Elizabeth Willson, 1727
Elizabeth Willson died a very, very rich woman – thanks to her skillful management of property inherited from four husbands who predeceased her.
In the late 1600s and early 1700s Hartford was developing significant business and maritime trading activity. Prosperity rewarded those who successfully navigated these financial waters, including a few women. Elizabeth Willson was one.
Elizabeth Willson had buried three husbands, receiving good inheritances from each, by the time she made her fourth marriage, to Phineas Willson, around 1689. Phineas died three years later, leaving her a new house and cash. She assumed operation of his merchant business, and at her own death 25 years later left an estate valued at a whopping 7,154 pounds – worth more than $1.5 million in 2021 — that included a house in Boston, and more than 700 acres in towns around central Connecticut.
Learn more about the stories of people buried at the Ancient Burying Ground:
- Reverend Thomas Hooker and Government by the Consent of the People
- Nathaniel Willet and his role in Connecticut’s Witchcraft Trials
- Governor William Leete – Connecticut and New Haven Became One
- John Allyn, securing the Royal Charter and the Charter Oak
- Elizabeth Willson from Hartford as a successful Colonial Business And Commercial Center
- Col. Nathan Payson and Dr. Eliakim Fish, who served in the military in several Colonial Conflicts
- Richard Bernham and Ebenezer Watson in Connecticut’s Run-Up To Rebellion
- Captain Pownal Deming and Moses Dunbar – opposing roles in the American Revolution
- Jeremiah Wadsworth – Creating A New State And Nation
- Learn more about the People of Diverse Races and Ethnic Heritages found at the Ancient Burying Ground