Thomas Willett (c. 1607 – August 4, 1674) was a Plymouth Colony fur trader, merchant, land purchaser and developer, Captain of the Plymouth Colony militia, Magistrate of the colony, and was the first Mayor of New York, prior to the consolidation of the five boroughs into the City of New York in 1898.
The early years of the Plymouth Colony were marked by severe economic crises and challenges. Incremental progress was made as the colonists learned the Native Americans' method of raising corn and beans, cattle were imported from England and multiplied, and some trade in wampum and other goods was established. However, the major contribution to placing the colony on a firm financial basis and finally paying its debt to its financial "Adventurers" in London was made by exporting furs, primarily of beaver to be used in making hats.
The first record of Willett's long career is probably that of William Bradford regarding the establishment of a second main trading post for the Plymouth Colony on the Penobscot River in what is now Maine in 1629. The Plymouth Colony was reluctantly joining in this effort, initiated by Isaac Allerton, in order to protect their established trading post on the Kennebunk River. Willett is thought to be the "honest young man" recently arrived with the second and last major group from John Robinson's Leyden congregation who was given the task of monitoring the activities of Edward Ashley, the man placed in charge of the trading post by Allerton. This "young man being discreet, and one (Willett) whom they could trust, they so instructed as kept Ashley ... within bounds". It is definitely known that Willett, among others, was deposed and Ashley and the depositions were transported to England for trial in July 1631 after Ashley was arrested and accused of trading arms and ammunition with Native Americans.
In 1631, the trading post was robbed of just about anything of value by the French while the "master of the house" was away meeting a supply ship. Willett was in charge of the trading post when the French again robbed it in 1635 and evicted the English; a subsequent effort to recapture it using a ship commanded by a Captain Girling was futile, and the colony gave up the Penobscot post permanently. An account of the expulsion of the English from Penobscot and the subsequent attempt to regain it from the French point of view exists in a letter from Sieur D'Aulney to Governor John Endecott of Massachusetts. Willett's early and continuing experiences in the fur trade provided valuable skills in native languages and frontier trade for use in his later career.
Willett remained active in the colony's remaining fur trading efforts, including being appointed to a committee in 1637 to advise the governor concerning the decline in the trade, and in 1649 and again in 1656, with others, taking over the remaining trading post on the Kennebunk River. He probably spent little time at the Kennebunk River trading post given his other activities, but Winthrop recorded one incident where a potential theft or worse by some Native Americans was thwarted by Willett in 1639.
Willett was "Admitted to the freedom of this society" (i.e., recognized as a full citizen, or "freeman") in 1633/4 and married Mary Browne on July 6, 1636. He received several grants of land from the colony in 1638/9 and 1640 plus six acres in 1640 for a houselot. As the years passed, he assumed more and more responsibility in the colony including becoming the co-captain of the colony's military company (with Myles Standish) in 1647/8; he remained in this post after Standish retired and for almost all of the remainder of his life. His initial appointment as Assistant to the Governor was in 1651; and he was reappointed to that post many times in the following years.
Willett's initial beginning as a merchant in addition to the continuing involvement in the fur trade may have come in 1641/2 when he furnished a sixteenth portion of the construction cost to build a 40–50 ton bark (ship). In time he became the major merchant in the lucrative trade with the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam (later New York) where his early knowledge of the Dutch language and customs was of great advantage. His later merchant activities included at least some trade with Virginia and across the Atlantic.
Willett's abilities in the native languages led to his becoming a trusted translator and to establishing friendships among the Native Americans, particularly with the principal leaders of the Pokanokets, who were led successively by Massasoit, and his sons Wamsutta (or Alexander) and Metacom (known as Prince Phillip). (The Pokanokets today are usually referred to as members of a larger group of Native Americans, the Wampanoag.) The colony's desire for more land to accommodate its growing population and the desire for more economic activity, combined with the Pokanokets' desire for English goods, led to a series of land purchases from them, notably in the western part of the colony. Willett's father-in-law, John Browne, was among the founders of Taunton in 1640, and Browne's and Willett's involvement continued in further purchases along and near the eastern coast and northern reaches of Narragansett Bay. Willett had moved to this western area of the colony and became involved in the affairs of Rehoboth by the early 1650s, serving in numerous capacities, particularly after the death of Browne in 1662. Willett was authorized to purchase further land from the Native Americans in 1662 and again in 1668 and 1669; these purchases led enlargement of Rehoboth and Swansey (Swansea, originally Wannamoisett). An example of a deed between the Native Americans and a group of purchasers involving Browne and Willett can be found in a history of the town of Swansea. An extensive history of the early land purchases in Pokanoket area, including those involving Willett, has been compiled by Bicknell including a map showing historical names.
Willett became a part owner with other prominent men, including his father-in-law and a son-in-law, John Saffin, of a large development consortium, the Atherton Company, leading to interests in properties in a number of the early New England towns. Willett was appointed with others to settle a dispute between the colonies of Plymouth and Rhode Island over ownership of Hog Island in Narragansett Bay in 1658/9.
Willett's trade with New Nederland led to further involvement with that colony. In 1650 he was entrusted, along with the English secretary to Peter Stuyvesant, to represent New Nederland in settling its border with the English colony of Connecticut (this link shows the 1650 boundary established, along with those of later surveys, see also New Haven Colony).
English acquisition of New Amsterdam from the Dutch
Accompanying the English commander Richard Nicolls, Willett contributed to the peaceful surrender of New Amsterdam to the English on September 7, 1664. Willett had informed the Dutch that an expedition by the English was pending, and he was a member of the English party that entered New Amsterdam under a flag of truce on September 2 to attempt to persuade Governor Stuyvesant and the Dutch to surrender peacefully. This eventually happened.
Largely because of his knowledge of the native languages, Willett very soon thereafter accompanied a successful negotiating party north to the Iroquois to secure for the English the excellent relations that the Iroquois had maintained with the Dutch. Colonel Richard Nicholls, who was given command of the transfer from Dutch to English governance, sent a request to Thomas Prence, then governor of the Plymouth Colony, that Willett be relieved of his duties to that colony so that he could assist in the transfer. His letter stated that "Mr. Willett was more acquainted with the manners and customs of the Dutch than any English man in the country, and that his conversation was very acceptable to them". This request was granted and Willett resigned his official duties with Plymouth.