (by the standards of the day), and her family was respected. Her late husband, William had been influential in New Haven and had merited the title of "Mister," which was not commonly used during that time. He had died four years before-rather unexpectedly, we can presume, because he was in court only two weeks before his death completing a land transaction, and because he left no will. Several of Elizabeth's adult children were at her house that night. She had produced twelve children and raised them all to maturity-quite a feat in those days. David, who was thirty-eight, had never left home, as he was "incompetent." David was the fifth child, born in 1639; he died in 1693. Sarah, a married daughter, age thirty-five, was there as well. Born in 1642, she was the seventh child and was married to John Slossun. I believe that Mercy, another daughter, age twenty-six, was visiting as well. Mercy was the eleventh child, born in 1650. She married Samuel Brown and died sometime after 1695. Also present was twenty-nine-year-old Benjamin, the tenth child, who was born in 1648. It was Benjamin who was to mark his family's name in history with that rather indelicate instrument, the ax. That night he began quarreling with sister Sarah. We do not know what they were quarreling about, though I may guess because certain facts are known. A fragment of paper preserved in the Connecticut State Archives contains a statement by Benjamin; in it he said that he was with his sister, that they had had a falling out, that he was afraid she would do to him what he had done to her, and that he had no love for her. He and Sarah may have been arguing about the division of their dead father's considerable property, or perhaps Sarah made a disparaging remark about their sister Elizabeth, who was showing signs of an impetuous nature and lack of decorum which was quite at odds with the Puritan standards of the day. Elizabeth was the eighth child, born in 1645. Benjamin may have reminded Sarah that she was no angel; she had scandalized the town in her youth by publicly exchanging kisses with a Dutch sailor, for which she and the sailor were fined. Whatever the quarrel was about, Benjamin resolved it in a terrible, final manner. He went to the barn, got an ax, returned to the house, and struck Sarah on the head, "maulling & mashing her head to many pieces in a barbarous and bloudy maner." Benjamin then ran away and hid in the woods. He was hanged for murder that same year, but before his death he willed all of his property to his sister Elizabeth. What makes Benjamin's action even more unusual is that sister Mercy (who, I believe, witnessed the murder of Sarah) would, fourteen years later, kill her own son Samuel by striking him on the head with an ax. A few months later Elizabeth's husband, Richard Edwards, with great scandal and notoriety, would be granted a divorce from Elizabeth on the grounds that she was pregnant before his marriage to her, that she was frequently adulterous after the marriage, and that she had often threatened to murder him while he was asleep. These events have prompted me to ask what the people of Connecticut must have asked: "What is it with those Tuttles?" I consider myself qualified to speculate for several reasons. First, I am a descendant of Hanna (Anna) Tuttle, the second child, who was born in 1632. She married Joshua Judson and died in 1683. She is my ninth great-grandmother and she did nothing more notorious than marry and bear children. Second, I am a psychiatric nurse, with knowledge of mental disorders. Finally, I have studied the fading but-particularly for the cases of Elizabeth and Mercy-abundant archival evidence that exists. While the story of my ancestors, the Tuttles, is unique, the documentation that has enabled me to trace their history and speculate about the reasons for their actions is not. Many Americans can trace their roots using the same sources that I have to reveal the actions and perhaps the motivations of their ancestors (see the sidebar detailing sources that accompanies this article). Elizabeth was pregnant with another man's child when she married Richard Edwards in November 1667. That her first child, Mary, was widely acknowledged not to be the natural child of Richard Edwards is evidenced by the fact that, in a codicil to his will, Edwards wrote "Mary the eldest child of my first wife shall have two shillings out of my estate'd6 upon her demand" and by the fact that the Tuttles made a special provision for Mary in the division of the Tuttle estate. Moreover, shortly after the marriage the Edwards family brought suit against one Joseph Preston for abusing Elizabeth prior to her marriage to Richard. Richard Edwards first attempted to divorce Elizabeth