1604 "Richarde Platte" was baptized on May 6 in Ware, St Mary the Virgin, Hertfordshire. England. [1] Coddington states, [2]
He was the third of the five children of George Platt of Ware, tailor, by Mary his wife (whose maiden surname has not yet been found), and grandson of Simon Platt of Ware, also a tailor, by Elizabeth his wife.
Ware, the market town where Richard Platt was born and grew up, is a place of some importance in eastern Hertfordshire, and it was a hotbed of Puritanism in the early seventeenth century. The famous Rev. Charles Chauncey (later to become President of Harvard College) was presented to the living of Ware on 27 Feb. 1627 by Trinity College, Cambridge, which had the advowson, and he held this position until 16 Oct. 1633, so during this period Platt must have been deeply influenced by Mr. Chauncey's preaching.
1628/9 "Richard Platt and Mary Woode" were married on "the 26th of January 1628" in Roydon, St Peter, Essex, England. [3] Coddington states, [4]
Richard Platt was married at Roydon, co. Essex (a village four miles southeast of Ware, just across the Essex-Hertfordshire boundary) on 26 Jan. 1628/9 to Mary Wood, who was baptised at Roydon on 10 Nov. 1604, daughter of John, yeoman, [and Jane Wood] of Roydon.
1629 "Mary the daughter of Richard Platt of Ware and Mary his wife was baptised the xjth of November 1629" in Roydon, St Peter, Essex. [5] Coddington states, [6]
The eldest child of Richard and Mary (Wood) Platt, named Mary after the mother … was baptised at Roydon on 11 Nov. 1629 as "Mary daughter of Richard Platt of Ware." The next four children, John, Isaac, Samuel and Sarah, were baptised at Ware; the four youngest children, Epenetus, Hannah, Josiah and Joseph, were born after the family came to America and settled at Milford."
1631/32 "John Platte sonne of Richard & Mary" was baptised on January 11 in Ware, Hertfordshire. [7]
1633 "Isaac Plat son of Richard & Mary" was baptized on April 10 in Ware, Hertfordshire. [8]
1634 "Samuel Platt sonne of Richard" was baptised on December 9 in Ware, Hertfordshire. [9]
1635 "Samuel Blott sonne of Richard" was buried on September 15 in Ware, Hertfordshire. [10]
1636 "Sarah Platt Daughter of Richard" was baptized on September 11 in Ware, Hertfordshire. [11]
1638-1639 "Richard and Mary (Wood) Platt disposed of their houses and lands at Ware by a final concord signed at Westminster on 25 April 14 Charles I (1638). … on 22 Aug. 1639 Richard Platt was one of the 66 men who formed themselves into a church society at New Haven, under the leadership of the Rev. Peter Prudden, which group later settled in the new plantation of Milford." [12]
Abbott, in Families of Early Milford, states, [13]
The famous Rev. Charles Chauncey (later to become President of Harvard College) was vicar of Ware from 1627 to 1633, emigrating to New England in 1638. This was about the same time that Richard Platt came, and he was no doubt deeply influenced by Mr. Chauncey's preaching. Richard Platt's religious beliefs were profound and Puritan in character. The sincerity and depth of his religious feelings are shown by his will where he took great pains to provide a Bible for 24 of his living grandchildren, and he also made two significant bequests of 5 pounds each, to be devoted towards the 'bring up' of a young man 'to be a schollar' in the Puritan mould. He was no doubt educated at the Grammar School at Ware, and may have become a tailor as his father and grandfather were, as he was apprenticed in 1629 which implies that he was in some trade at the time. In 1639 he was a freeplanter and his home lot was #38 consisting of 4 acres and 1 rod, near the corner of the present West Main and Cherry Streets.
