Order of the First Families of Connecticut
Member jure Susanna Whitehead (New Haven); member no. 355
Member jure Susanna Whitehead (New Haven); member no. 355
The Order of the First Families of Connecticut (OFFCT) honors descendants of those who settled in Connecticut before the granting of the Royal Charter in 1662. Founded to preserve the memory of these early families, the Order recognizes individuals who played a formative role in the creation of the colony’s civic, religious, and legal traditions. Membership in OFFCT reflects not only a genealogical connection but also a shared commitment to studying and honoring the origins of Connecticut as a distinctive political and cultural entity in early America.
Connecticut’s colonial story is unique among the New England colonies. It began as a collection of independent settlements, most notably Hartford (1636), New Haven (1638), and Saybrook (1635), each with its own governance and religious orientation. New Haven, in particular, stood apart as a rigid Puritan theocracy that resisted incorporation into the more moderate Connecticut Colony. The 1662 royal charter unified these separate colonies under a single government, laying the foundation for Connecticut’s enduring identity. The settlers recognized by OFFCT were the architects of this world: men and women who cleared land, built meetinghouses, governed towns, and passed on a legacy of self-rule, covenant theology, and communal resilience.
Susanna Whitehead was born on 5 August 1650 in New Haven Colony, the daughter of Samuel Whitehead, a prominent early settler and town official, and his wife, Susanna (surname unknown). Samuel Whitehead arrived in New Haven by 1639 and served as a deputy to the General Court, a juror, and a trusted member of the town’s governance. His civic prominence placed the family among the Puritan elite of the colony, and his wife—though largely absent from surviving records, would have been responsible for managing household affairs, raising children, and supporting her husband’s civic duties.
On 3 January 1665, Susanna married Nathaniel Bunnell, likely the son of William Bunnell, also of New Haven. Their marriage took place during a transformative period: the forced unification of New Haven with the Connecticut Colony under the 1662 royal charter. Many families, including the Bunnells, subsequently migrated to Elizabethtown, New Jersey, a newly established settlement in East Jersey with strong New England roots.
In Elizabethtown, Susanna and Nathaniel raised a family whose descendants would spread across the early American frontier. From their origins in Puritan New England, the family moved through New Jersey and into the Ohio River Valley and the Midwest. Susanna died on 12 February 1733/4 in Essex County, New Jersey, at the age of 83.
In geographic-based hereditary societies, descent is often traced through the paternal line, frequently omitting women as primary qualifying ancestors, even when their presence is equally foundational. In submitting this line of descent through Susanna Whitehead, I am intentionally acknowledging the vital role women played in building and sustaining colonial communities. Though less often named in land records or officeholding, women like Susanna were indispensable to early American settlement, and their stories deserve equal recognition.
Susanna’s life, spanning theocratic New Haven, royal incorporation, and migration to New Jersey, reflects the breadth of colonial experience in the 17th and early 18th centuries. Her legacy lives on through generations of descendants, including:
These descendants carried forward Susanna’s legacy, quietly but powerfully shaping American life from Connecticut to the Midwest.
Additional memberships will be added as they are approved.