There is a good deal of information available on George and his family in print and on the web. We know that George had a good deal of money, he was regarded as a man of high character and that 1636 he sent his steward, William Gibbins with 20 men, to Hartford. Were they were to purchase and prepare a farm for him.

The farm was located on a huge lot in comparison to the rest of the settlers of the town. I have seen it described as an elevated lot, located in what was then the south part of the town. It was home not only to the Wyllys family, but also to the famous Charter Oak, which even at that time was considered to be of a great age, and is now commemorated on the back of the Conn. State quarter. The old oak had to be cut down sometime in the mid-late 1800s, because of extreme age and storm damage. I did see a photo of it once, in one of the old state histories.

In 1638 Mr. Wyllys moved with his family to Hartford. In 1639 he was made a magistrate and was appointed with Gov. Welles to revise the laws of Connecticut. In 1641 was elected Deputy Governor of the colony, and in 1642 was made Governor. He was once elected Commissioner to the United Congress of the Colonies. Dr. Trumbull says, "he was a Puritan of the strictest kind, and lived in all the exactness of the most pious Puritans of the day.

George died March 21, 1644. My line descends from his daughter Amy, who married Col. John Pynchon, son of William Pynchon of Springfield. There must have been some stressfull times in this relationship as William and the leaders of Hartford were at odds with one another starting in the late 1630s. These troubles continued up until 1650. Some of the troubles leading to the separation of Springfield from Conn. and becoming part of Mass. again.

The descendants of George Wyllys had a long history of serving Hartford.
His son Samuel, came to Hartford with his father in 1638. In 1654, when only 22 years of age, he was made a magistrate, which he held for many years. He was a prominent man in the colony. In 1659 Mr. Wyllys was appointed by the General Court to go to Saybrook and assist Major Mason in examining the suspicions there about witchery. He married a daughter of Governor Haynes, and died aged about 77 years, in 1709.

His son Hezekiah held the office of Secretary for the colony from 1712 to 1734, when he died. George, his grandson, was Secretary from 1735 until he died in 1796, when Samuel the son of the 2d George succeeded his father in the same office, and held it until 1809, when Hon. Thomas Day was appointed, and held it 24 years.

A special note of Wyllys service to Conn. is that three of the descendants of Gov. Wyllys, Hezekiah, George and Samuel held in succession, the office of Seretary of State of the Colony and State of Connecticut 98 years.

Gov. Wyllys had brothers, William and Richard.

See direct line to my NY Terrys

Other Interesting Wyllys information

Map of 1640 Hartford with names of lot owners
this is 3.9 MB, 250 dpi, 13.56 x 11 inch map in PDF format

Some chapters from Scaeva's Hartford
Its Chief Functionaries -Down to 1650
Hartford's Distribution Plan
In The Olden Times First Thirty Years
The School-The Church-The Grave-Down to 1650
Black , Governors in Connecticut -
This is a very interesting chapter, I include it because it is a part of African American history I was never taught in school. The book was written and published in the mid 1800's its language and social attitudes is a reflection of that time, the language may be a bit offensive to our modern ears. The very fact that the author included this information at all is a testament to its importance. I have been out of school for a long while now and have no idea if this information is being presented to the children of today. It seems far too important to keep it locked away in a rare and long out of print book. I hope someone finds this useful.

Note: Since first writing this is 1999, I have been to Hartford's historical graveyard. A memorial to the Black Governors, and other early settlers of color, both freeman and slaves, has been erected there by the children of Hartford.