Robert Coe (colonist)

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Robert Coe (1596 – before 1690) was an English Puritan who became an early American settler and public official. Born in Thorpe Morieux, Suffolk, England, he worked as an overseer of cloth before leaving for the Americas in 1634 with other Puritans seeking religious liberty.

In the colonies he helped found several towns and held important public roles:
- Watertown, Massachusetts: first stop after arriving in America.
- Wethersfield, Connecticut (1635): helped establish this settlement.
- Stamford, Connecticut (late 1630s): helped found the town, and in 1643 became its magistrate (mayor).
- Hempstead, Long Island (1643–1650s): moved here, served as magistrate and church elder, becoming a major landowner.
- Elmhurst (initially Middleburgh, Hastings, then Newtown) (from 1652): helped establish the town and served as magistrate; acted as a deputy to the General Court.
- Jamaica (Rustdorp), Long Island (1655): founded this settlement and was appointed by Peter Stuyvesant as magistrate.

Under Dutch rule, Coe remained a prominent local official. After the English seized New Netherland and formed the Province of New York, he continued to hold high offices:
- Commissioner for Jamaica under English authority.
- Judge of oyer and terminer for Yorkshire (appointed 1669 by Governor Richard Nicolls).
- High sheriff of Yorkshire (1669–1671).

Robert Coe retired from public life in 1671, at about age 75. He later bought a 50-acre farm in Hempstead (1678) and died sometime before 1690, when his will was executed.

Ancestors and descendants: Coe is regarded as the founder of the Coe family in America, with many descendants and places named after him or his family. His efforts helped shape the early settlements of Connecticut and New York, and his name lives on in towns and landmarks across the United States.