Chris' Family Founded an American Town ~ Greenwich, Connecticut

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 43 (URBAN)

The town of Greenwich, Connecticut was named after Greenwich in England by Chris' 10th great grandfather, Jeffrey Ferris.

"...On July 18, 1640, the Siwanoy Indians, for the price of twenty-five English coats, sold the land that is now Old Greenwich to four Englishmen. One of the Englishmen, Jeffrey Ferris, named the area..." 1

In researching this blog I discovered only 3 were men, and one a female noted in the quote above.

I also discovered Chris' father's maternal line founded the town of Greenwhich. 

"...But back in 1640, when the town of Greenwich was founded, the Point was known as Elizabeth's Neck in honor of the wife of Robert Feake. With Captain Daniel Patrick and a few other settlers, Feake bought the land and surrounding areas from the Siwanoy Indians for the princely sum of 'Twentie Five Coates.' (However, the deed shows that only fourteen English coats were actually delivered.)

Captain Patrick, a feisty fellow, had been thrown out of the Massachusetts Bay Colony for unbecoming behavior and found a less God-fearing atmosphere in this Connecticut frontier settlement. He did nothing to further good relations with the Indians when he killed Chief Mianos in an altercation. He got his comeuppance, however, when he was shot in a brawl with an enraged Dutch soldier. Feake became deranged and wandered off into oblivion. But another founder, Jeffrey Ferris, who named the town Greenwich after his birthplace in England, still has progeny here today.. ..." 2

Feake Ferris House in Greenwich CT Connecticut USA
Sourced below

Take a wander through Greenwich today:

Daniel Patrick's widow, Anneke, married Chris'
1st Cousin X11 removed - Tobias Feake

Elizabeth (nee Fones, Winthrop) Feake is Chris' 10th great grandmother

Robert Feake is Chris' 10th great grandfather

Jeffrey Ferris is Chris' 10th great grandfather 
- It appears that Jeffrey was likely born in Leicester not Greenwich, but the town was definitely named after Greenwich in England.

All of these connections are through Chris' grandmother's maternal line
grandmother:
Nina Merle Vannatter
Birth 18 JAN 1926 • Houghton Township, Ontario, Canada
Death 5 SEP 2002 • Tillsonburg, Oxford, Ontario, Canada
married to
Lyle Clare Buchner
Birth 7 SEP 1926 • Tillsonburg, Oxford, Ontario, Canada
Death 29 JAN 2023 • Tillsonburg, Oxford, Ontario, Canada

Nina's ancestors were Patriots, 
Lyle's ancestors were Loyalists

In considering family history through a
Truth & Reconciliation lens ... 1st comes TRUTH

This Bramble Bush must examine the colonial role of our ancestors on both sides of the border.

In bringing forward the stories of our ancestors we bring forward truth.

Understanding the role your family played in history!!! 

This is why I search - 

Cause ... 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Footnotes:

1  OLD GREENWICH. Greenwich at a glance. Greenwich Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved October 22nd 2025 from
https://www.greenwichchamber.com/greenwich-at-a-glance/ 

2  A Brief History of Greenwich. Greenwich at a glance. Greenwich Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved October 22nd 2025 from
https://www.greenwichchamber.com/greenwich-at-a-glance/ 

Sources:

Greenwich at a glance. Greenwich Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved October 22nd 2025 from
https://www.greenwichchamber.com/greenwich-at-a-glance/ 

Seton, Anya. The Winthrop woman. Houghton Mifflin, 1958.

Photos:

Swampyank, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved October 22nd 2025 from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Feake_Ferris_House_in_Greenwich_CT_Connecticut_USA_(cropped).jpg

Video:

Walking Old Greenwich, Connecticut in November 2022. Action Kid. Originally published November 5th 2022. Recorded November 3rd 2022. Retrieved October 22nd 2025 from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6Mm9XkzOYs

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

______________________________________________________________

Gazing Out Across the Horizon ~ X10 Great Grandmother Elizabeth Fones

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2022: Week 49 (NEW HORIZONS)

Thinking about New Horizons I decided to follow a line that I hadn't yet taken back all the way to the immigrant ancestor. 

I followed my husband's paternal line back to his 10th great grandmother:

Elizabeth Fones
BIRTH 21 JAN 1610 • Groton, Babergh District, Suffolk, England
DEATH 1 FEB 1673 • Astoria, Queens County, New York, USA

"Her life didn’t start out as an adventure. She was the daughter of a prosperous, staunchly Puritan family. She was born in Groton Manor in 1610 to Thomas Fones, a pharmacist, and Anne Winthrop, sister to John Winthrop. Anne Winthrop died when Elizabeth was just 11, and she and her sister Martha helped out in her father’s apothecary. They mixed medicines, ordered supplies and made deliveries around town."  1 

Prior to this week's research neither one of us had ever heard the name Elizabeth Fones. We never knew her married names were in our tree either: Winthrop, Feake, Hallett. 

At age 19 she married her 22 year old 1st cousin (my husband's 1st cousin X12 removed)

Henry Winthrop
BIRTH 10 JAN 1607 • Groton, Groton Manor, Suffolk, England
DEATH 2 JUL 1630 • Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, USA

15 months after marriage Elizabeth became a widow. Their daughter, Martha, was 2 months old when her father died. 

in 1631 she set off for the new world with her mother-in-law. They traveled on the ship Lyon to Massachusetts. They were part of the Puritan Great Migration. 

