Martha Pitkin

1639 - 1719  (~ 80 years)

• Name	Martha Pitkin
  	to New England Father: Roger Pitkin Mother: Hannah Stanley [12, 14, 17, 18]
  Relationship	with Robert Alan Roy
  Christening	12 Oct 1639	Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England   [5, 6, 17, 18, 19]
  General Information	Pitkin (1880) wrote of her thusly: She was a lady endowed with more than ordinary talent, improved by an excellent education. The reception she met with in the colony, was most flattering; her comely form and accomplished manner making the colonists anxious to retain her in their country. In the words of the Rev. Thomas Robbins. for many years the pastor of the church she attended, "this girl put the colony in commotion. If possible she must be detained. The stock was too valuable to be parted with. It became a matter of general consultation what young man was good enough for Miss Pitkin." Tradition says that so many young men wished to marry the accomplished beauty, that they cast lots for her hand, but fails to say what part Miss Pitkin was to take in the affair. The facts are, that the sons of Henry Wolcott, one of the first settlers of East Windsor, were well pleased with Miss Pitkin, and to avoid all question of strife or jealousy, it is believed it was decided by lot among themselves which one should sue for her hand. The lot fell to Simon Wolcott, the youngest son; at all events, he pressed his suit, and was successful. Her brother favored the match, and she became the wife of Simon Wolcott, and subsequently the mother of Governor Roger Wolcott, grandmother of Governor Oliver Wolcott, and great-grandmother of the second Governor Oliver Wolcott and of Governor Roger Griswold. Governor Ellsworth was also a lineal descendant. Her granddaughter married Governor Matthew Griswold.  [4, 11, 13, 16, 19, 22, 23, 26]
  Education	say 1655 (~ 15 years)	London, England   [22]
  She had a good education in the city of London.
  Immigration	1661 (~ 21 years)  [3, 9, 11, 19]
  She followed her brother to America in 1661 to return with him to England, "not once supposing he intended to remain in the wilderness," as she expressed it. Her first greeting on meeting her brother, whom she found feeding his swine, was, "I left a brother in England serving his king, and find another in America serving his swine."
  Death	13 Oct 1719	East Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut Colony   [6, 9, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19, 26]
  Burial	Aft 13 Oct 1719	Palisado Cemetery, Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut, U.S.A.   [6, 16, 18, 26]
  Obituary	27 Jul 1767 (~ 127 years)  [26]
  In the obituary notice of one of her sons, published in the "Connecticut Courant," July 27, 1767, the following mention is made of the mother: "Her maiden name was Martha Pitkin, a woman of eminent good sense, virtue and piety; she was sister to Mr. William Pitkin, who was likewise an Assistant before the Charter, famous in his time for distinguished good sense and eminent piety, and founder of the honorable family of Pitkin in Hartford."
  Person ID, Branch	I21732
  Last Modified	12 Jun 2025

  
  

  Spouse / Partner 1	Simon Wolcott,   b. 11 Sep 1624/25, Gaulden Manor, Tolland, Somersetshire, England d. 11 Sep 1687, Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut, U.S.A. (Age 62 years)
  Marriage	17 Oct 1661	Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut Colony   [1, 2, 9, 12, 15, 16, 17, 20, 23, 24, 26]
  Age at Marriage	She : 22 years - He : 36 years and 1 month.
  Children	From 1662 to 1679  [8, 11, 12, 15, 25, 26, 27]
  1. Elizabeth Wolcott (1662-1707) 2. Martha Wolcott (1664-1687) 3. Simon Wolcott (1666-1732) 4. Joanna Wolcott (1668-1755) 5. Henry Wolcott (1670-1746) 6. Christopher Wolcott (1672-1693) 7. Mary Wolcott (1674-1676) 8. William Wolcott (1676-1749) 9. Roger Wolcott (1679-1767) [He became the Governor of Connecticut]
  Family ID	F8438	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	12 Jun 2025

  
  

  Spouse / Partner 2	Daniel Clark, Esq.,   c. 8 Jul 1623, Tarvin, Cheshire, England d. 12 Aug 1710, Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut, U.S.A. (Age ~ 87 years)  [9, 11, 13, 16, 18, 19, 26]
  Marriage	13 Oct 1719	Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut Colony   [18, 26]
  Age at Marriage	She : 80 years - He : 96 years and 3 months.
  Family ID	F8439	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	12 Jun 2025

  
  

