Stricker Family Tree - Andrew Warner, Maltster, Cofounder of Hartford and Hadley

Andrew Warner - Maltster and Cofounder of Hartford, Connecticut and Hadley, Massachusetts

Family Connection - 9th great-grandfather of Roy Ellsworth Stricker

Andrew Warner was born in Hatfield Broadoak, Essex, England in about 1599. On October 5, 1624, he married Mary Humphrey. They had eight children:

            John        b. 1625        d. 1700

            Mary       b. 1626        d. after 1681

            Andrew   b. 1628        d. after 1681

            Robert     b. 1630        d. 1690

            Hannah   b. 1635        d. 1682

            Ruth        b. 1641        d. 1732

            Daniel     b. 1642        d. 1692

            Isaac        b. 1644        d. 1691

Andrew, Mary, and their children migrated to Cambridge in 1633. Andrew was admitted to the church in Cambridge and was named Freeman on May 14, 1634. 

Andrew Warner was a Maltster - someone who processes barley by soaking it in water to soften, then germinate, creating what was known as barley malt. The barley malt was used by brewers to brew ale. Like most settlers in New England, Andrew also owned and farmed his own land. An inventory of Cambridge in 1635 indicated that Andrew Warner owned about forty acres. 

In 1636, Andrew and his family joined the large group of settlers in Cambridge who followed 

Rev. Thomas Hooker to found a new town - Hartford, Connecticut. 

 Massachusetts Governor Winthrop wrote about the group this way:

 “about sixty men, women and little children, went by land toward Connecticut with their cows, horses and swine, and after a tedious and difficult journey arrived safe there”

Note that Governor Winthrop counted sixty, when other records indicate there were over one hundred - it is likely he counted sixty men, not persons. 

Hartford Founders Monument, including Andrew Warner's name

By 1640, the town of Hartford recorded that Andrew Warner owned about eighty acres. By March of 1648, Andrew bought land in Farmington, but he sold that property in 1650 and returned to Hartford.

Mary Humphrey died sometime before 1657.

In about 1657, Andrew married Esther Wakeman, widow of Thomas Seldon. They had one child:

            Jacob        b. 1658        d. 1711

John Winthrop, Jr., physician, son of Governor John Winthrop, was called upon to examine and treat Esther for "lack of menstruation" starting in November 1657 and ending in March 1658, assuming she was too old to be pregnant. Jacob was born later that year. 

In 1659, Andrew Warner joined a group of Hartford residents who signed an agreement to purchase and settle on land in a new town called Hadley, Massachusetts. He sold some but not all of his Hartford property and moved with his wife and minor children to Hadley. 

Andrew Warner died in Hadley on December 18, 1684. In his will, he left 10 shillings each to children John, Mary, Andrew, Robert, and Hannah. Ruth received four acres of meadow in Hartford. Isaac received land in Hartford. Son Jacob and wife Esther each received half of the house, houselot, orchard, and garden lot in Hadley. Esther also received £100. Jacob also received ten acres of meadow in Hadley and all of his mother's portion after her death, with the understanding that caring for her in her widowhood was his responsibility. 

Esther Warner died in Hadley in September 1693. It is assumed that Andrew and Esther were buried in the Old Hadley Cemetery, but no stones exist.

Old Hadley Cemetery, Photo from 1905

Andrew Warner > John Warner > John Warner > Ebenezer Warner > Benjamin Warner > John Warner > John Henry Warner > Mariah Warner > Eugene Aaron Grover > Lillian May Grover > Gertrude Myra Newland > Roy Ellsworth Stricker    Charts S-F and S-Main