Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

character and strength of such men are
reflected in the enterprises they manage;
their personahty imparts the human touch
and commands confidence and respect.
Such a man is Albert E. Winchester, general
superintendent of the South Norwalk
(Connecticut) Electric Works. In
his lineage are to be found many strains
that from the Colonial period have con-
tributed to give to America its unique
character among the nations. His ancestors
were of English, French, Irish and
Scotch extraction, including John Winchester,
Royal Governor Belcher, of Mas-
sachusetts and later of New Jersey, the
Jackson family of the Southern States,
and the French Huguenots, Devone and
Bennett, of New York and Canada.
The family name of Winchester is
among the oldest in England, being de-
rived from the city of that name in the
County of Hants. The name of Ralph de
Wincestre is found in the Hundred Rolls,
A. D. 1273.
(I) John Winchester, who has been referred
to as one of the "Founders of New
England," established this family in
America. He was born in England in
1616, and is said to have been an ad-
venturous, religious, independence-loving
scion of a titled family of Hertfordshire.
On April 6, 1635, he sailed on the ship
"Elizabeth" and landed in Boston, Mas-
sachusetts. He was allotted five acres of
land on what is now South street, Hingham,
July 3, 1636, and settled there. In
the same year he became a member of the
first church of Boston. He was made a
freeman, March 9, 1637, and a year later
joined the Ancient and Honorable Artil-
lery Company of Boston. About 1650 he
and others moved to Muddy River, then
a remote part of Boston, but now the
aristocratic town of Brookline. There he
was surveyor in 1664, 1669 and 1670; in
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
1672 was constable ; and in 1680 was
tythingman. He and his family united
with the Roxbury church in 1674. His
247
estate, at his death, April 25, 1694, as in-
ventoried, indicates that he was well-
to-do for those days, for it was appraised
at £307, and consisted principally of all
the land in Harvard street, Brookline, to.
the top of Corey's hill and west to the
Brighton line.
(II) Josiah Winchester, son of John
Winchester, married Mary Lyon, or
Lyons, and their son, Elhanan, is of fur-
ther mention.
(III) Elhanan Winchester, son of Josiah
and Mary (Lyon or Lyons) Winches-
ter, married Mary Taylor, and their son,
Elhanan, is of further mention.
(IV) Elhanan (2) Winchester, son of
Elhanan (i) and Mary (Taylor) Win-
chester, was a deacon in the Church of
the "New Lights." In 1777 he advanced
£300 to the town of Newton, Massachusetts,
to pay the needy soldiers, whom
the town in its impoverished condition on
account of the war was unable to provide
for. This loan greatly reduced his re-
sources, and no record that it was repaid
has been found. He married Sarah Bel-
cher, a daughter of Royal Governor Bel-
cher. He held the office of governor of
his native colony of Massachusetts from
1730 to 1741, and at his death in 1757 was
royal governor of New Jersey.
(V) Samuel Winchester, son of Elhanan
(2) and Sarah (Belcher) Winchester,
served in the Revolutionary War
under General Gates. He participated in
the battle of Stillwater, and was present
at the surrender of General Burgoyne's
army in Saratoga, New York. Samuel
Winchester married for his third wife
Hannah Woods.
(VI) Ebenezer Winchester, son of
Samuel and Hannah (Woods) Winches-