in 1689. He rather plaintively based his divorce action on the following four reasons: 1. Her being guilty at first of a fact of ye same nature 2. Her refusing me so long together 3. Her carage having been observed by some to bee very fond and unseemly to some other man than my self 4. Her often comending an other man with show or ye like words'd6 hee was worth a thowsand of my self That "other man" may have been one William Pitkin, for he brought suit against Richard Edwards in May of 1691 for using a term in his divorce case that was "derogatory of his (Pitkin's) honor." Edward's plea for divorce was denied despite the fact that Elizabeth's two eldest children by Edwards, Timothy and Abigail, testified against her in this statement: These may certifie whom it may concern we Timothy Edwards aged about nineteen years and Abigail Edwards aged about seventeen years 'd6 that our mother for many years hat'd6 behaved herself with worry, great obstinacy and coarseness against our father Richard Edwards both before her distraction and for many years since and hath been absent from his bedd and society for above five or six years and hath refused any amicable carriage to him according to our observation. The word "distraction," found in the children's testimony, is noteworthy. The word was widely used during the time to describe the mentally ill. Regarding this case, Donald Lines Jacobus, a well-known and respected genealogist, speculates that the divorce was not granted because Elizabeth was considered "insane" when she committed her adulterous acts. This view is bolstered by the fact that, as the divorce action continued, Richard Edwards was at great pains to point out that his wife was unfaithful both while she was "distracted" and when she was apparently lucid. Certainly the matter gained great attention in the town of Hartford. Two years later, in October of 1691, a council of "able divines" (including the famous Rev. Thomas Hooker and Rev. Increase Mather) was assembled to consider the divorce action again. At that time Richard Edwards made a second, more longwinded plea. By then he was calling himself an attorney, though he was self taught. Perhaps he had been happy for a short time with this difficult woman in the few years prior to her father's death, before her brother Benjamin killed her sister Sarah. Elizabeth had borne Edwards a son, Timothy, who was bright and obedient. But after Benjamin was executed, having willed Elizabeth his land, Elizabeth may have felt more free to do as she pleased. It became clear that she was, at times, not in her right mind. Furthermore, Richard Edwards needed to be free to marry Mary Talcott, with whom he had lain already. In fact, Mary Talcott had been fined for fornication with him. On top of that, Mercy Brown, Elizabeth's sister, had killed her son the previous spring. Surely the judges would understand that his fear of Elizabeth was not ungrounded. The upshot of this second plea was that the ministers decided "it is not within the compass of human power to deny him a divorce." Edwards was granted the divorce and eventually married Mary Talcott, with whom he had six children. She was called "my loving wife" in Edward's will. And what of Elizabeth? Evidently, William Pitkin was not willing to marry her, for there is no record of her ever marrying again. Nor was the date and place of her death recorded, which leads me to believe she may have been leading a marginal existence by the time she died. It is possible, too, that she committed suicide. Suicide was a grave sin in those times, and a person who had committed suicide could not be buried in a cemetery. Perhaps she had wandered to another, wilder part of the country and died in an area where records were not kept. Mercy killed her 17-year-old son Samuel with an ax in June 1691 in the town of Wallingford. Her husband stated that he had seen her give the blow with the ax and that he had "thought her sane that day," though he later pleaded in court that his wife's act had not been from malice but from "distraction." His deposition is preserved in the Connecticut archives: The testimony of Sam Brown...What my wife told me. She would fain have her children buryed in the barne. I tolde her ye children were well and so why do ye talk so poor. Why she replyed there are dreadful times a coming. Conceiving (sic) that her fear and amazement was an effect of her Dystraction I told her she knew not what she said and put her out of that discourse and I am told by my Daughter Sara that my son Samuel hearing of such like discourse asked his mother if she could kill Him she replyed yes if I thought it would not hurt you... He also testified that she had not slept for three nights prior to the act, and that