Walter Hoyt

Walter Hoyt (also seen as Haite, Hayte, Hoit, Haight) (September 6, 1618 – 1698) was a founding settler of Norwalk, Connecticut. He served as a deputy of the General Court of the Connecticut Colony from Norwalk between 1658 and 1662, and, when it was renamed, as a deputy of the Connecticut General Assembly between 1662 and 1681. He was a Norwalk selectman in 1672.

Walter Hoyt
Deputy of the General Court of the Connecticut Colony
In office 1658–1681
Personal details
Born	September 6, 1618 West Hatch, Somerset, England
Died	1698 Norwalk, Connecticut
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Susanna St. John ​ ( m. 1638; died 1647) Rhoda Tinker ​ ( m. 1649⁠–⁠1698)
Relations	Nicholas Hoyt (brother)
Children	Zerubbabel, Elizabeth, John
Parents	Simon Haite Deborah Stowers
Military service
Rank	Sergeant (May 1659)
Unit	Norwalk Trainband

Early life

He was the son of Simon Haite (1595–1657) and Deborah Stowers. He came to America in 1628, with his father and brother, Nicholas Hoyt (b. 1620), at the age of ten.[1]

Career

In 1640, he was known to own about 64 acres of land in Windsor, Connecticut Colony. In 1653, Walter came to Norwalk, among the first settlers.[1][2]

He served in the General Court of the Connecticut Colony in the sessions of October 1658, May and October 1661, May and October 1667, October 1668, May 1670, May 1671, May 1672, October 1673, October 1674, May 1676, May 1678, and October 1681.[2]

In May 1672, Walter Hoyte was among those whose names were given to the General Court "for the beginning of a plantation neare the backside of Norwalke."

He, along with Ralph Keeler, was contracted by the settlement to cut the timber and build a house for Reverend Thomas Hanford.[3]

He voted in the town meetings in Norwalk, and was confirmed by the General Court as one of the proprietors of Norwalk in 1685.

Personal life

His first wife is unknown. After her death, he married Rhoda Tinker Hobbs Taylor (1611–1698) in 1653 in Windsor, Connecticut. He and Rhoda had one child, Zerubbabel Hoyt. His other three children were from his previous marriage.

• John Hoyt (1644–1711), who married Mary Lindall, daughter of Henry Lindall
• Elizabeth Hoyt, who married Samuel Sension, son of his sister-in-law, Mary Tinker Sension and brother-in-law Mathias Sension(St. John, Senchon)
• Hannah Hoyt, who married Judah Gregory
• Zerubbabel Hoyt (1652–1739), who married Hannah Knapp (1642–1696)

Honors

Hoyt's Hill, named after Walter Hoyt, is the historical name of the hill in the Green at the northeast corner of East Avenue and Willow Street. The place name dates back at least as early as 1679.[4]

He is listed on the Founders Stone bearing the names of the founding settlers of Norwalk in the East Norwalk Historical Cemetery.

References

1. Norwalk v.1
2. Lake, Leslie (September 28, 2013). "Norwalk's Oldest Families: Hoyt and Betts make their mark on the settlement of Norwalk". The Hour. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
3. An Historical Discourse in Commemoration of the Two-hundredth Anniversary of the Settlement of Norwalk
4. Malcolm Hunt, Names and Places of Old Norwalk

Preceded by Richard Olmsted Matthew Canfield	Deputy of the General Court of the Colony of Connecticut from Norwalk October 1658 With: Nathaniel Richards	Succeeded by Matthew Canfield John Gregory
Preceded by Richard Olmsted Samuel Hales	Deputy of the General Court of the Colony of Connecticut from Norwalk May and October 1661 With: Matthew Canfield	Succeeded by Richard Olmsted Matthew Canfield
Preceded by Richard Olmsted Matthew Canfield	Deputy of the Connecticut General Assembly of the Colony of Connecticut from Norwalk May and October 1667 With: Richard Olmsted, John Gregory	Succeeded by Richard Olmsted John Gregory
Preceded by Richard Olmsted John Gregory	Deputy of the Connecticut General Assembly of the Colony of Connecticut from Norwalk October 1668 With: Richard Olmsted	Succeeded by Richard Olmsted
Preceded by John Gregory John Douglas	Deputy of the Connecticut General Assembly of the Colony of Connecticut from Norwalk May 1670 With: Thomas Benedict	Succeeded by John Gregory Daniel Kellogg
Preceded by John Gregory Daniel Kellogg	Deputy of the Connecticut General Assembly of the Colony of Connecticut from Norwalk May 1671 With: Richard Olmsted	Succeeded by John Gregory John Bowton
Preceded by John Gregory John Bowton	Deputy of the Connecticut General Assembly of the Colony of Connecticut from Norwalk May 1672 With: Daniel Kellogg	Succeeded by Nicholas Hoyt Mark Sension
Preceded by Thomas Fitch	Deputy of the Connecticut General Assembly of the Colony of Connecticut from Norwalk October 1673 With: John Bowton	Succeeded by John Gregory John Bowton
Preceded by John Gregory John Bowton	Deputy of the Connecticut General Assembly of the Colony of Connecticut from Norwalk October 1674 With: Daniel Kellogg	Succeeded by John Gregory Thomas Benedict John Bowton
Preceded by Daniel Kellogg	Deputy of the Connecticut General Assembly of the Colony of Connecticut from Norwalk May 1676	Succeeded by John Bowton Mark Sension
Preceded by John Gregory John Bowton	Deputy of the Connecticut General Assembly of the Colony of Connecticut from Norwalk May 1678 With: John Bowton	Succeeded by Mark Sension John Platt
Preceded by John Gregory John Bowton	Deputy of the Connecticut General Assembly of the Colony of Connecticut from Norwalk October 1681 With: John Platt	Succeeded by John Bowton John Platt