Rev. Peter Prudden, b. in December 1601. He was initially educated at the Merchant Taylor's School at London (1616-1617) and on June 20, 1620 entered Emmanuel College at Cambridge as a "sizar" or non-scholarship student. He later preached in Hertfordshire, England (about 25 miles from London) prior to arriving in New England.
He sailed from London arriving at Boston June 26, 1637 with John Davenport, Theophilus Eaton and Rev. Samuel Eaton, who soon founded present-day New Haven, Conn. Rev. Prudden's first wife, Jane Thomas, daughter of William Thomas, Gent. of Wales, presumably died prior to his coming to America. While still in the Boston area, he married his second wife, Joanna Boyes, purportedly on July 2, 1637 at Boston, or only six days after his arrival in New England. But this stated date of their marriage is unlikely. Joanna was the youngest daughter of Rev. John & Joanna (Stowe) Boyes of Halifax, England, latter both deceased by 1630.[1]
Rev. Prudden initially declined an invitation to settle as pastor of the church at Dedham southwest of Boston instead he preached for a short time at Wethersfield, Conn. When Davenport and Eaton's newly formed New Haven Colony purchased a tract called Wepawaug from the Indians, and renamed it Milford, Rev. Prudden and a flock of settlers from New Haven settled there in 1639. On April 8, 1640, Rev. Prudden was ordained the first pastor of the Milford church.
Rev. Prudden was given Milford homelot #40, the eastern end of which was "Peter Prudden's Garden" later becoming the first burial ground at Milford. It was used for this purpose until 1675 when his garden was expanded into what is now the Milford Cemetery. Rev. Prudden, himself, as well as his infant son Peter, were buried in his garden. His will dated July 26, 1656 was followed by the inventory of his estate on September 2, 1656. While it is claimed he died in July 1656, one's estate inventory was usually taken within days of a person's death in order to preserve that which was of value to pay for the deceased's debts. This suggests he more likely died in August versus July 1656.
Rev. Peter's 2nd wife Joanna was the mother of his nine known children: Joanna (Thos. Chittenden), Mary (Rev. Zachariah Walker), twins Elizabeth (Jehu Burr) and Samuel (Grace Judson), Rev. John (Grace), Abigail (Joseph Walker), Sarah (Gideon Allen), Peter (d. in infancy), and Mildred (Silvanus Baldwin).
After Rev. Prudden's death, the widow Joanna became the 2nd wife of Capt. Thomas Willet, formerly of Plymouth, Mass., the founder of Swansea, Mass. and in 1666 the first English mayor of present-day New York City. Willet died in 1674 at Swansea. The widow Willet subsequently became the 2nd wife of Rev. John Bishop of the Stamford First Congregational Church. He died at Stamford in 1694 having for 50 years been the Stamford church's 2nd minister. She wrote her will November 8, 1681 at Stamford with her inventory taken March 22, 1682/3. Her will names her two sons, Samuel and John as joint executors coupled with daughters Joanna, Elizabeth, Abigail, Sarah, Mildred, and two unnamed children of her deceased daughter Mary Walker. She died at Stamford in early 1683, but her place of interment at Stamford remains unknown.
Note: The picture to the left is not his tombstone rather a memorial at one end of the Memorial Bridge over the Wepawaug River at Milford honoring Rev. Peter Prudden as the first minister of the Milford Church. Neither he nor his son Rev. Samuel Prudden, who also died at Milford, have extant gravestones at the Milford Cemetery. The standing gravestone of his 4th great grandson Nathan Sherman Prudden (1824-1865) has on its reverse side Nathan's line of descent from Rev. Peter Prudden. That list represents Nathan's ancestral line from Rev. Peter Prudden and a cenotaph gravestone, meaning Rev. Peter was buried elsewhere other than at Orange Cemetery in New Haven. That the reverse side of Nathan's gravestone represents a cenotaph is self evident because his father Samuel, grandfather Samuel and great grandfather Samuel Prudden in that list each have an individual separate standing gravestone at the same cemetery as Nathan.
[1] Joanna was one of three sisters to emigrate to New England following the death of their parents. The family name was Boyes, NOT Boyce or Boyse, the latter two phonetic corruptions in New England records and adopted by modern genealogists as the spelling of the family name.
