Thomas Blatchley

Thomas Blatchley (c. 1615–1674), also spelled Blachley or Blakesley, was a Puritan settler active in early Connecticut. He is counted among the founding settlers of Hartford, Connecticut, served in the Pequot War in 1637, helped establish Branford, Connecticut in the New Haven Colony, and joined Branford signers who framed the covenant for Newark, New Jersey in 1665. He married Susannah Ball, and their descendants such as the Ball Brothers and Cornelius Blatchley later went on to shape American history.

Early life and origins Thomas was born about 1615. Later American records imply an age near twenty at emigration. Early historians noted variant surname forms including Blachly, Blackley, and Blakesley, and suggested geographic surname origins such as Blakesley in Northamptonshire or Blackley in Lancashire.

Emigration to New England Thomas Blatchley, about age 20, came as a passenger on the Hopewell from London on 28 July 1635 under Master Thomas Babb. Historians commonly identify him with the later Hartford and Branford settler. By 1637 Blatchley is documented in Connecticut, consistent with a mid 1630s voyage and subsequent movement to the Connecticut River settlements.

New Haven Colony and Branford By 1644 Blatchley had moved to New Haven in the New Haven Colony, where on 1 July 1644 he took the Oath of Fidelity and Support. On 6 October 1646 he apologized to the court after an incident of disrespect toward the magistrates, which the court accepted. In 1644 to 1645 he joined the group establishing Totoket, soon called Branford, and is counted among that town's founders. During his Branford years he farmed and engaged in coastwise trade, and his name appears in colony and town records through the 1650s. Although he encouraged the enterprise, Blatchley remained in Connecticut. He signed a renewed Branford church covenant on 20 June 1667 and soon after was admitted an inhabitant at Guilford on 23 April 1668, if he could provide himself a place to dwell. Later notices describe him as a man of influence who was evidently a merchant in his later years.