Museum Purchases Original 1734 Lease for Fishers Island
The lease was signed on March 25, 1734 by Ann Winthrop, acting as agent and attorney for her husband John Winthrop, the Lessor and owner of all of Fishers Island. The Lessees were Mary and George Havens, of Fishers Island. This particular John Winthrop (1681-1747) was generally known as “John Winthrop, F.R.S.” to distinguish him from his famous forebears of the same name. He was the great grandson of John Winthrop, Sr., founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the grandson of John Winthrop, Jr., the founder of Fishers Island and New London.