The Blachly genealogy states that their name is of a local derivation, being taken from the residence of its first bearers either at Blakesley, in Northamptonshire, or at Blackley (pronounced Blakeley), in Lancashire, England. Early spelling of the name is varied; i.e., Blatchley, Blachly, Blackley, Blackly, Bleckly, etc.

Records indicate that the early English families were for the most part of the landed gentry and yeomanry. The coat of arms bears the motto “Utere Mondo”.

In Colonial times the spelling was Blatchley, Blatchly, Blachly. Henry Barber, in British Family Names, states that “Blatchley” was derived from the village of “Bletchley,” in the North of Shropshire (Salop), England, a county on the border of Wales.

Other sources state the family came from Hertfordshire, Shropshire, and even Kent. It is obvious, then, that we really do not know exactly where in England our ancestors originated.

THOMAS BLATCHLEY was a member of St. Giles Cripplegate Anglican Church; however, it is possible he was from northwestern England, such as Hertfordshire. Most of Hartford and Branford, Connecticut settlers originated from there.

At about age 20, he sailed from London on 28 July 1635 in the “Hopewell”. He probably landed in Massachusetts, but by 1 May 1637, he was at Hartford, Connecticut.

Hartford had been founded in 1635 by people from Cambridge, Massachusetts. Thomas appears in Hartford land records from 1639-74.

Thomas is honored as a Founder of Hartford. The The Founders Monument sits in the Ancient Burying Ground at the rear of the First Congregational Church, also called “Center Church”, at the corner of Main and Gold Streets in Hartford, Connecticut.

Thomas was one of the initial soldiers signed on for the first Pequot Indian War.

Thomas removed in 1643 to New Haven, possibly with his new wife Susannah. He took the Oath of Fidelity there in 1644. He is considered a founder of the village of Branford in 1646.

The first settlers of New Haven purchased land from the Mattabesech Indians in 1638, which included the territory of Totoket, later called Branford. In this century, a trading post was set up by the Dutch at the mouth of the Branford River. It is believed that Branford was named after Brentford, England. Farming was the mainstay of Branford life for over 200 years. The community was also an accessible port, with ships trading lumber, livestock, brooms, and produce for molasses and rum from the West Indies.

While Thomas lived as a planter in the early years, he later was occupied as a merchant. His business included marine haulage and the transport of cattle and other livestock for hire. On 16 April 1653, he sold his land at Branford to William Maltbie of New Haven, less than ten miles distant.

On the 7th of August, 1655, “at a court held at Newhauen”, Thomas Blatchley gave the court “some offence and neglecting the imadge of God in magistrats, & goeing away soe irreverently and sayeing he would have justice in another place if he had it not here, wch now lyeing on his conscience, desirs to cleare himself, wherewth the court was satisfied”.

He and his son, Aaron, signed the Covenant on 30 October 1665, committing to the governing rules for the settling of Newark, New Jersey. He also became a member of its governing committee. Yet, unlike all but one of his children, he never went there, and never received any land there. In fact, during Newark’s early years, it appears he was living in Branford.

He signed a church compact in Branford on 20 June 1667. Regarding civil matters, he was elected a deputy from Branford, to the General Court of Connecticut, from 1667 to 1772. In 1670, the General Court granted him 60 acres of land for his services in the war against the Pequot Indians.

Another move took him to Guilford, Connecticut, when, on 23 April 1668, “Goodman Blachley” was admitted an inhabitant there, “if he can provide himself a place to dwell in”.

Thomas Blachly and his family may have moved to Guilford, Connecticut early in 1668 as he was admitted an inhabitant that year, and his son, Aaron, moved “from” Guilford in that same year. A Google map shows the relationship between New Haven, Branford, and Guilford, all along the same road west to east, on the south shore of Connecticut. Later that year, Aaron moved to New Jersey.
In 1667 (or 1669-1670), he was a Deputy at the Connecticut General Court at Hartford. In 1669 he was elected one of the Branford-New Haven boundary commissioners.

In May of 1670, the General Court granted him sixty acres of land near New Haven, “on the usual terms”, for his service in the Pequot War.

It was not uncommon for people to move from place to place in their early years in the colonies. Many, if not most, were seeking land, and lived, as Thomas did, as planters. They were also seeking their land and livelihoods in the colony most consistent with their religious beliefs and practices, and sometimes moved from here to there to get away from one form of government, and go to another. For instance, our Hopkins ancestor, John, emigrated out of Massachusetts as soon as he could, to go to the Connecticut Colony with the Rev. Mr. Hooker and his band.

New Haven and Branford were theocracies and, when in 1662 they were merged with the Colony of Connecticut by the order of Charles II, the local leaders feared for their religious principles and determined to establish a new colony. Philip Carteret*, first Governor of New Jersey, offered them liberal concessions and Thomas Blachly was chosen as one of a committee of eleven to organize a settlement.

In 1666, they drew up a “Fundamental Agreement”, a religious foundation, upon which the settlement was to be erected. The first signers, the Branford group of 23, included Thomas Blachly and his son, Aaron. His wife Susannah’s kin, Edward Ball, also signed this agreement. Land was purchased for the Newark colony from the Indians by a quantity of merchandise including axes, guns, coats, blankets, beer, etc. The “Fundamental Agreement” was enforced for about a decade and a half. Thomas Blachly did not himself go to the Newark colony, even though he encouraged others to do so.

Thomas Blatchley’s will was dated 28 September 1668, and it was probated in May of 1669. There is some confusion as to whether he died in Branford, Connecticut in 1672, or in Boston in December of 1674, perhaps on a business trip.
His will was not settled until 1674, when the court described him as deceased in Boston. In fact, tradition has it, that in the later years of his life, he entered the profitable West Indies trade of the times and that his death occurred on a ship about to sail from Boston on a trading venture.
The inventory of his estate, in Connecticut, was presented on 9 June 1674, and amounted to £79. The oldest son Aaron was to have a double share. The New Haven Probate Records, regarding “the late deceased in Boston”, state that “the children and their mother, Susanna, ...agree to division of the rest of the estate equally among the children of the deceased, with 1/4 going to ‘Abygaile Ball’”. The inventory in Boston was valued at £128.

After Thomas’s death, the widow remarried secondly, Richard Bristow.