Tracing the genealogy of the Willett family in Colonial America is difficult. Not because there is too little available information but because there is too much. There are a number of Willett families in Colonial America stretching the entire eastern coastline. It would seem that most of the men were named Thomas, as was Mary’s father, and most of the women were named Mary…. To make matters worse, ‘our’ Thomas Willett appears to have resided and residences in more than one colony which, I believe, is uncommon.
Mary Willett was born in 1637 in Plymouth Colony, British America. She was the daughter of Captain Thomas Willett and Mary Browne, both immigrants from England, but from different areas of the country. She married Rev. Samuel Hooker in 1658. They had the following children:
- Rev Thomas HOOKER (1659-1720)
- Capt. Samuel HOOKER Jr. (1661-1730
- Rev William Joseph HOOKER (1663-1689)
- Judge John Hooker (1664-1744)
- James HOOKER (1666-1742)
- Roger HOOKER (1668-1742)
- Nathaniel HOOKER (1671-1711)
- Mary HOOKER (1673-1740)
- Hezekiah HOOKER (1675-1686)
- Dr. Daniel HOOKER (1679-1742)
- Sarah HOOKER (1681-1746)
For most of her adult life, Mary was pregnant or nursing and overseeing the growing flock of, in total, 11 children. Generally she produced a child every second year and there are a few gaps which can indicate that she also had one or more still births.
Mary’s parents met on the ship that transported her to the new world and took Thomas back for the second time. Thomas had originally emigrated about 1620, apparently from The Netherlands. He was an enterprising young man and quickly engaged in the fur trade with Native Americans. They provided him with furs — primarily beaver — and he paid with goods they needed. The furs were sent back to England and traded in Colonial America to the Dutch communities which would become New York. He was in direct competition with a man named Edward Ashley who was indicted for providing weapons to the Native Americans against the royal edict forbidding such trade. Apparently it was Thomas Willett who discovered this and he was required to return to London to witness again Edward Ashley who was found guilty. The Plymouth authorities were already suspicious of Ashley and they had a good opinion of Willett although he was apparently not a pilgrim.
The identity of Thomas’ parents is unclear. This is a bit strange since he appears to have played a prominent role in many aspects of early American society. Thomas Willett was a Plymouth Colony fur trader, merchant, land purchaser and developer, Captain of the Plymouth Colony militia, Magistrate of the colony, and was the 1st Mayor of New York, prior to the consolidation of the five boroughs into the City of New York in 1898.
Perhaps he chose to remain a bit mysterious. Willett’s parents and siblings were evidently left behind when he emigrated to Plymouth in 1629. His family life thereafter centered around that of his wife’s family. Willett married Mary, daughter of John Browne (Sr.), a leading citizen of the Plymouth Colony, and Browne’s wife, Dorothy, in 1636. He moved with the Brown(e) family from Plymouth westward, originally to the Taunton area by the 1650s, and later to the eastern shores of Narragansett Bay to Wannamoisett, near present-day Barrington, Rhode Island.
He was a successful entrepreneur and not shy of having dealings with people whose reputations were or became spurious. He spoke Dutch and learned the languages of the Native Americans he traded with. Together with his father-in-law he negotiated several lucrative property deals, including buying lands from the Natives. He had talent as a politician and as a military officer.
Mary Brown, the first wife of Thomas, died on January 8, 1669, at about 55 years old] making her birthdate about 1614, almost certainly in England. Her grave is next to that of Thomas Willett. Little mention is found of her in the records; what is there includes her marriage to Thomas on July 6, 1636, and she is also mentioned in connection with her father’s will. The will of John Browne (Sr.) made scant reference to his daughter, Mary, no significant bequest to her, and none at all to her offspring. Browne’s objective may have been to leave his property to the relatively more needy members of his family rather than to those of Mary’s branch, as she was married to one of the wealthiest men in the colony.