The History of the Parker Pen Company says: “In the autumn of 1633 William Parker left Dover, England with his wife Margery, aged 17, and eventually set sail from London on the ship “Matthew” departing May 21, 1635. Their ambitious journey no doubt may have been inspired by tales of the great migration in the prior few years by the Wellington Fleet, and several other convoys of ships carrying over thousands of settlers to the New World and The Massachusetts Bay Colony.

One can only imagine the anxiety and even fear of making such a journey. There must have been profound reason to undertake such a risk, to travel for months on open seas subjected to storms, disease and perhaps “ocean monsters” believed to be able to swallow entire ships. The reason was primarily the same as thousands of other Pilgrims and Puritans taking this great migration, in protest of the religious intolerance of the High Church establishment of the day.

Other countries such as France, Spain, Holland and Sweden also send convoys of settlers to establish communities in the New World. Land charters were given to wealthy merchants for the purpose of reaping the riches of this new trade market. The success of these settlers gaining foothold in the new land would eventually determine the future nationalities of America.

The Parker’s ship sailed to St. Christophers, a small English Colony island in the West Indies. In the autumn of 1635 a Dutch trade ship deposited salt, tobacco, trade goods and the young Parker family to the docks in or near Boston.

Geoffrey S. Parker today relates that “soon after in 1636 they moved to Hartford, Connecticut where William Parker is listed as one of the original founders of this community.”

The Parker’s first child, Sarah was born “a little before Michaelmas” Oct 29, 1637, followed by Joseph, John, Ruth, William, Joseph, Margaret, Jonathan, David and Debora. Of these children several survived to adulthood, many having achieved notable accomplishments in their communities.

About the year 1649 William Parker moved to a property owned by the English Lords Saye and Brooke (Saybrook, Connecticut). This area was recently an Indian village called Pash-ebe-shauke “the place by the river’s mouth” occupied by Algonquin and Nehantic Indians. The Indian name for this area was

Quon-ito-cutt. Say this quickly and you will now hear…Connecticut. William Parker became a large land holder by 1673, likely receiving land grants for serving in the Pequot Indian War. He filled several town offices, and was a member of important town committees such as Deputy to the General Court for many sessions. To this day his original home, one of the oldest surviving structures in the county still stands and can be visited in Saybrook. ”