A First Settler of Lyme, CT

Occupation: Cooper

1a) John is the Immigrant Ancestor of the Huntly,

Huntley, and Hundley lines. He was born 15 Apr

1620 in Aberdeen, Scotland, and died 16 Nov

1676 in Lyme, New London, CT Colony.

2a) He married 1st) Sarah (surname unknown)

bef 1647 in Boston, Suffolk, MA Colony. There

are no known children of this union.

2b) He married 2nd) Jane Curtis (WFT Est

1650/52) in Lyme, New London, CT Colony.

Jane is believed to be the daughter of John's

business partner Phillip Curtis. She was

born (WFT Est 1625/30) in England, and

died abt. 1668 in Lyme, New London,

CT Colony. John and Jane were married

17 years and had four children together.

2c) He married 3rd) Mary (HAND) Barnes

on 03 June 1669 in New London, CT Colony.

She is the daughter of John Hand and Sarah

(surname unknown). She was born (WFT Est

1622/48 in England, and died 05 Jul 1687

in Lyme, New London, CT Colony. She was

recently divorced from her prior husband,

Charles Barnes who was a school teacher in

East Hampton, LI, NY. It is unknown how

many children Mary and Charles had

together, but Charles apparantely abandoned

his wife and children. After Mary and John

married the couple had two daughters together.

3) The descendants of John qualify for membership

in the IBSSG "International Black Sheep Society

of Genealogists" because of the following account;

John was married to his third wife; Mary HAND,

by Commissioner Thomas Miner of Stonington,

as recorded in his diary. Shortly after their marriage

they were found guilty of fornication "before

marriage" while she was still married to her

previous husband, Charles BARNES, and they

were fined L10 (ten pounds), which was a very high

fine for that period. (New London County Court

Records Vol 2, P 44).

4) Recorded in: John Huntley of Lyme, CT,

by Virgil Huntley; Our Huntley family coat

of arms comes from the personal arms of John

Francis Burra Huntley of boxwell Court, Tetbury,

Gloucestershire, England. it is an Argent, on a

chevron between three stags' heads erased sable,

as many bugle-horns stringed of thee field.

Mantling, sable and argent. Crest- On a wreath

of the colours, a talbot passant proper, collared

and lined or. Motto - "Je voul droit avoir."

5a) Recorded in: The Genealogy Of Connecticut,

Early Families Page 223; (John is thought to have

arrived in Boston from Scotland via Barbados about

1640) The 1st written record of John in America

appears in a legal document of William Aspinwall,

a Notary Public of Boston, MA. In this document,

dated 12 Jul 1647, John signed as witness for a

Power of Attorney for Thomas Bayes. He also bore

witness for Thomas Foster. In these records is also

an account dated 01 May 1648, between John Pease

and John Huntley, in regard to a load of fish, John

Huntley had shipped to Barbados.

5b) NOTE; Some believe John Huntley is the

brother of William Huntley who was a resident of

St. Phillip's Parish in Barbados. According to the

Smith Collection on West Indian Families, located

in the London Genealogical Society, there was a

William Huntley living in St. Philip's Parish,

Barbados. He was buried there 01 Aug 1679. He

had owned five acres of land and two slaves.

Barbados is in the Windward Islands of the

Caribbean Sea and claimed by the British Empire

in 1605. It has been under British rule ever since

that time. Cotton, molasses, rum, and sugar were

raised as the main exports of the island, and the

theory is that William raised cotton on his five

acres and traded it to John for fish.

5c) John Huntley is also recorded with his wife

first wife, Sarah, as living in Roxbury, Suffolk,

which is now a part of Boston. In 1649 Sarah

Huntley, along with other women of Boston,

signed a petition. At the time of Sarah's death

(believed to have been the result of Small Pox),

the couple lived in a house owned by Mr.

Hanniford. Recorded in the deposition of

John Pease, 02 Jul.1679: "29 or 30 years

ago, Mr. Huntley was Mr. Hanniford's

tenant in boston, and there Mr. Huntley's

wife died of small-pox."

5d) Recorded in Ipswich Quarterly Court Records;

Richard Smith makes deposition that John Huntley

was in Salem, MA at about 1650, being at the Iron

Works there.

6) Vital Records of the city of Boston, MA:

Records of John Elliot, Pastor of the 1st Church

of Roxbury, MA, 27th day of the 10th month,

1657; baptized Moses Huntley, Aaron Huntley Jr.,

& Elizabeth Huntley.

7) Suffolk Co., MA Land Records; 27 Feb

1659 deeded land, house, and one acre, to

Phillip Curtis for L23 worth of cattle.