∼See Memorial to Rev. Peter Prudden where he is actually buried. This is a Cenotaph.
He sailed from London arriving at Boston June 26, 1637 with John Davenport, Theophilus Eaton and Rev. Samuel Eaton, who soon founded present-day New Haven, Conn. Rev. Prudden's first wife, Jane Thomas, daughter of William Thomas, Gent. of Wales, presumably died prior to his coming to America. While still in the Boston area, he married his second wife, Joanna Boyes, purportedly on July 2, 1637 at Boston, or only six days after his arrival in New England. But this stated date of their marriage is unlikely. Joanna was the youngest daughter of Rev. John & Joanna (Stowe) Boyes of Halifax, England, latter both deceased by 1630.[1]
Rev. Prudden initially declined an invitation to settle as pastor of the church at Dedham southwest of Boston instead he preached for a short time at Wethersfield, Conn. When Davenport and Eaton's newly formed New Haven Colony purchased a tract called Wepawaug from the Indians, and renamed it Milford, Rev. Prudden and a flock of settlers from New Haven settled there in 1639. On April 8, 1640, Rev. Prudden was ordained the first pastor of the Milford church.
Rev. Prudden was given Milford homelot #40, the eastern end of which was "Peter Prudden's Garden" later becoming the first burial ground at Milford. It was used for this purpose until 1675 when his garden was expanded into what is now the Milford Cemetery. Rev. Prudden, himself, as well as his infant son Peter, were buried in his garden. His will dated July 26, 1656 was followed by the inventory of his estate on September 2, 1656. While it is claimed he died in July 1656, one's estate inventory was usually taken within days of a person's death in order to preserve that which was of value to pay for the deceased's debts. This suggests he more likely died in August versus July 1656.
Rev. Peter's 2nd wife Joanna was the mother of his nine known children: Joanna (Thos. Chittenden), Mary (Rev. Zachariah Walker), twins Elizabeth (Jehu Burr) and Samuel (Grace Judson), Rev. John (Grace), Abigail (Joseph Walker), Sarah (Gideon Allen), Peter (d. in infancy), and Mildred (Silvanus Baldwin).
After Rev. Prudden's death, the widow Joanna became the 2nd wife of Capt. Thomas Willet, formerly of Plymouth, Mass., the founder of Swansea, Mass. and in 1666 the first English mayor of present-day New York City. Willet died in 1674 at Swansea. The widow Willet subsequently became the 2nd wife of Rev. John Bishop of the Stamford First Congregational Church. He died at Stamford in 1694 having for 50 years been the Stamford church's 2nd minister. She wrote her will November 8, 1681 at Stamford with her inventory taken March 22, 1682/3. Her will names her two sons, Samuel and John as joint executors coupled with daughters Joanna, Elizabeth, Abigail, Sarah, Mildred, and two unnamed children of her deceased daughter Mary Walker. She died at Stamford in early 1683, but her place of interment at Stamford remains unknown.
Note: The picture to the left is not his tombstone rather a memorial at one end of the Memorial Bridge over the Wepawaug River at Milford honoring Rev. Peter Prudden as the first minister of the Milford Church. Neither he nor his son Rev. Samuel Prudden, who also died at Milford, have extant gravestones at the Milford Cemetery. The standing gravestone of his 4th great grandson Nathan Sherman Prudden (1824-1865) has on its reverse side Nathan's line of descent from Rev. Peter Prudden. That list represents Nathan's ancestral line from Rev. Peter Prudden and a cenotaph gravestone, meaning Rev. Peter was buried elsewhere other than at Orange Cemetery in New Haven. That the reverse side of Nathan's gravestone represents a cenotaph is self evident because his father Samuel, grandfather Samuel and great grandfather Samuel Prudden in that list each have an individual separate standing gravestone at the same cemetery as Nathan.
[1] Joanna was one of three sisters to emigrate to New England following the death of their parents. The family name was Boyes, NOT Boyce or Boyse, the latter two phonetic corruptions in New England records and adopted by modern genealogists as the spelling of the family name.
∼See Memorial to Rev. Peter Prudden where he is actually buried. This is a Cenotaph.
