Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

The name is a variation of Whitmore,
and this form was used by Thomas Wetmore
at one time. He sailed from Bris-
tol, England, in 1635, and settled at
Wethersfield, Connecticut, where he was
a land owner in 1640. Soon after he
removed to Hartford and was among the
first settlers of Middletown in 1649.
There he was admitted a freeman, May
20, 1652, conditions of membership being
the possession of an estate valued at two
hundred pounds or over, and membership
in the Orthodox church (now Congregational.)
In 1654-55 he represented Middletown
in the General Assembly. He
died December 11, 1681, at the age of
sixty-six years. He married, December
11, 1645, Sarah, daughter of John and
Ann (Willicke) Hall. She died Decem-
ber 7, 1665. Her fourth son, Izrahiah
Wetmore, was born March 8, 1657, in
Middletown, was a magistrate, deputy to
the General Court from 1721 to 1728,
inclusive, and died at the age of eighty-
six years. He married, May 13, 1692,
Rachel Stow, born March 13, 1651, granddaughter
of John Stow, who came from
Kent, England, was a freeman at Rox-
bury, Massachusetts, in 1634, member of
the Ancient and Honorable Artillery
Company in 1638, representative to the
General Court in 1639. He married, in
England, Elizabeth Briggs, and they
were the parents of Samuel Stow, born
1622, in England, graduated from Har-
vard College, 1645, and was the first pas-
tor of the First Orthodox Congregational
Society in Middletown, installed 1657.
Later he established a church at Simsbury,
Connecticut. He married Hope,
daughter of William Fletcher, and their
youngest child was Rachel Stow, above
noted as the wife of Rev. Izrahiah Wetmore.
Their son, Rev. Izrahiah Wetmore,
was born June 28, 1693, in Middletown,
studied for the ministry, was set-
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
217
tled as pastor at Stratford, Connecticut,
died there September 14, 1728, and was
buried in the old East Burying Ground
at Middletown. He married Sarah Booth,
of Stratford, daughter of Sergeant John
and Dorothy (Hawley) Booth, granddaughter
of Richard Booth, born 1607,
who settled in Stratford, and mar-
ried Elizabeth, sister of the first Joseph
Hawley. Their son, Rev. Izrahiah Wet-
more, was born August 30, 1729, in
Stratford, graduated at Yale College in
1748, received his Master's degree in
1757, and was pastor for forty-five years
of the Presbyterian church of Stratford
and Trumbull. In 1773 he preached the
election sermon before the Legislature of
Connecticut, and several of his sermons
were published. He died August 3, 1798,
in Trumbull, and was buried in Strat-
ford. He married, December 30, 1756,
Phebe Walker, born September 7, 1740,
died September 12, 1784, daughter of Hon.
Robert and Rebecca (Lewis) Walker.
Her father filled many responsible and
high offices in the colony. Their third son
William Walker Wetmore, was born
March 29, 1769, in Stratford, where he
made his home and died, December 2,
1837. He married, January 18, 1793,
Sarah Bogardus, who was born March
28, 1773, a descendant of one of the early
Dutch families of New York. Their son,
William Whiting Wetmore, born Octo-
ber 7, 1806, married, in November, 1827,
Eleanor Beebe, and their eldest child,
Sarah Bogardus Wetmore, born August
16, 1828, became the wife of Sylvester
Russell Symonds, and the mother of Wil-
liam Francis Symonds, of Unionville.
NEWTON, Charles Hollister,
Active Man of Affairs.
The name of Newton is one of the old-
est in the annals of New England, and it