after she had killed her son she said "she hoped he was Abram's (sic) seed" (Abraham is the symbolic father of all Christians) "and that she could never get her husband to do the deed." Again one of the Tuttle brood stood in court. The judge intoned: Mercy Brown, ye hath committed a most unnateral act...at the instagation of the divill...for which thou oughtest to die. Yet many in the town spoke in favor of Mercy's being exonerated, albeit by virtue of insanity. A neighbor, John Beach, testified that Mercy Brown had come for fire on the morning of the murder and that she went down the hill toward the swamp, "partly in one path and then turned about to the brow of the hill and stared about as if distracted." One Joseph Dolittle, son-in-law of the Browns, testified that Mercy was often distraught and once threatened to throw scaling water on him. Daniel Clark, the jailer, testified that Mercy Brown had appeared distracted while in prison and had "cried out against persons without cause." Her own brother Simon, the ninth child, born in 1647, with wife Abigail testified as follows: 'd6this we believe and do atest, and that our sister Mercy Brown has bine a distracted woman. I myself being at brother Browns house but a litel befor she committed this woful act and I observed that she was verye much out in her understanding then: also we do believe in our conciences that she was a distracted woman when she committed this horid act: I was also at the home that morning after the act was committed and I could judg her no other then a distracted woman both in her words and actions: I and my wife were thar several times after but we found her very litell rational. I think it is fair to say that Mercy was delusional and psychotic. Was Samuel (the son) showing signs of the Tuttle family's obvious instability? Had Mercy, like her sisters, been promiscuous? (She was charged with stealing and drinking liquor at the age of fourteen). Is it possible that she thought Samuel was not her husband's child? Events of the time may have influenced Mercy. The infamous Salem witch trials were about to begin, and in 1688 Cotton Mather had published a sensational account of four Boston witches. If Mercy was having auditory hallucinations-"hearing voices"-she may have thought that she herself was a witch. Did she fear that Armageddon was at hand and believe that her son had to be killed, as he would die horribly at the day of judgement anyway? And how was it that she apparently had periods of lucidity, during which she functioned normally? There is no way to know. What is known is that the court did not sentence her to death for the murder. She may have lived out her life in prison or in one of the log pens that were then erected for the containment of the insane. Of course, not all of the Tuttle children committed antisocial acts. Elder sister Hannah bore and raised the child through whom I have descended. Simon, the barrel maker, who died in 1719; Nathaniel, the twelfth (last) child, who was born in 1652, married Sarah How, and died in 1721; and even murdered Sarah had children whose children prospered and helped found a new country. Elizabeth Tuttle is the ancestor of a family that was to have an amazing impact on American history. Her son Timothy married a Stoddard, and he became the father of Jonathan Edwards, the brilliant, neurotic minister who has been called the last of the great Puritans. Jonathan Edwards married a Pierrepont. His descendants went on to be influential ministers, college presidents, financiers, surgeons, and judges. Perhaps the most famous descendant was Aaron Burr. In Hale, House and Related Families Mainly of the Connecticut River Valley (Anthoensen Press, 1952), Donald Lines Jacobus writes: the Edwards family having been selected by eugenists as an example of good heredity and the inheritance of unusual ability, the presence of Elizabeth Tuttle in the ancestry leaves much to be explained. He further speculates that the neurotic strain was 'bred out,' though a few of the nearer descendants were somewhat eccentric. My interpretation is different. I believe it is possible that some members of the Tuttle family suffered from a server form of manic depressive disorder and that Jonathan Edwards himself suffered from this mood disorder. He may, in his epic struggle against the mania and depression which occasionally seized him, have come up with the insights that were explicated in his various treatises. The Great Awakening (a highly emotional religious revival which started in Edward's Northampton congregation and spread throughout New England) may, in some way, have been the result of his projection of his own psychological torment onto his congregation. It is known that, in his early 