Not too long after arriving in her new homeland Elizabeth married my husband's X10 great grandfather.

Robert Feake
BIRTH 20 SEP 1602 • London, Middlesex, England
DEATH 01 FEB 1662 • Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA

Elizabeth & Robert became wealthy landowners.

Elizabeth & her 3rd husband

William Hallett
BIRTH 1615 • Bridport, West Dorset District, Dorset, England
DEATH 17 APR 1706 • Astoria, Queens County, New York, USA

Elizabeth was instrumental in the founding of Greenwich, Connecticut, USA. 

"Elizabeth is considered one of the founders of Greenwich; the area now called “Greenwich Point” was earlier known as “Elizabeth’s Neck” in recognition of Elizabeth Fones and the 1640 purchase of the Point and much of what is today Old Greenwich."  2

In researching Elizabeth I found this video on YouTube (listed in Sources below).

Elizabeth Winthrop: All The Days of Her Life

11th Great Grand Uncle in-law, John Winthrop (uncle & father-in-law to Elizabeth), kept journals.

"For 350 years Governor John Winthrop’s journal has been recognized as the central source for the history of Massachusetts in the 1630s and 1640s."  3

Much of what we know about the early Puritan arrival in Massachusetts comes from these journals. I read about them many years ago - long before I met my husband. I had no idea I would ever end up a part of Governor John Winthrop's story. 

There is much scandal surrounding X10 great grandma in-law Elizabeth. There are books & articles written about her life.

My husband (and our children) descend from this amazing woman who sought new horizons for a better life. 

"Women like Elizabeth Winthrop are almost impossible not to admire" 4

There was much controversy surrounding Elizabeth - check the sources if you would like to know more. 

Discovering your ancestor was an incredible human being!!!

This is why I search - 

Cause ... 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Photo:

Black Sheep - Elizabeth Fones Winthrop Feake Hallett. Our Little Family Library. Retrieved December 10th 2022 from
https://www.ourlittlefamilylibrary.com/2019/08/black-sheep-elizabeth-fones-winthrop.html

Footnotes:

1  Elizabeth Fones Winthrop Feake Hallett Starts the 1st Scandal in Greenwich. New England Historical Society. Retrieved December 10th 2022 from 
https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/elizabeth-fones-winthrop-feake-hallett-starts-the-1st-scandal-in-greenwich/

2  Black Sheep - Elizabeth Fones Winthrop Feake Hallett. Our Little Family Library. Retrieved December 10th 2022 from
https://www.ourlittlefamilylibrary.com/2019/08/black-sheep-elizabeth-fones-winthrop.html

3  The Journal of John Winthrop, 1630-1649. John Harvard Library. Harvard University Press. Retrieved December 10th 2022 from 
https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674484252

4  Elizabeth Winthrop: All The Days of Her Life. Third wave television. Retrieved December 10th 2022 from 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HXcqKJKM-A

Sources:

Black Sheep - Elizabeth Fones Winthrop Feake Hallett. Our Little Family Library. Retrieved December 10th 2022 from
https://www.ourlittlefamilylibrary.com/2019/08/black-sheep-elizabeth-fones-winthrop.html

Dunne, Susan. Connecticut Historian Writes '1600s Soap Opera'. Hartford Courant. Originally published December 19th 2012. Retrieved December 10th 2022 from
https://www.courant.com/hc-xpm-2012-12-20-hc-missy-wolfe-1223-20121220-story.html

Elizabeth Fones (1610-1673). Moser Family History - Stories from the history of my family. Retrieved December 10th 2022 from
https://mosergenealogy.wordpress.com/my-paternal-ancestors/elizabeth-fones-1610-1673/

Elizabeth Fones Winthrop Feake Hallett Starts the 1st Scandal in Greenwich. New England Historical Society. Retrieved December 10th 2022 from 
https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/elizabeth-fones-winthrop-feake-hallett-starts-the-1st-scandal-in-greenwich/

Elizabeth Winthrop: All The Days of Her Life. Third wave television. Retrieved December 10th 2022 from 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HXcqKJKM-A

Harris, Gordon. John Winthrop’s journal of the ship Arbella’s voyage to America, March 29 – July 8, 1630. Historic Ipswich. Retrieved December 10th 2022 from 
https://historicipswich.org/2021/03/28/winthrop-journal-arabella/

Jaeger, Sophie. Elizabeth Fones Winthrop Feake Hallett Helps Found Greenwich. Originally published March 30, 2022, Retrieved December 10th 2022 from 
https://connecticuthistory.org/elizabeth-fones-winthrop-feake-hallett-helps-found-greenwich/

John Winthrop (Winthrop, John, 1588-1649). The Online Books Page. Retrieved December 10th 2022 from 
http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupname?key=Winthrop%2C%20John%2C%201588%2D1649

O'Toole, Patricia. Money & Morals in America. Originally published 1998. Retrieved December 10th 2022 from
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/o/otoole-money.html

Seton, Anya. The Winthrop woman. Houghton Mifflin, 1958.

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

______________________________________________________________