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My family history has been traced back to Sir Arthur Darnell (England, 1370) and Ole Pederson Haddeland (Norway, 1407). The first Kelsey in America was William Kelsey who was one of the original “Braintree Company” followers of the Reverend Thomas Hooker, who came to America and they were the first settlers of “New Towne” (now Cambridge) Massachusetts in 1632. Reverend Hooker joined them the following year. In June 1636, Mr Hooker and Mr. Stone, with more than fifty families of the “first church” (Mr. Hooker’s) removed to Connecticut where, in the valley of the same name, they established another “New Towne” which was changed to “Hartford” on February 21, 1637. In Hartford there is a Founders’ Monument located in the old cemetery of the First Congregational Church (now known as Center Church). William Kelsey’s name is the 6th one down on the list. His name is also found on the “Adventurers Boulder” located at City Hall, Hartford, CT. In March 1663, he joined the new emigration to the “Hammonossit Plantation” and founded the town of “Kenilworth,” later changed to “Killingworth. With him was his son John and 26 others. The first private donation to the Church of Killingworth was made by William Kelsey, a deed for a gift of land. In 1738, the town separated into North and South parts. The South part called “Clinton” and the North, “Killingworth."
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