William  ROCKWELL

'William Rockwell, founder of the Rockwell family in America, was born on February 6, 1591, at Fitzhead, Somersetshire, England, the son of John Rockwell and Honor Newton, who were married at Fitzhead on July 19th, 1585. Besides William, John and Honor Rockwell had three other sons, Richard, John, and Roger, and a daughter, Joan.

According to the English history of the family, the Rockwells descend from Raoul or Ralph de Rocheville, a Norman Baron who crossed over into England with Queen Mathilda, the granddaughter of William the Conqueror, and aided her in her struggles against King Stephen to secure the throne of England for herself and her son Henry. When Henry II became King in 1154, he rewarded Ralph de Rocheville with 'three knight's fees' of land.'

Source: Three centuries of the Rockwell family in America : 1630-1930, page 9.

'William Rockwell grew up in Somerset County, one of the fairest and richest shires in England. The climate is mild and the land fertile... In

William Rockwell

ORIGIN: Dorchester, Dorsetshire
MIGRATION: 1630 on Mary & John
FIRST RESIDENCE: Dorchester
REMOVES: Windsor 1638

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP: The claim has been made that William Rockwell was made deacon of the Dorchester congregation at the time of the sailing of the Mary & John early in 1630, but the evidence for this has not been found. Certainly Rockwell was performing the duties of a deacon in his earliest days in New England. On 3 September 1633 '[t]here is administration granted to William Gaylord & William Rockwell, of the goods and chattels of John Russell, of Dorchester, who deceased August 26th, 1633' [ MBCR 1:107]; this sort of service was frequently provided by the deacons. Also, prior to the establishment of selectmen in Dorchester, many of the town orders were signed by JOHN MAVERICK , JOHN WARHAM , WILLIAM GAYLORD and William Rockwell - in other words, the two ministers of the congregation and the two deacons. William Rockwell would certainly have

'In 1637, the Rockwells moved to the new settlement of Windsor, CT, recently established by a group from Dorchester, MA. William died there on 15 May 1640; his widow married Matthew Grant in 1645 and died on 14 Nov. 1666.'

www.rockwell-family.org/ 2007/ 12/ rockwell-immigrants-to-17th-century.html