Background
He was born in 1623, in Billericay, Essex, England, son of William Ruscoe, and Rebecca. His parents and their four youngest children departed from London aboard the ship Increase in 1835, but his mother Rebecca died on the voyage.
Career
This was a common practice at the time. William arrived in Boston in June 1835, and upon arrival soon married the only widow in the Newton settlement, Hester Mussey. In 1836, the family joined Thomas Hooker in settling Hartford.
John Ruscoe was one of the fourteen original signers of the Ludlow agreement to create a settlement at Norwalk.
He was the owner of Half-Mile Island, the peninsula located east of Canfield Avenue on Shorehaven Road. He is listed on the Founders Stone bearing the names of the founding settlers of Norwalk in the East Norwalk Historical Cemetery.