Rev. Peter Prudden, b. in December 1601. He was initially educated at the Merchant Taylor's School at London (1616-1617) and on June 20, 1620 entered Emmanuel College at Cambridge as a "sizar" or non-scholarship student. He later preached in Hertfordshire, England (about 25 miles from London) prior to arriving in New England.
He sailed from London arriving at Boston June 26, 1637 with John Davenport, Theophilus Eaton and Rev. Samuel Eaton, who soon founded present-day New Haven, Conn. Rev. Prudden's first wife, Jane Thomas, daughter of William Thomas, Gent. of Wales, presumably died prior to his coming to America. While still in the Boston area, he married his second wife, Joanna Boyes, purportedly on July 2, 1637 at Boston, or only six days after his arrival in New England. But this stated date of their marriage is unlikely. Joanna was the youngest daughter of Rev. John & Joanna (Stowe) Boyes of Halifax, England, latter both deceased by 1630.[1]
Rev. Prudden initially declined an invitation to settle as pastor of the church at Dedham southwest of Boston instead he preached for a short time at Wethersfield, Conn. When Davenport and Eaton's newly formed New Haven Colony purchased a tract called Wepawaug from the Indians, and renamed it Milford, Rev. Prudden and a flock of settlers from New Haven settled there in 1639. On April 8, 1640, Rev. Prudden was ordained the first pastor of the Milford church.
Rev. Prudden was given Milford homelot #40, the eastern end of which was "Peter Prudden's Garden" later becoming the first burial ground at Milford. It was used for this purpose until 1675 when his garden was expanded into what is now the Milford Cemetery. Rev. Prudden, himself, as well as his infant son Peter, were buried in his garden. His will dated July 26, 1656 was followed by the inventory of his estate on September 2, 1656. While it is claimed he died in July 1656, one's estate inventory was usually taken within days of a person's death in order to preserve that which was of value to pay for the deceased's debts. This suggests he more likely died in August versus July 1656.
Rev. Peter's 2nd wife Joanna was the mother of his nine known children: Joanna (Thos. Chittenden), Mary (Rev. Zachariah Walker), twins Elizabeth (Jehu Burr) and Samuel (Grace Judson), Rev. John (Grace), Abigail (Joseph Walker), Sarah (Gideon Allen), Peter (d. in infancy), and Mildred (Silvanus Baldwin).
After Rev. Prudden's death, the widow Joanna became the 2nd wife of Capt. Thomas Willet, formerly of Plymouth, Mass., the founder of Swansea, Mass. and in 1666 the first English mayor of present-day New York City. Willet died in 1674 at Swansea. The widow Willet subsequently became the 2nd wife of Rev. John Bishop of the Stamford First Congregational Church. He died at Stamford in 1694 having for 50 years been the Stamford church's 2nd minister. She wrote her will November 8, 1681 at Stamford with her inventory taken March 22, 1682/3. Her will names her two sons, Samuel and John as joint executors coupled with daughters Joanna, Elizabeth, Abigail, Sarah, Mildred, and two unnamed children of her deceased daughter Mary Walker. She died at Stamford in early 1683, but her place of interment at Stamford remains unknown.
Note: The picture to the left is not his tombstone rather a memorial at one end of the Memorial Bridge over the Wepawaug River at Milford honoring Rev. Peter Prudden as the first minister of the Milford Church. Neither he nor his son Rev. Samuel Prudden, who also died at Milford, have extant gravestones at the Milford Cemetery. The standing gravestone of his 4th great grandson Nathan Sherman Prudden (1824-1865) has on its reverse side Nathan's line of descent from Rev. Peter Prudden. That list represents Nathan's ancestral line from Rev. Peter Prudden and a cenotaph gravestone, meaning Rev. Peter was buried elsewhere other than at Orange Cemetery in New Haven. That the reverse side of Nathan's gravestone represents a cenotaph is self evident because his father Samuel, grandfather Samuel and great grandfather Samuel Prudden in that list each have an individual separate standing gravestone at the same cemetery as Nathan.
[1] Joanna was one of three sisters to emigrate to New England following the death of their parents. The family name was Boyes, NOT Boyce or Boyse, the latter two phonetic corruptions in New England records and adopted by modern genealogists as the spelling of the family name.