8) It is unknown why John and his family left

Roxbury to move to Saybrook, New London,

CT Colony about 1661. It appears likely it was

for business reasons and possibly a partnership

with Richard Smith. On 12 Jul 1665 John

purchased two parcels of land and Richard

Smith sold him 71 acres of land when John

moved to Lyme, New London, CT Colony.

Shortly after that he purchased an additional

91 acres for which he paid one hundred

English pounds. John's cattle were earmarked

with a "one half-pen cut on the underside of

each ear, and a slit on the top of the near ear".

9) Lyme Town Records, Vol 1:30, 12 Jul 1665; JOHN

IS RECORDED *AS BEING AMONG THE FIRST

THIRTY SETTLERS OF LYME, NEW LONDON,

CT. He shared in THE FIRST DIVISION OF LAND.

It cost one hundred pounds per family to purchase

a share of the town, and John had 71 acres for his lot

plus twenty acres for his calf pasture at that time.

10) John is listed as a COOPER. The meadow

within it is bounded South by the land of William

Measurer; on the North by the commons, on the

West by \ the highway, and on the East by the

commons. (12 Jul 1665). He also laid out a home

lot containing forty three acres of upland more

or less bounded West upon the highway, North

on Balthazar DeWolf's land, South upon Mr.

Mesuer's land, East upon the commons laying

on both sides of Duck River with one dwelling

house. also three and a half acres of meadow at

the head of Duck River bounded on the meadow

of Mr. Meseur, North on the swamp of Balthazer

DeWolf, East and West with his one land; attested

by Mathew Griswold and Renald Marviene.

11) On 12 Mar 1671 John participated in the

"NEW LONDON AND LYME RIOT", where

the two groups fought with sticks and staves

in a difficulty arising over the boundary line

between the two towns.

12) In 1673 "Goodman Huntley" is recorded as

having been chosen as a SURVEYOR. 11) 09 Feb

1674; John was elected to be a Townsman, also called

a Selectman, at a Town Meeting. Joseph Peck, Lt.

Renold Marvin (also chosen), and Mr. Chapman

were also present.

13) 14 Mar 1676/77: John Huntley laid out to

his estate on both side four mile river twenty

acres of upland and meadow be it more or less

and is bounded West with the commons, south

with the land set out for Henry Bennet, East

with the commons, North with the lands of

John Larebe, East and West 55 rods, North

and South 49 rods, the twenty acres being in

the second division.

14) 15 Mar 1687: Laid out to the estate of John

Huntley and Aaron Huntley at the cove commonly

called Sunkapogusets, fifty acres of upland

be it more or less with allowance for surveyors

land, bounded North by Thomas Champion, East

with The Commons, it has an Ash tree marked at

the Northeast corner and a Black Oak Tree marked

at the Southeast corner, Southerly by the Smith's

land, Westerly by the highway, being upon the

account of their fourth division.

15) John's Will is dated 16 Nov 1676, the same

day he died; "Being very sick and weak of body,

but of perfect memory, I give and bequeath my

soul to God that gave it, and my body to the

earth from whence it came, to be decently

buried at the discretion of my executors herafter

mentioned. I give and bequeath to my dear and

beloved wife one third part of all my estate and

my dwelling house to live in peaceably during her

natural life. I give to my son, Aaron, half an acre

of land in the new lot adjoyning the orchard

fence on one side and the front fence on the other

side, to set him a house upon and part of the fruit

of the orchard of my wife, and he shall agree and

one third of all the increase of all my land unto

him and his heirs forever, he improving his time

upon it; and after the decease of my wife all the

lands and meadow of mine in the towne of Lyme,

he paying unto each of my children on his

possessing of the lands, ten pounds apiece, and

I give unto my said son five pounds towards the

building of his house... I give and bequeath unto

all my other children ten pounds apiece,; to my

son Moses, ten pounds, to my daughter Elizabeth

ten pounds, to my daughter Mary ten pounds, to

my daughter Sarah ten pounds and to my daughter

Alice ten pounds. And of this my last will and

testament I do appoint and make my dear and

loving wife and my son Aaron joint executors."

signed and sealed and published in presence of us;

Balthazar DeWolf, William Measuer, witnesses.

This is the inventory of John HUNTLEY'S estate;

The house with the lands and meadows of the first

division 112: The second division 15L 127:00,

horses and cattle 034:00, Hogs and pigs 006:00

corn and grain 002:00, culrature for husbandry

008:00, old iron and stell and calke 001:00,

carpenters and cooping tools 004:15, furniture

and materials in the house 018:17, wearing

apparel 004:13, and beding in the house 009:17.

The total is L 218.00 15) 1677: After John's

deathe in 1676, and his will was proven in

court, his 2nd son, Aaron Huntley became the

executor of his father's estate. This was

apparently not an easy task because it took

over 25 years to dispose of the estate, to the

other heirs.