John Dixwell

John Dixwell, alias James Davids, 1607 to 18 March 1689, was an English lawyer, republican politician and regicide. Born in Warwickshire, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms he held various administrative positions in Kent on behalf of Parliament, and approved the Execution of Charles I in January 1649. Under the Commonwealth, he served as Governor of Dover Castle, and was a member of the English Council of State. Aware that he faced likely prosecution as a regicide, Dixwell fled to Germany shortly before the May 1660 Stuart Restoration, and was condemned to death by Parliament. He later made his way to New Haven, Connecticut, where he lived quietly under the name of James Davids, untroubled by the authorities, who thought him dead. He died in 1689. Personal details John Dixwell was born 1607, younger son of Edward Dixwell (1575–1617), and his wife Mary Hawksworth (1580–1627). He had an elder brother Mark (?–1644), who was killed serving under the Parliamentarian general William Waller. After moving to New England, in November 1673 he married Joanna Ling, who died shortly afterwards. Bathsheba Howe (1648–1729) became his second wife in 1677, and they had three children; Mary (1679–1727), John (1681–1725), and Elizabeth (died young).