• Event Map		Christening - 12 Oct 1639 - Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England Education - say 1655 - London, England Marriage - 17 Oct 1661 - Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut Colony Death - 13 Oct 1719 - East Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut Colony Marriage - 13 Oct 1719 - Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut Colony Burial - Aft 13 Oct 1719 - Palisado Cemetery, Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut, U.S.A.  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Sources

  [S1158] Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, volume III (P-W), (Boston: New England Historic Genealogy Society, 1995). [S1622] anonymous. "Memoir of Hon. Oliver Wolcott, Sen, Governor of Connecticut, 1796-7" , (Boston: The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume XXVI, January 1872). [S1886] Boyd, Cora Dunham. The American Ancestors and Descendants of Willard William and Cora Dunham Boyd, 1620-1928, (St. Louis, Missouri: manuscript, 1928). [S1524] Dean, John. "Medfield's Contribution to Harvard College, 1678", (Boston: The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, volume X, 1856). [S394] England & Wales, Christening Index, 1530-1980, (Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2008). [S14] Find-a-Grave website, (http://findagrave.com), Memorial ID 8275851 Martha Pitkin Wolcott . [S1234] Gibbs, George. "Memoir of Oliver Wolcott", (Boston: The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, volume IV, 1850). [S1620] Hinman, Royal R. Catalogue of Names of the First Puritan Settlers, (Hartford, Connecticut: Royal R. Hinman, 1846). [S1884] Jackson, Joseph C. British and American Family of Wolcott: Origin, Lineage, Service, (New York: Joseph C. Jackson, 1912). [S1193] Parsons, Samuel H. "Record of Marriages and Births in the Town of Windsor, in Connecticut" , (Boston: The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, volume V, 1851). [S1880] Pitkin, Albert Palmer. Pitkin Family of America: A Genealogy of the Descendants of William Pitkin, the Progenitor of the Family in this Country, from his Arrival from England in 1659 to 1886 ... Also Additional Notes of the Descendants of Martha Pitkin, who Married Simon Wolcott, (Hartford, Connecticut: Case, Lockwood and Company, 1887). [S1627] Rudd, Alice Böhmer. Wolcott Genealogy: The Family of Henry Wolcott, one of the First Settlers of Windsor, Connecticut, (Washington, DC: Guild Publishing Company, 1950). [S1882] Salisbury, Edward Elbridge. Family-Histories and Genealogies, (New Haven, Connecticut: Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, 1892). [S808] Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May 1692 on the Basis of Farmer's Register, volume III, (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1861). [S956] Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May 1692 on the Basis of Farmer's Register, volume IV, (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1862). [S1881] Stiles, Henry Reed. The History and Genealogies of Ancient Windsor, Connecticut: Including East Windsor, South Windsor, Bloomfield, Windsor Locks, and Ellington, 1635-1891, Volume 2, (Hartford, Connecticut: The Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company, 1891). [S1887] Stott, Clifford L. "Humphrey Blake (1494?-1558) and his Descendants in New England and South Carolina: Blake, Richards, Selleck, Torrey, and Wolcott", (Boston: The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 163, 2009). [S1888] Stott, Clifford L. "The Higginson Family of Berkeswell, Warwickshire and Its American Descendants", (Boston: The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 172, 2018). [S1885] Talcott, Mary Kingsbury. "Notes on the Pitkin Ancestry in England", (Boston: The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume LXVI, 1912). [S91] Torrey, Clarence Almon. New England Marriage Prior to 1700, (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1985). [S1624] Trumbull, J. Hammond. The Memorial History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884, (Boston: Edward L. Osgood, 1886). [S1235] W, W. H. "Researches among Funeral Sermons" , (Boston: The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, volume XVII, 1864). [S1625] Wolcott, Chandler. Record of the Descendants of James and Miriam Wolcott, (Rochester, New York: Chandler Wolcott, 1907). [S1626] Wolcott, Chandler. Wolcott Genealogy: The Family of Henry Wolcott, One of the First Settlers of Windsor, Conn., (Rochester, New York: Genese Press, 1912). [S1229] Wolcott, Frederick. "Genealogies - The Wolcott Family", (Boston: The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, volume I, July 1847). [S1623] Wolcott, Samuel. Memorial of Henry Wolcott, One of the First Settlers of Windsor, Connecticut, and of Some of His Descendants, (New York: Anson D. F. Randolph and Company, 1881). [S1231] Woodward, Ashbel. "Brief Memoirs and Notices of Prince's Subscribers" , (Boston: The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, volume IX, 1855).