20's (the age at which bipolar illness often manifests itself), just prior to his marriage, Jonathan Edwards had a few very emotionally difficult years. Consider this quote from Elizabeth Dodd's Marriage to a Difficult Man (Westminster Press: MCMLXXIb), a book about Edwards' personal life and family: His handwriting shows the strain he was undergoing. In the first page it was small but neat. By 1725, his most agitated year, it became spiky and taut and the entries went like these: December 29-Dull and lifeless January 9-Decayed January 10-Recovering These appear to be the cries of a profoundly depressed person, yet he is known to have been a creative, driven, and productive man. In fact, one anecdote tells of Edwards going out for a ride on his horse, perhaps running an errand, and coming back with various notes scribbled hurriedly and pinned to his coat. Regarding Jonathan Edwards' wife, Sarah, Dodds writes: She learned that he was unpredictable in his moods, swiftly switching from intense creativity to paralyzed slumps. As he confided to his journal: "I have had very affecting views of my own sinfulness and vileness; very frequently to such a degree as to hold me in a kind of loud weeping... I would like to share a conversation I had with my sister, a strong and curious woman, a descendant of the Tuttles and my collaborator in these faintly obsessive forays into the past. "If Jonathan Edwards had come into our psychiatric unit raving about God and the Will we would have put the lithium right to him," I told her. "Don't forget the Prozac," she replied. "And then what would he have written? Mary was very happy? Sarah was very nice?" I wondered. She laughed. "It rained this afternoon but cleared toward evening." Manic Depressive Disorder Manic depressive disorder is described in the following quotes from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disordres III. "The disturbance is sufficiently severe to cause marked impairment in occupational functioning or in usual social activities or relationships with others, or to require hospitalization to prevent harm to self or others. The associated symptoms include...excessive involvement in pleasurable activities which have a high potential for painful consequences." During the manic phase, "although elevated mood is considered the prototypic symptom, the predominant mood disturbance may be irritability, which may be most apparent when the person is thwarted...When sleep disturbance is severe, the person may go for days without sleep...if the person's mood is more irritable than expansive, his or her speech may be marked by complaints, hostile comments and angry tirades." During both the manic and depressive phases of the illness there may be psychomotor agitation which takes the form of "inability to sit still, pacing, hand-wringing, pulling or rubbing of hair, skin, clothing..." During the depressive phase "thoughts of death (not just dying) are common. Often there is the belief that the person or others would be better off dead." Further, there are "feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt." I think it is entirely possible that Benjamin, Elizabeth, and Mercy suffered from bipolar, or manic depressive disorder. Sources of Interest Records of criminal and civil court proceedings can cast considerable light on the activities of ancestors. In Connecticut between 1665 and 1711, when the deeds of Benjamin and Mercy Tuttle were recorded in the courts, criminal activities were the purview of the court of assistants. The records of the court of assistants for that period are available to researchers at the Connecticut State Archives. Though naturally their preservation has been subject to the vagaries of time and catastrophe-fires, floods, etc.-the court records of other states as well are generally available through state archives and libraries. Many such records have been organized and indexed for the convenience of researchers. Ancestry's Red Book: American State, County and Town Sources (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1989) lists court records available for each state. The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1984) contains a detailed discussion of court records and how to use them in genealogical research. Crimes and Misdemeanors 1662-1789, Connecticut State Archives, Hartford, Connecticut. Jacobus, Donald Lines. Private Controversies, 1642-1717, Connecticut State Archives, Hartford, Connecticut. Hale, House and Related Families Mainly of the Connecticut River Valley. Portland, Me.: The Anthoensen Press, 1952. Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, Aug 16890May 1706, edited by Charles L. Hoadly, c. 1861, Case, Lockwood and Brainard. Sybil Smith is a published author of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. She is currently developing a film based on one of her novellas.