∼See Memorial to Rev. Peter Prudden where he is actually buried. This is a Cenotaph.
He sailed from London arriving at Boston June 26, 1637 with John Davenport, Theophilus Eaton and Rev. Samuel Eaton, who soon founded present-day New Haven, Conn. Rev. Prudden's first wife, Jane Thomas, daughter of William Thomas, Gent. of Wales, presumably died prior to his coming to America. While still in the Boston area, he married his second wife, Joanna Boyes, purportedly on July 2, 1637 at Boston, or only six days after his arrival in New England. But this stated date of their marriage is unlikely. Joanna was the youngest daughter of Rev. John & Joanna (Stowe) Boyes of Halifax, England, latter both deceased by 1630.[1]
Rev. Prudden initially declined an invitation to settle as pastor of the church at Dedham southwest of Boston instead he preached for a short time at Wethersfield, Conn. When Davenport and Eaton's newly formed New Haven Colony purchased a tract called Wepawaug from the Indians, and renamed it Milford, Rev. Prudden and a flock of settlers from New Haven settled there in 1639. On April 8, 1640, Rev. Prudden was ordained the first pastor of the Milford church.
Rev. Prudden was given Milford homelot #40, the eastern end of which was "Peter Prudden's Garden" later becoming the first burial ground at Milford. It was used for this purpose until 1675 when his garden was expanded into what is now the Milford Cemetery. Rev. Prudden, himself, as well as his infant son Peter, were buried in his garden. His will dated July 26, 1656 was followed by the inventory of his estate on September 2, 1656. While it is claimed he died in July 1656, one's estate inventory was usually taken within days of a person's death in order to preserve that which was of value to pay for the deceased's debts. This suggests he more likely died in August versus July 1656.
Rev. Peter's 2nd wife Joanna was the mother of his nine known children: Joanna (Thos. Chittenden), Mary (Rev. Zachariah Walker), twins Elizabeth (Jehu Burr) and Samuel (Grace Judson), Rev. John (Grace), Abigail (Joseph Walker), Sarah (Gideon Allen), Peter (d. in infancy), and Mildred (Silvanus Baldwin).
After Rev. Prudden's death, the widow Joanna became the 2nd wife of Capt. Thomas Willet, formerly of Plymouth, Mass., the founder of Swansea, Mass. and in 1666 the first English mayor of present-day New York City. Willet died in 1674 at Swansea. The widow Willet subsequently became the 2nd wife of Rev. John Bishop of the Stamford First Congregational Church. He died at Stamford in 1694 having for 50 years been the Stamford church's 2nd minister. She wrote her will November 8, 1681 at Stamford with her inventory taken March 22, 1682/3. Her will names her two sons, Samuel and John as joint executors coupled with daughters Joanna, Elizabeth, Abigail, Sarah, Mildred, and two unnamed children of her deceased daughter Mary Walker. She died at Stamford in early 1683, but her place of interment at Stamford remains unknown.
Note: The picture to the left is not his tombstone rather a memorial at one end of the Memorial Bridge over the Wepawaug River at Milford honoring Rev. Peter Prudden as the first minister of the Milford Church. Neither he nor his son Rev. Samuel Prudden, who also died at Milford, have extant gravestones at the Milford Cemetery. The standing gravestone of his 4th great grandson Nathan Sherman Prudden (1824-1865) has on its reverse side Nathan's line of descent from Rev. Peter Prudden. That list represents Nathan's ancestral line from Rev. Peter Prudden and a cenotaph gravestone, meaning Rev. Peter was buried elsewhere other than at Orange Cemetery in New Haven. That the reverse side of Nathan's gravestone represents a cenotaph is self evident because his father Samuel, grandfather Samuel and great grandfather Samuel Prudden in that list each have an individual separate standing gravestone at the same cemetery as Nathan.
[1] Joanna was one of three sisters to emigrate to New England following the death of their parents. The family name was Boyes, NOT Boyce or Boyse, the latter two phonetic corruptions in New England records and adopted by modern genealogists as the spelling of the family name.
∼See Memorial to Rev. Peter Prudden where he is actually buried. This is a Cenotaph.
Family Members
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
