Joseph Bullard was born on 12 September 1665 in Medfield, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony. His parents were Joseph and Sarah (Unknown) Bullard.[1]
In February 1676 Joseph Sr.'s homestead in Medfield was burned down by Native Americans during King Philip's War. Joseph Sr. then resided on his father John's (d.1678) farm until 1695, when he purchased a tract of land at the juncture of the current towns of Medfield, Dover, and Walpole. The Joseph of this profile seems to have come to occupy the Medfield section of the land, while three of his brothers appear in the Dover section (then part of Dedham).[2]
Joseph married Margaret Cheney, daughter of Joseph and Hannah (Thurston) Cheney, on 25 June 1691, in Medfield.[3][4]
Joseph and Margaret had children, all born in Medfield except the second Joseph:[5][2]
Based on the Research Notes below, it can be inferred that in about 1717 Joseph and Mary removed with their daughter Susannah and son-in-law Thomas Jepherson to the newly-established land grants in what became the town of Douglas, Worcester, Massachusetts Bay Colony. A Joseph Bullard died in Douglas on 20 May 1750, and a "Margret Bulard" died there on 1 May 1755.[14] They had probably resided in the Jepherson household.
The Bullard and allied families genealogy has Joseph as removing from Medfield about 1716, saying that his whereabouts after that and his death date are not known.[2] The typical Internet tree has his death year as 1752 and death location as Glocester, Rhode Island. A search for Bullard birth, marriage, death, probate, and deed records for Glocester (viewable on FamilySearch, restricted access) produced no results.
As noted above, a Joseph Bullard died in Douglas, Worcester, Massachusetts Bay Colony on 20 May 1750, and a "Margret Bulard" died there on 1 May 1755.[14] Douglas is about 13 miles from Glocester, Rhode Island. There are no other Bullard deaths, births, or marriages recorded in Douglas vital records. It is possible but unlikely that the Joseph and Margaret were unmarried siblings of Susannah, for whom no other records have been found.
Douglas was created from several land grants initiated by residents of Sherborn, Massachusetts Bay Colony. It was initially called Sherborn New Grant and then New Sherborn until 1746, when it was renamed Douglas.
Joseph's daughter Susannah married Thomas Jepherson, and per Descendants of Thomas Jepherson of Douglas, Massachusetts, they removed to Douglas (New Sherborn) after initially living with Joseph and Mary.[15] The Jepherson surname is listed among the first settlers of New Sherborn, and Thomas was a legal voter of Douglas in 1748.[16] The children of Susannah and Thomas are listed as born in a number of locations, including Medfield, Uxbridge, Dedham, and Glocester. It may be that because New Sherborn was a sparsely settled area with no town center, Susannah and Thomas chose to have their children born in more settled towns. Their children William (d.1802), Hannah (d.1752), and Thomas (d.1751) died in Douglas, and children Susannah (d.1783) and Joseph (d.1769) died in nearby Glocester.[15]
In the absence of any other death records, it seems a reasonable assumption that Joseph and Mary lived out their days with their eldest daughter and her husband.
Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
Joseph is 23 degrees from Herbert Adair, 21 degrees from Richard Adams, 17 degrees from Mel Blanc, 23 degrees from Dick Bruna, 19 degrees from Bunny DeBarge, 31 degrees from Peter Dinklage, 19 degrees from Sam Edwards, 16 degrees from Ginnifer Goodwin, 20 degrees from Marty Krofft, 12 degrees from Junius Matthews, 12 degrees from Rachel Mellon and 19 degrees from Harold Warstler on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.