Governor George Wyllys

George Wyllys was born 6 October 1590 at the manor of Fenny Compton, Warwickshire, England. On November 2,1609, he married Bridget Young at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-on-Avon. The couple had three children before her death in 1629. In 1631, he married Mrs. Mary Brisbey, widow of Alexander Bisbey and daughter of Francis and Alice (Ferneley) Smith, and they had one son. George and Mary Wyllys, and the children immigrated to New England in the 1630's. By 1634 he was appointed Assistant to the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. George Wyllys, his wife Mary, and their children arrived in Hartford in 1638. Wyllys had the largest home of any of the early Hartford settlers, and one of the largest homes in Connecticut, and the famous Charter Oak stood on his property. Wyllys was elected as one of six Assistants to the General Court in 1639-41 and 1643-44. Wyllys served one term as governor in 1642 and then served as Assistant to the General Court of the Colony of Connecticut, and Commissoner from Connecticut to the United Colonies of New England in 1643. He died in Hartford,Connecticut on March 9.1644/45. He is buried in Hartford's Ancient Burying Ground and his name appears on the Founders Monument.