John Haynes (May 1, 1594 - January 1653 or 1654) was a colonial magistrate, one time governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and an eight-time governor of the Connecticut Colony.
Haynes was likely born at Messing, Essex County, England, the son of John Haynes and the former Mary Michel, the family an armigerous gentry or 'visitation family' who had lived at Codicote, Herefordshire and at Great Haddam.[1] By about 1616 Haynes was living at Gurney's Manor, Hingham, Norfolk, where he was apparently lord of the manor and where he married Mary Thorneton. In 1627 his wife Mary died and was buried at St. Andrews Church in Hingham. A man of some wealth, Haynes also owned estates at Wramplingham and at Wymondham near Hingham. Tax assessments of 1621 show Haynes to have been a rich man: he was receiving £500 a year in income.
Subsequently Haynes left Norfolk County and returned to Copford, Essex, a hotbed of the Puritan movement. Shortly afterwards he sold his estates at great loss and joined the Puritan migration to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, settling first at Newtown (Cambridge) in July 1633. As a prominent member of the colony, Haynes was selected to serve one term as governor in 1635. Roger Williams was banished under his administration, though by later accounts, Haynes grew to regret it.
Due to growing religious strife and food shortages in the colony, Haynes made the decision to take his family and set off with Thomas Hooker to form a separate colony that would be known as Connecticut. After the ratification of the Fundamental Orders of the colony in 1638/9, Haynes was elected as the first governor of the Colony of Connecticut. He was apparently popular with the people of the colony, and was either deputy governor or governor for the rest of his life. He died in January of 1653 or 1654, in Hartford.
His notable achievements include a part in the creation of the New England Confederation.
Haynes was married to Mary Thornton, with whom he had six children. Several years after her death, he married Mabel Harlakenden, and they had five more children. One of John Haynes' children was General Hezekiah Haynes, a soldier in the army of Oliver Cromwell.
References
See also
Wyllys-Haynes Family
External links
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