Immigration to the New World
The Sacketts were among the first colonists of America (see The Sacketts of America and their origins), with Simon Sackett arriving at the Massachusetts Bay Colony a few months after the Winthrop Fleet of 1630, just ten years after the Pilgrim Fathers sailed in the Mayflower, and John Sackett, possibly a nephew of Simon's, arriving in New Haven sometime before 1641.
SIMON SACKETT THE COLONIST
Simon Sackett (1595–1635) was one of the first eight settlers of Newtown (Cambridge) in 1632, having emigrated from the Isle of Thanet in Kent the previous year.
Simon's widow, Isabel, removed in 1636 from Cambridge to Hartford, Connecticut, with the Hooker Congregation, taking their sons, Simon (1630–1659) and John (1632–1719).
SIMON'S DESCENDANTS
Simon Sackett (1630–1659), elder son of Simon the colonist, moved from Hartford to Springfield, MA, where he married in 1652 and died in 1659. His son, Captain Joseph Sackett (1656–1719) moved before 1678 from Springfield to Newtown, Long Island, where his eleven children were born.
John Sackett (1632–1719), younger son of Simon the colonist, moved from Hartford to Northampton, MA, where he married in 1659. He moved to Westfield in about 1670 and died there in 1719. His ten children remained in the area.
JOHN SACKETT OF NEW HAVEN
John Sackett (1620s–1684) emigrated, presumably from Thanet, Kent, sometime before 1641, to New Haven, Connecticut. Much is known of his life in New Haven but his English origin remains a tantalizing mystery.
The Sacketts become firmly established in 1700s America
During the 1700s the Sackett family became firmly established in greater numbers in three main areas in the New World: the Westfield/Springfield area of Massachusetts; the New Haven, Connecticut, area; and in New York City and Newtown, Long Island.
WESTWARD MIGRATION FROM NEW ENGLAND
There was a significant westward migration from Massachusetts and Connecticut into upstate New York, in particular into Dutchess and Albany counties. Some Sackett families had moved by the end of the century into Pennsylvania.
The map shows the locations of Sackett households recorded in the first federal census in 1790.