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vital records sources

The earliest public record found of Jachin was in 1666, when he was given a four-acre home lot in Norwalk.1 In February 1672 an account of land estates in Norwalk was taken to determine an amount of tax that would go toward building a bridge over the Norwalk River. Jachin and his brothers each had land valued at £50.2 With fellow Doug Sinclair ancestor John Keeler, Jachin was voted in February 1680 to be an overseer of the pounds on "five mile river side" to mark all colts and yeerlings as they apprehend belong to the owners of such mares as shall be brought in, with their owners markes, and also they are to bring in all such strays, or unmarked horses, as they shall take in those pounds, unto the towne."3 At a town meeting in December 1687 the common land on the west side of Norwalk River was ordered laid out to "proper" inhabitants. Jachin and his brother Thomas were apprently allowed to deviate from the division and take land on the west and south side of "Ponasses Path." From that description, based on what are said to be the modern streets by which that path followed, the land was west of Spring Hill Street and south of Ponus Avenue in the Spring Hill neighborhood.4 Presumably this was also common land, but the lots were otherwise south of Spring Hill, maybe in South Norwalk. Soon after, a valuation of real estate in the town was taken. Jachin's value was £100.5
     Jachin and Samuel Hayes went to Hartford representing Norwalk at the Connecticut General Assembly on 9 May 1695.6 The docket included hearing Native American grievances, also calling for their containment and promise to not make trouble around New London and Stonington and allowing a church to be organized at Haddam. His brother John was sole representative of Norwalk at the next court session in October.
     Jachin died probably in February 1698. At the direction of the selectmen of Norwalk, his brother John, with two others, took an inventory of his estate on 22 February 1697/98:

Inprimis: his clothes -- £04-02 [shillings]
It: beding and furniture belonging -- 28-0
It: brass and iron -- 06-17
It: armes -- 02-05
It: peuter -- 04-10
It: in earthen ware and sundries -- 03-10
It: Bibles sundry other books -- 01-08
It: spining wheeles sundreys of other -- 04-10
It: syths tackling sundry other things -- 04-04
It: cart plow husbandry tooles -- 03-06
Itm: in neate cattell -- 73-05
It: the homested and buildings -- 100-00
It: ffield lands and out lands -- 193-00
---------------
errors excepted totall: 429-07

The names of the children of the deceased: viz.

Thomas Gregory: aged 25 yeeres
Samuel Gregory: 23 yeers
Matthew Gregory: 19
Jacin Gregory: 15 yeers
---------------
Mary Gregory: 28 yeers
Sarah Gregory: 20 yeers

Memorandum: to be added to the totall: £11-00

taken by us pr order of the townsmen

John Gregory Senr
James Olmstead
John Bennedick

An addition to the inventory of the estate of Jachin Gregory of Norwalk deceased

Imprimis land 8 acres three roods whereof two acres is all
[?]ed under fence value at -- 06-00
It a house on sd land value at -- 50-00


     Letters of administration were given on 2(9?) March 1698 to "ye widow relect...Mary with her two sons...Thomas and Samuell," and while an account was taken and debts paid, they were to "preserve ye estate from imbezlement." They, or some of them, went to court on 26 April 1698 and accounted for £29, 4 shillings and 2 pence in debts.

Norwalk the 25th Aprill 1698

The estate of Jachin Gregory deceased is in debted unto William Haines the just som in pay £5:05:0

the estate of Jachin Gregory 20-07-8 1/2
and in money 00-14
and in money 01-01-04
and in provission pay 00-05
more 00-11-06

John Gregory
John Bennedick
Samuel Gregory


     A separate calculation, considering the additions and subtractions, seems to round off the total assets to be distributed to £456. The court ordered a division of the estate. The widow was to have her thirds of the house and land and as much of the "movables" as eldest son Thomas. Thomas was given the usual double part of the estate and the rest equal portions to each other. Samuel (Haies?) and Lt. John Olmsted of Norwalk were ordered to work out the details, which aren't given. Matthew and Jachin, being minors, chose guardians to oversee their inheritance - "unkles" John Benedict and John Gregory respectively.

children of Jachin Gregory and Mary:

Mary b. 5 December 1669
John b. 25 January 1670(/71 - not double dated in original record), prob. died before 20 February 1672/733
Thomas b. 17 January 1672(/73 - not double dated)
Samuel b. 10 March 1675/76 (double-dated)
Sarah b. 15 September 1678
Matthew b. 17 December 1680
Jachin b. 10 May 1682





vital records sources: His death date estimation is based on his estate inventory, taken on 22 February 1697/1698 (Fairfield County Probate estate file, microfilm, Connecticut State Library). Inventories in Fairfield County were usually the first action taken in probate cases. Although the document isn't double-dated to reflect the transitional Julian and Gregorian calendar years, those subsequent to it are dated March and April 1698.

1. Edwin Hall, The Ancient Historical Records of the Town of Norwalk (Norwalk:1847), 26.
2. Ibid, 61. 9 Feb 1671(/72) (Early Norwalk records tend not to be double-dated, but the sequence of town meeting dates show that these are "Old Style" dates).
3. Ibid, 74. Town meeting, 20 Feb 1679(/80).
4. Ibid, 82. 12 December 1687.
5. Ibid, 84. 3 January 1687(/88).
6. The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, vol. 4 (Hartford:1850), 138.

all text and photographs © 1998-2020 by Doug Sinclair unless where otherwise noted