1640[39/40?] Richard Platt was admitted to the church in Milford, Connecticut, on January 29: "Richard Platt: adm. ch. Jan.29,[1640]" [14]
1640 Epenetis, son of Richard and Mary Platt, was baptized on July 2 in Milford, Connecticut. [15]
1641 Mary, wife of Richard Platt, was admitted to the church in Milford, Connecticut, on August 15. bd.Mar.24,1675/76. [16]
1643 Hannah, daughter of Richard and Mary Platt was baptized on October 1 in Milford, Connecticut [17]
1649 Joseph, son of Richard Platt, was baptised on April 1 in Milford, Connecticut. [18]
1675/76 Mary, wife of Richard Platt, was buried on March 24 in Milford, Connecticut. [19]
1684/5 Richard Platt died at Milford, Connecticut, shortly before 13 February 1684/5, when the inventory of his estate was taken. [20]
Research Notes:
Richard Platt came to New England in 1638 to New Haven and in 1639 to Milford. Deacon. Came from Hertfordshire. Left a legacy to one of his children to "bring him up as a scholar" and to each of 19 grandchildren a Bible. [21]
George Lewis Platt states, [22]
Richard Platt came to this country in 1638, and landed at New Haven. In the records of the colony of New Haven we read that Richard Platt had eighty-four acres of land in and around New Haven. In the Milford records we read that he was enrolled among its first settlers, Nov. 20, 1639, having four in his family. "He had probably brought with him from England his children, Mary, John, Isaac and Sarah; for his first child baptized in Milford, by the record, was Epenetus, July 12, 1640. Subsequently were baptized, Hannah, October 1, 1643; Josiah, 1645, and Joseph in 1649." After his arrival in New Haven, Richard Platt acquired possession, among others, of several acres of land in what is now the best part of the Elm City; (it was on the south side of Chapel street, near College street, adjoining the ground of Peter Prudden,) in what was called the "Hertfordshire quarter." But the project of founding the township of Milford, nine miles west of the city, was soon after matured, and he threw in his lot among the sixty-six who formed themselves into a church organization, August 22, 1639, before they departed from New Haven, and proceeded to carry out the enterprise of settling that flourishing township. Richard Platt is on the records as a landowner. His name is on the list of free-planters made out in 1646; he was chosen a deacon in the first church in Milford in 1669. It is recorded that his wife, Mary, died in January, 1676. His daughters, Mary and Sarah, too, probably died before the father made his will, in 1683, for in it he makes bequests to their children instead of to them. He leaves something to each of his five sons in addition to what he had given them before. It is quite noteworthy that he left to one of his heirs a legacy "towards bringing up his son to be a scholar." This thought and this expression betray a profound interest in the best things in life. The fact, too, that he left by will a Bible to each of his nineteen grand-children, shows in rough pioneer days how sincere and earnest he was in his Christian profession and life, and that he regarded the divine word as a precious legacy to his descendants. He appears on the records as one of the witnesses to the will of Peter Prudden. Richard Platt's estate was estimated at about 600 pounds sterling. He died in 1684. His third daughter, Hannah, married and resided in Norwalk.
Long Island Genealogies states, [23]
Richard Platt came from Hartfordshire [sic], England to New Haven in 1638, he died there in 1684. Children came to L. I., viz: Isaac, he d. 1691, m. Elisabeth Wood, dau. of Jonas and had John, Elisabeth, Mary, Jonas, Joseph and Jacob. Epenetus m. Phebe Wood, dau. of Jonas and had Mary, Epenetus, Hannah, Elisabeth, Jonas, Jeremiah, Ruth and Sarah.
Early Long Island Wills states, [24]
Isaac Platt and his brother Epenetus were sons of Richard Platt, the first settler, who came from Hertfordshire, Eng., in 1638, and died in New Haven in 1684. The two brothers seem to have settled first in Southold, from whence they removed to Huntington, about 1663. Isaac Platt married Elizabeth, daughter of Jonas Wood. His brother, Epenetus, married her sister Phebe. Isaac was one of the patentees of Huntington, 1666, and owned No. 7 of the ten farms.
[1] Ware, St Mary the Virgin, Baptism, Marirages, and Burials, 1558-1661, D/P116 1/1, Hertfordshire Parish Registers, [FindMyPastImage], [FindMyPastRecord].
