Everything about John Dixwell totally explained
John Dixwell (
1607 -
18 March 1689) was one of the judges who tried King
Charles I of England and condemned him to death.
He was born at Broome Park, Kent. He became a colonel in the Parliamentary army and was active on various county committees. He was appointed governor of Dover Castle by
Cromwell. He was a member of four parliaments. He was one of fifty-nine signatories of the death warrant of King
Charles I. After the
Restoration, the
Act of Indemnity and Oblivion was passed in August
1660, granting pardon to those who supported the Commonwealth and Protectorate, but it specifically exempted those who had played a direct role in the trial and execution of King Charles I eleven years previously.
Dixwell was condemned to death as a
regicide, but escaped this punishment by fleeing to
New Haven. He assumed the name
John Davids, married twice, and had three children.
He was reunited in 1664 with two other men similarly condemned,
William Goffe and
Edward Whalley. The two had initially settled in
Massachusetts, but fled for
New Haven when their safety was compromised. They were housed by Rev.
John Davenport. After a reward was offered for their arrest, they pretended to flee to
New York, but instead returned by a roundabout way to
New Haven. In May, the Royal order for their arrest reached
Boston, and was sent by the Governor to
William Leete, Governor of the
New Haven Colony, residing at
Guilford.
Leete delayed the King's messengers, allowing Goffe and Whalley to disappear. They spent much of the summer in
Judges' Cave at
West Rock.
Dixwell wasn't the subject of any searches or arrest warrants, as it was believed in England that he was dead. He was known in
New England only by his pseudonym: only on his deathbed was his identity revealed.
His house in New Haven was at the corner of Grove and College Streets, near his friend Rev.
James Pierpont.
The three
regicides are commemorated by three intersecting streets in New Haven (Dixwell Avenue, Whalley Avenue, and Goffe Street), and by place names in other
Connecticut towns.
Dixwell died in New Haven and was buried in the Old Burying Ground behind the Center Church on
New Haven Green. The original monument is still visible; a larger one was added later.
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