Annual Meeting 2026
Members are invited to attend the Order’s 115th annual meeting, to be held at the 3 West Club in midtown Manhattan. The meeting will featuring the life and times of Elizabeth Fones Winthrop Feake Hallett, the Dame of The Manor of Greenwich.
Elizabeth Fones Winthrop Feake Hallett’s colorful life began at Groton Manor, Suffolk County, England in 1610, and ended in 1673 at the Bowne House, home of her daughter Hannah Feake Bowne in Flushing, New York. The intervening 63 years of Elizabeth’s controversial life were as storied as any modern soap opera. Anya Seton described Elizabeth in her 1958 historical novel entitled “The Winthrop Woman” as independent woman unmatched in courage and vitality. Another author states: “Elizabeth’s reputation has not fared well”, but history has proven that otherwise.
Elizabeth was born to the sister of John Winthrop, Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and first defied convention in 1629 by marrying her ill fated cousin, Henry Winthrop only to lose her young husband a year later in a drowning accident. The sudden loss placed Elizabeth and her baby Martha, under the guardianship of her uncle/father-in-law.
Elizabeth and her baby sailed on the “Lyon” to Massachusetts in 1631, where by 1632 she found herself married off to a wealthy landowner named Lt. Robert Feake, in a union arranged by her uncle-father-in-law. The Feakes removed to what would become Greenwich Connecticut where they bought land in 1640 including Elizabeth’s Neck purchased in her own name. They had five children, Elizabeth (born 1633), Hannah (born 1637), John (born 1639), Robert (born 1642) and Sarah (born before 1647).
In 1642, the Dutch claimed Greenwich and, fearful of not being protected by the New Haven Colony, the English settlers agreed to become part of the colony of New Netherland. This gave the Feakes and their partner, Captain Daniel Patrick the opportunity to turn Greenwich into a “manor” making them “patroons of the manor”. During this time, Lt. Feake began to suffer from mental illness and Elizabeth had to become co-administrator of the new manor. The act of submission to the Dutch, dated April 9, 1642, was signed by Capt. Daniel Patrick and by Elizabeth Feake. By 1647, Lt. Feake had abandoned the family and sailed back to England, leaving Elizabeth alone to take care of her six children. According to Dutch law, this made Elizabeth Fones Winthrop Feake free to remarry if she chose to do so. Greenwich officially remained a part of the Dutch colony until 1650.
By 1648, Elizabeth was involved with William Hallett, and they were officially married in a service officiated by her cousin John Winthrop, Jr. in 1650. The Halletts had two children. William (born c. 1648) and Samuel (born c. 1650). The circumstances of the abandonment and Dutch laws regarding remarriage made life difficult for the Halletts to remain in the New Haven/Massachusetts Bay Colony so they removed to what is now Flushing, New York within the colony of Nieuw Amsterdam where they settled in what became known as Hallett’s Cove.
Elizabeth died in 1673, at 63 years of age. Her spirit and perseverance was an inspiration to many generations of her descendants and to lovers of history. The fascinating story of Elizabeth Fones Winthrop Feake Hallett has been turned into a PBS film and three books, the first of which was the international best seller by Anya Seaton, (1904-1990), entitled The Winthrop Woman, published in 1958. This was followed by An Insubordinate Spirit: A True Story of Life and Loss in Earliest America 1610-1665 released in 2012. The third book is the recently published Elizabeth Fones Winthrop and the Great Puritan Migration—a True Story of Trouble, Misfortune, and Perseverance in England, New England and New Netherlands, by William S. Stob.
Elizabeth’s house (The Manor of Greenwich) still exists in Greenwich, Connecticut. Preserved by the Greenwich Point Conservancy, it forms part of a private home in Greenwich Point, containing what remains of what was Elizabeth’s vast property on the water in Greenwich Point. The wing which encompasses the original 17th c. structure is open to the public once a year. Original deeds exist which show purchases of additional land from native American tribes, forming a vast holding acquired in a series of transactions. The records show the names of the respective native Americans, and their marks.
Our speakers for the evening will include:
- Rosemary Vietor, vice president of the board of trustees of the Bowne House Historical Society, and a descendant of Elizabeth Fones Winthrop Feake Hallett
- Missy Wolfe, author, historian, and also a descendant. Ms. Wolfe is the author of Insubordinate Spirit: A True Story of Life and Loss in Earliest America, a biography of Elizabeth Fones Winthrop Feake Hallett, which received the Washington Irving Medal for Literary Excellence in 2015
- Charlotte Jackson, Bowne House trustee and archivist
The Timothy Field Beard Memorial Award for 2026 will be accepted on behalf of the Greenwich Point Conservancy by Christopher R. Franco, the Chairman of the board.
There will be a reception, open to all attendees, following the meeting as well as a ticketed dinner to honor the speakers and award recipient after the reception, including remarks.
Information on ticketing options will be available soon.