William BEARDSLEY  (1602 - 1661)

He came to Massachusetts in 1635, in the ship "Planter" with his wife and 
eldest three children. He was a mason by trade. By 1638, he was living in 
Hartford, Connecticut. Shortly thereafter, he removed to Stratford where 
he lived out his life. He served as a deputy to the General Court for 
seven years. According to family tradition, he gave the name of his birth-
place (and that of William Shakespeare), to the settlement which became his
home in America.

Sources:
"New England Families", Vol. IV, p.2075, William Richard Cutter, Woburn, 
MA., 1913.
World Family Tree, Vol. I, chart #5404.