Individual Details

Disputed Origins
While others hope to tie Mathias to Sir Oliver St. John (and therefore to British royalty), Jim Churchyard's in-depth examination of the records discourages this view. Churchyard also claims that Mathias was likely brother to James Sension who remained in London. A current DNA project is attempting to prove the matter one way or another.
R.L. Ward (TAG 53:241) describes two men by the same name in London during the early 1630s-- a shoemaker with wife Sarah, who lived at St. Botolph's Bishopsgate parish and a chandler with wife Mary who lived at St. Nicholas Cole Abbey parish. The later had children with names matching those in Hartford, CT.
NEW: In the April 2013 issue of the NEHGS Register researcher Jerome Lafayette Santken describes the discovery of parish and other records that confirms that Mathias Sension and Nicholas Sension were brothers, both sons of Christian Sankten and Joan ______. Christian emigrated to London from (probably) Antwerp with his father - Mathias Sankten (b 1550) - and siblings about 1582. They lived on Silver Street in London, where William Shakespeare also resided, and were found in a list of "Strangers" -- a type of census taken to list foreigners who had settled in England. Christian married an "English" woman, Joan, by 1601 and they had twelve children between 1601 and 1625, only three of whom survived to adulthood, including Matthias, bp 9 Aug 1601, and Nicholas, bp 1 Jan 1617/8 -- both of whom emigrated to New England, plus a brother James who married and remained in London.[1]Update: from NEHGR author cited above: "There were four and possibly five children who survived into adulthood: Mathias, James, Nicholas, Thomas, and Roger (whom the editors and I assumed that because he was not mentioned in the will of Christian that he was dead, but there is no death record, or any other record for him that can be found at this time)."NEWER UPDATE: After the publication of the above NEHGR article, Suzanne St John drafted and submitted two responses that the Register editors refused to publish (and apparently even to consider). Jillaine Smith created a freespace page -- Ancestry of Immigrants Matthias and Nicholas St John in an attempt to review both theories. (More is needed.)

See "Descendants of Robert Lockwood, Colonial and Revolutionary History of the Lockwood Family in America from A.D. 1630" by Frederic A Holden and E. Dunbar Lockwood dated 1889 including the news paper disclaimer dated 4 Jan 1941 page 15 (see Lockwood file).

See "The New England Historical and Genealogical Regester" dated Oct 1995 page 410-412 for birth, death, marriage and children. Immigrated from St. Nicholas Cole Abbey parish, London to New England and was living at Dorchester, Mass. by 3 Sep 1634. In the NEHG Register dated 1867 Vol 21 page 335 on 4 Jan 1635 listed in the Dorchester Town Records as a 20 acre lot owner. About 1638 moved to Windsor, CT. He is doubtless "Sentyon the baker" of Wethersfield. About 1654 moved to Norwalk, CT where he died.

See "History and Genealogy of Old Fairfield" Vol 1 page 513 film 599305 at the FHC: Matthias St. John (surname spelled Sention usually before 1700) came to Dorchester, MA about 1632; freeman, 3 Sept 1634. Removed to Windsor about 1640, and in 1654 to Norwalk, where he d. abt Jan 1669/70. Shows his children.

See "Sheffield, Daggett and allied families : a genealogical study with biographical notes" dated 1932 pages 48-54 from Heritage Quest shows family. Wife's name does not appear.

See "Descendants of Matthias St. John Sension" from www.quiknet.com/bbetts/stjohn.htm.

See "The Ancestral Lines of Mary Lenore Knapp" by Alfred Averill Knapp, MD dated 1947, from Heritage Quest, page 106. This Matthias has been traced back through Sir Oliver St. John and wife, Sarah Bulkley, for many generations, but this has been proved fictitious.

1670-1669 death was between 19 Oct 1669, date of his will, and 31 Jan 1669/70, the date of the inventory of his estate.

1670 burial location per Ancestral File at the FHC.

1654 moved to Norwalk, CT per Jacobus' "History of Old Fairfield" show above.

1634 made a free man 3 Sept 1634 per Jacobus' "History of Old Fairfield" shown above.

1630-1632 came to Dorchester, MA about this time per Jacobus' "History of Old Fairfield" shown above.

Birth	Abt 1605	New Windsor, Berkshire, England
Marriage	1 Nov 1627	New Windsor, Berkshire, England - Mary Tinker
Migration	1634
Freeman's Oath	3 Sep 1634	Windsor, Connecticut, British America
Fact 1	Abt 1654	was one of the first settlers - Norwalk (Fairfield), Connecticut, British America
Will	19 Oct 1669	Norwalk (Fairfield), Connecticut, British America
Death	Abt Jan 1670	Norwalk, Fairfield, Connecticut, British America
Burial		Windsor, Fairfield Co., CT
LDS Family Tree ID		KZQ7-J3G
WikiTree		Sangins-1

Spouse	Mary Tinker ( - 1669)
Child	Matthias "St. John" Sension ( - 1728)
Child	Thomas Sension ( - 1639)
Child	Mark "St. John" Sension ( - 1693)
Child	Sarah "St. John" Sension (1636 - 1647)
Child	Samuel "St. John" Sension (1640 - 1685)
Child	Mercy "Mercie St. John" Sension (1640 - 1694)
Child	James "St. John" Sension (1649 - 1684)

Spouse

Living

Father	Sir Oliver St. John ( - 1626)
Mother	Sarah Bulkley (1580 - 1611)
Sibling	Elizabeth St. John (1605 - 1677)
Sibling	Living
Sibling	Living

Notes