[2] John Insley Coddington,"Richard Platt, of Ware, Co. Hertford, England, and Milford, Connecticut," The American Genealogist 30 (1954), 232-242 at 232 and 31 (1955), 155-170, [AmericanAncestors].
[3] Essex Record Office, D/P 60/1/1, Roydon, St Peter, Essex, England, Register of Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1567-1706, image 53, [EssexArchivesImage], [EssexArchivesCatalog].
[4] John Insley Coddington,"Richard Platt, of Ware, Co. Hertford, England, and Milford, Connecticut," The American Genealogist 30 (1954), 232-242 at 232 and 31 (1955), 155-170, [AmericanAncestors].
[5] Essex Record Office, D/P 60/1/1, Roydon, St Peter, Essex, England, Register of Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1567-1706, image 54, [EssexArchivesImage], [EssexArchivesCatalog].
[6] John Insley Coddington,"Richard Platt, of Ware, Co. Hertford, England, and Milford, Connecticut," The American Genealogist 30 (1954), 232-242 at 232 and 31 (1955), 155-170, [AmericanAncestors].
[7] Ware, St Mary the Virgin, Baptism, Marriages, and Burials, 1558-1661, D/P116 1/1, Hertfordshire Parish Registers, [FindMyPastImage].
[8] Ware, St Mary the Virgin, Baptism, Marirages, and Burials, 1558-1661, D/P116 1/1, Hertfordshire Parish Registers, [FindMyPastImage], [FindMyPastRecord].
[9] Ware, St Mary the Virgin, Baptism, Marirages, and Burials, 1558-1661, D/P116 1/1, Hertfordshire Parish Registers, [FindMyPastImage], [FindMyPastRecord].
[10] Ware, St Mary the Virgin, Baptism, Marriages, and Burials, 1558-1661, D/P116 1/1, Hertfordshire Parish Registers, [FindMyPastImage], [FindMyPastRecord].
[11] Ware, St Mary the Virgin, Baptism, Marirages, and Burials, 1558-1661, D/P116 1/1, Hertfordshire Parish Registers, [FindMyPastImage], [FindMyPastRecord].
[12] John Insley Coddington,"Richard Platt, of Ware, Co. Hertford, England, and Milford, Connecticut," The American Genealogist 30 (1954), 232-242 at 233 and 31 (1955), 155-170, [AmericanAncestors].
[13] Susan Woodruff Abbott, Families of Early Milford, Connecticut (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1979), 547, [GoogleBooks].
[14] Connecticut Church Records. Milford. First Congregational Church 1639-1926 (Connecticut State Library, 1950), 287, image 290, [AncestryImage].
[15] Connecticut Church Records. Milford. First Congregational Church 1639-1926 (Connecticut State Library, 1950), 279, image 282, [AncestryImage].
[16] Connecticut Church Records. Milford. First Congregational Church 1639-1926 (Connecticut State Library, 1950), 285, image 286, [AncestryImage].
[17] Connecticut Church Records. Milford. First Congregational Church 1639-1926 (Connecticut State Library, 1950), 280, image 283, [AncestryImage].
[18] Connecticut Church Records. Milford. First Congregational Church 1639-1926 (Connecticut State Library, 1950), 282, image 285, [AncestryImage].
[19] Connecticut Church Records. Milford. First Congregational Church 1639-1926 (Connecticut State Library, 1950), 285, image 286, [AncestryImage].
[20] John Insley Coddington,"Richard Platt, of Ware, Co. Hertford, England, and Milford, Connecticut," The American Genealogist 30 (1954), 232-242 at 232 and 31 (1955), 155-170, [AmericanAncestors].
[21] Family Document, Evelyn Miles Krase notes.
[22] George Lewis Platt, The Platt Lineage (New York, NY: Thomas Whittaker, 1891), 14-16, [GoogleBooks], [InternetArchive].
[23] Mary Powell Bunker, Long Island Genealogies (Albany: Joel Munsell Sons, 1895), 267, [GoogleBooks].
[24] William S. Pelletreau, Early Long Island Wills of Suffolk County, 1691-1703 (1897), 52, [InternetArchive].