Note on Thomas Tuttle (Totehyll), father of Richard who was the father of Symon Tuttle: Alva Tuttle in 1968 indicated that Thomas TOTEHYLL, of Woodford, co Northampton, England, was born about 1506. He was assessed for the subsidy there, 10 Nov 1544. He was a witness to the wills of Robert Crosse, 1524, Robert Pashler, 1538, Sir William Longe, 1541, Elizabeth Whitbred, 1552 and Richard Lyncoln, 1545. She indicates he was probably the father of Richard. Billie Redding Lewis in the Redding Family and its relatives has the following account: "The name Tuttle is said to have been derived from 'tothill, a 'hill of god' -- hills or artificial mounds which at one time were sacred in pagan worship and can be traced back to Egypt's ancient deity, Tot or Thot." Evidently the English have approved a number of lines including the line of William Tuttle. Richard was the only child listed of Thomas Totehyll who came from Woodford Co., Northampton, England. Thomas was still living in Woodford in 1554 when he was on King Henry VIII's subsidy and tax roll. A year later he was named as witness for the will of Richard Lyncoln, and the last record found was as a witness to the will of Elizabeth Whitbred in 1552. Per Gwen Campbell's edited version of Alva Tuttle's book Thomas was assessed for subsidy in Woodford 10 Nov 1544; witness to wills from 1524-52 (p.?540). Resided in Holcott and Woodford, Northampton County, England. Probably the father of Richard. (8, 14) Note on Richard Tuttle (Toothill) father of Symon: His own will was proved 11 Mar 1589/90 at Peterborough and named the following children: Symon, Anthony, Elizabeth, Ellen, Mary, Frances, and Thomas. Another list gave William, but not Anthony. His wife was co executor with one of the sons. Campbell and Alva Tuttle said Anthony and Lewis said William. (8, 9, 14) Note on Symon Tuttle, son of Richard, husband of Isabel Wells, father of William and Richard Tuttle: On an internet site was the following: The Tuttle name is probably taken from the name of a locality, and the name of Tothill, Toothill or Tuthill is still borne by many villages in Great Britain. The first name on the roll of the Battle Abbey (1066) is Toteles. The family has been well known in several parts of England and many of its members have held positions of honor and distinction. The family claims very ancient descent in Ireland, being known before the Christian era in the well-known sept or tribe of O'Toole, which also appears written O'Tothill by antiquarians. Between the years 1629 and 1640 many families left England on account of the conditions existing there. In the year 1635 there were three distinct families by the name of Tuttle who came to America in the ship "Planter", and besides these two other Tuttles bearing the Christian name of John, one of them accompanied by his brother Henry came in that year. Others came a few years later. Of those who came in the "Planter", John Tuttle settled at Ipswich, Richard in Boston and William in New Haven. Genealogies by the Library of Congress since 1986 Section II, Page 1089 Alva Tuttle in 1968 wrote that Symon TOOTILL or TOWTILLS of Ringstead, co Northampton, born say 1560, buried at Ringstead, 15 June 1630; married ISABEL WELLS, born about 1565, daughter of John Wells of Ringstead, who mentioned her in his will in 1618. Symon was mentioned in his father's will in 1589 and in that of his father-in-law in 1618. The will of John Wells also named all four of his Tuttell grandsons. Symon was supervisor of the will of Matthew Harris of Woodford, 5 Nov 1600. His own will was proved 1630 at Northampton. Note on Isabel Wells, wife of Symon Tuttle: The Symon Tuttle family embarked 2 April 1635 from England for America on the Planter. James Strictland thought the marrige date about 1590, 2nd Torrey Supplement about 1592. Alva Tuttle that John Tuttle, b. 1596 is a nephew of Symon Tuttle and Isabel Wells, and not a son. (#2, 9, 13) While this widow of Symon Tuttle accompanied her sons on the "Planter" in 1635, no record of her has been seen in this country, and probably, if she survived the trip, she did not long survive after arrival. (Found on internet site) Note on Richard Tuttle, son of Symon, brother of William: Passenger list from Ron Miller 1/24/2007: "Theis parties heereunder mencioned are to be transported to New England: imbarqued in the Planter Nicholas Trarice Master bound thether: they have brought certificates from the Justices of Peace and Ministers of ye parish that they are conformable to the orders of ye Church of England and are no Subsedy men: they have taken the oath of Supremacy & Allegiance at Anno Pred. Richard Tuttell, Husbandman 42 Ann Tuttell 41 Anna Tuttell 12 John Tuttell 10 Rebecca Tuttell 6 Isbell Tuttell 70 William Tuttell Husbandman 26 Elizabeth Tuttell 23 John Tuttell 3 1/2 Ann Tuttell 2 1/4 Thomas Tuttell 3 mos." Note on William Tuttle, son of Symon, brother of Richard'85 William Tuttle came from England to New England in the Planter 1635, age 26, with wife Elizabeth, and children John, Ann, and Thomas. Also on the planter were his brother Richard and cousin or brother John Tuttle accompanied by Richard and William's mother, Isabel (Wells) Tuttle.. William Tuttle is found in 1635, shortly after his landing in Boston, as an inhabitant of Charlestown where he, starting his civic duties immediately, was chosen surveyor for the town. Also there is a permit noted in the town records for William Tuttle to build a windmill. Evidently William was a merchant in Charlestown. In 1669 he was an arbitrator in the boundary dispute between New Haven and Branford. In 1666-67 he was a constable. He bought land in New Haven "in the Neck" which became William Tuttle's homestead. Yale University built its first building on this land which was the only land owned by the college for nearly 30 years. William's story is one of a 26 year old Englishman coming to a strange, untamed environment and becoming a successful businessman and an influential Puritan who helped mold the foundations of a great country for his descendants. Aaron Burr was said to be the third great grandson of William Tuttle. This needs to be proved. Rev. Jonathan Edwards was the great grandson of William and Eli Whitney was also said to be descended from this branch of Tuttles. (14, 15) Note on Mercy Tuttle, dau. of William, mother of Francis Brown who was the grandfather of Jemima Brown: FROM: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Acres/5127/Readyhough/tuttle.html Mercy b 1650 m 5/2/1667 Samuel Brown, son of Francis and Mary EDWARDS Brown. She was accused at age 14 of stealing and drinking liquor. She chopped her 17-year-old (?) son, Samuel Jr, to death with an axe as he lay in his bed. Her husband said she had seemed rational, but the day before, she said she would have the children buried in the barn, because "dreadful times are coming". He said she had "slept but little for two or three nights before." Joseph Brown, age 24, testifed that she had thrown scalding water at him and he thought her "much out of her head." Mercy's sister, and Simon Tuttle and his wife thought she had seemed distracted "that morning and before." Mary Moss testified that "Mercy came to their house a little before the sad accident and wished Mr. Moss to look after her husband." Neighbors testified they had come to her house for fire and when she came out with it, she went down the hill towards the swamp seeming distracted. In jail, she seemed distracted, seemed much grieved at having given offense to someone who knew nothing of it. Those who took her to New Haven for trial testified that she seemed "shaken in her understanding." Though her attorney pleaded insanity, the jury found her guilty, and the judge sentenced her to die. It wasn't a popular verdict, the town felt she should be exonerated on the basis of insanity. But confusion, resulting over the removal of the governor from his office, allowed Mercy to escape execution. Note on Sarah Tuttle, dau. of William Tuttle: Sarah was murdered. (1, 2) Note on Benjamin Tuttle, son of William Tuttle: Benjamin Tuttle was executed for the murcer of his sister Sarah. (1) Note on Hannah Tuttle, dau of Richard Tuttle, mother of Mary Pantry who was wife to Nathaniel Mix: Taking the information from Jacobus Families of Ancient New Haven v. 8, p. 1882, I had originally linked Hannah Tuttle to William and Elizabeth Tuttle. Another researcher indicated a Tuttle genealogy online indicated Hannah was the daughter of William's brother Richard quoting:from the book (Tuttle-Tuthill lines in America by Alva M. Tuttle, Columbus, Ohio 1968, p. 230) : First Ch, Boston, Mass V:"Hannah, ye da of ye dec bro Richrd Tuttle, now ye wife of one John Pantry of Hartford hath Lettres of Recommend to ye Church there ye 23rd day, 7th mo, 1649" Torrey also indicates that John Pantry married Hannah Tuttle, dau. Richard, m/2 Thomas Welles, Jr. 1654; ca 1649 Hartford. In 1954 in TAG 30:7-10 Jacobus discusses the Tuttles and corrects his linking of Hannah to William in Families of Ancient New Haven. He writes on p. 7: "Hannah the wife of John Pantry and Thomas Welles of Hartford was daughter of Richard Tuttle of Boston. Ann or Anna the daughter of William Tuttle of New Haven married first, Joshua Judson of Stratford, and second, John Hur `Jr.´ of Stratford and Woodbury, Conn, by both of whom she left issue." Bad luck in marriages??? Hannah´s husband John Pantry died at 24 years of age. Hannah then married Thomas Welles who died at 43'85 Killed in a fall from a cherry tree. (7)
