Benjamin Bixby (abt. 1653 - abt. 1727)

Born about 1653 in Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts Bay

Ancestors

Descendants

Died about 1727 at about age 74 in Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts Bay

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Biography

Birth

Benjamin Bixby, son of Joseph and Sarah Bixby, was born probably at Ipswich, Mass., probably in 1653 (p. 28).

Marriage

He was an unmarried man in July, 1674, but was soon after married, as his eldest child was born in 1676. It is thought he was possibly twice married, both wives being named Mary, in view of the nine year break between his third and fourth child . Certainly he left a widow Mary, who was living as late as Jan., 1732. (p. 35) No primary source for the marriage(s?) has been found. As Torrey put it: ' BIGSBEE, Benjamin & Mary KIMBALL (? 2wfs Mary?) bef. 1676 ?; bef 1678; Topsfield (p. 73)'^[1]

Life in Topsfield

Benjamin Bixby took the oath of allegiance at Topsfield in 1677 and 1678. Benjamin held various town offices in Topsfield between 1692 and 1712, inclusive. (p. 37)

Children

Benjamin's children are a bit complicated, partly by the possibility that he had two wives both named Mary, partly by incomplete town and church records, partly by confusion, at the time and since, with the children of his son Benjamin.

Children, quoted as recorded in Topsfield, except as noted^[2][3]

1. Caleb, birth unrecorded, probably b. 1676 or 1677^[4]
2. Benjemen (Bixby), s. Benjemen, jr. and Mary, Nov. 26, 1678, married Martha Lamson^[5]
3. Joshua, birth unrecorded, probably b. 1680, married Mary Davis, 2 April, 1714, died "an ancient man," 9 June, 1754. ^[6]

Those below, in view of the 9-year gap, possibly by his possible second wife :

1. Samuell (Bixby), s. Benjamen, bp. June 2, 1689. CR, married Martha Underwood.
2. George (Bixby), s. Benjamin, bp. Feb. 7, 1691-2. CR, married 1st Mary (Baily) Porter, 2nd Sarah (Goodhue) Cummings
3. Nathan (Bigsbee), s. Benjamen, jr. and Mary, Nov. 16, 1694, married Abigail Rogers.
4. Elezabeth (Bigsbee), d. Benjamen, jr. and Mary, Nov. 10, 1697, married Richard Towne.
5. Jacob (Bigsbee), s. Benjamen, jr. and Mary, Apr. 29, 1700.', married 1st Elizabeth Jewett, 2nd Sarah Younglove
6. Jemimah (Bigsbee), d. Benjamen, jr. and Mary, Jan. 26, 1702, married Joseph Towne.

Death

No direct record of his death is known. The following transaction provides indirect evidence that he died sometime between March and July 1727: Benjamin sold, 5 March, 1726-7, three lots of land which had formerly been a part of Topsfield commons. His wife, Mary, joined in the deed. On the 11 July, 1727, the witnesses acknowledge their signatures, and testify that they saw Benjamin Byxbe late of Topsfield, deceased sign. (p. 36)

He did not leave a will, having disposed of his estate during his lifetime. There is recorded with Essex Deeds, 43: 241, a deed, in which his wife joins, dated 2 Nov., 1722, whereby he granted to his son Nathan one half his lands, the house Nathan dwelt in, half his barn, etc., in all about fifty acres of land ; and also the other half on condition that Nathan maintained his parents and paid their burial expenses, and should also pay to his sisters, Mary, Elizabeth, and Jemima, £5, as required, but not later than their marriage, and to his brothers, Caleb and Samuel, £1. Power to dispose of the lands for his own advantage was reserved by the grantor provided Nathan failed to meet his obligations. Nathan also inherited his father's right as a proprietor in the common lands of Topsfield. 3 In 1733 Nathan disposed of his property in Topsfield for £652 and removed to Killingly, accompanied probably by his mother. The deed from Benjamin to Nathan was witnessed by Mary and Jacob Bixby. (p. 38)

The widow Mary was admitted to the church at Killingly 25 June, 1738. (p. 35-36)

Burial

Burial: Pine Grove Cemetery, Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts

'Benjamin Bixby Death: 1727 Topsfield' ^[7]

Research Notes

The following Bixbys also born in Topsfield, of whom the last three have sometimes been thought to be children of Benjamin and Mary, are instead surely the children of Benjamin Jr, (b. 1678) and Martha Lamsom.^[8][9]

• Benjemen (Bixby), s. Benjemen, jr. and Martha, May 18, 1704.
• Martha, d. Benjemen, jr. and Martha, June 29, 1705.
• Mary (Bixby), d. Benjamin, bp. May ––, 1707. CR
• John (Bixby), s. Benjamin, jr., bp. July 17, 1709. CR
• Kezia (Bixby), d. Benjamin, bp. Nov. 4, 1711. CR

Sources

1. ↑ New England Marriages Prior to 1700 By Clarence Almon Torrey, Elizabeth Petty Bentley Genealogical Publishing Com, Jan 1, 1985
2. ↑ Vital Records of Topsfield Massachusetts to the Year 1850, pp. 16-17
3. ↑ Bixby: Pages 36-37
4. ↑ Estimated based on death at Killingly, Connecticut Colony on 14 July 1754 in his 78th year
5. ↑ Essex, Massahusetts, Vital Records of Ipswich, p. 233: 'Martha, d. John, Mar. 21, 1677. CTR.
6. ↑ Bixby: Page 37
7. ↑ Find A Grave Memorial# 107071498
8. ↑ Vital Records of Topsfield Massachusetts to the Year 1850, pp. 16-17
9. ↑ Bixby: Page 134

See also

• Bixby, Willard Goldthwaite. A genealogy of the descendants of Joseph Bixby, 1621-1701 of Ipswich and Boxford, Massachusetts, who spell the name Bixby, Bigsby, Byxbie, Bixbee, or Byxbe and of the Bixby family in England, descendants of Walter Bekesby, 1427, of Thorpe Morieux, Suffolk (New York City: 1914)
• The Towne Family, William Towne and Joanna Blessing, Salem Massachusetts, 1635, Five Generations of Descendants, by Lois Payne Hoover, (2010, 3rd printing 2015), Towne Family Association by Otter Bay Books, Baltimore, Maryland, Page 111 - 112 Richard Towne

This Towne book was commissioned by the Towne Family Association. Towne Family won the 2011 Grand Prize from the Connecticut Society of Genealogists, and in the same year received the 2011 Award of Excellence for a Genealogy and Family History from the National Genealogical Society.