William was born on December 24, 1607 in Ringstead, Northamptonshire and was baptized there on December 26. William, his wife, Elizabeth Mathews, three children, and a brother John came to New England in the ship Planter in 1635. William's age was put at twenty-six years, his wife Elizabeth's at 23 years, John, their eldest child at 3 1/2 years, Ann, 2 1/2 years, and Thomas at three months. They first settled in Boston, where his Elizabeth joined the church on July 24, 1636. They removed to New Haven in 1639, early enough for William to become one of the 16 original proprietors. He subscribed to the Fundamental Agreement of that plantation on June 4, his name being one of the sixteen to which the Secretary when he copied the document into the record book accorded the prefix of respect "Mister." He resided in that part of the town now called North Haven, and was there in 1659, on land that belonged to the estate of Governor Eaton. He was a subscriber to the compact for the settlement of East Haven. In the list of planters and estates wrongly headed 1643 in the printed copy, but which must be placed about 1640, his family consisted of seven persons and his estate was rated at 'a3450, well above the average size. William was the equal, socially, of any of the colonists, yet though his name often appears in the records as busied in the small affairs of the town, on committees and "boards of arbitration," he was never elected to public office nor, apparently, ran or put himself forward for office. One interesting record notes that "Mr. Wm Tutle" was fined in 1646 for falling asleep at the watch-house. There was a connection between the Tuttles and the family of Robert Hill, for after Hill died in 1663, there were negotiations for Hill's widow (a second wife) to give up her interest in her youngest Hill stepchild and for the Tuttles to raise him, "Mrs. Tuttle being next akinne." Perhaps Elizabeth Tuttle was aunt or a much older sister or Robert Hill or of Hill's first (unknown) wife, whose children were born between 1647 and 1659. On June 7, 1664, "Mr. Tuttle informed the Court, that his Cousin, Widdow Hill, had come to tearmes of agreemt." At the same court, Mr. Tuttle showed his humanity by making a plea in behalf of a young girl who had been found guilty of pilfering and other mischief. He said "that though her sin had been very great yet he did much pitty her & would doe her all the good he Could & he therefore desired the Court would shew her what favour they could & that she might be in such a place & family where she might enjoy the meanes of grace & be well educated for the good of her soule: The Court told her that shee sees how her unkle is affected towards her for her soules good" and proceeded to sentence "That shee be publikely & severely whipped to morrow after Lecture, that others may heare & feare & doe no more soe wickedly." How this girl, Azuba Lampson, was related to the Tuttles, is not known. She was the orphan daughter of Thomas Lampson, who died December 28, 1663, by his unknown first wife. Her mother may have been a sister of Elizabeth Tuttle. Perhaps William felt empathy because of what his own daughter, Sarah, experienced in the courts. William died in June 1673 at the age of 64 years. His death was apparently unexpected because he was in court only two weeks before his death completing a land transaction, and because he left no will. His estate was valued at 'a3440. Elizabeth Tuttle died December 30 1684, aged 76 years. She had been living with her youngest son, Nathaniel, who, at a court held in New Haven, July 28 1685, presented her will, but the other children objected and the court would not allow it. The inventory, taken February 3, 1685 by Moses Mansfield and John Alling. Her tombstone was removed with the others in 1821 from the Old Green in the Grove street cemetery of New Haven, and it now stands in the row along the north wall of that enclosure. A part of the inscription is still plain: a part is obscure by the crumbling of the stone, and a part is entirely gone. In her widowhood, Elizabeth faced several family crises which very few would have the courage to face or the strength to endure. Although many of William and Elizabeth Tuttle's descendants are famous for intellectual brilliance, some of their own children became noted for homicidal insanity.
William Tuttle - William Tuttle
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=c0871894-13a3-4758-ad36-571f7e175642&tid=54294014&pid=364
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1607 - 1673 (65 years)
