Joseph Elwell (abt. 1648 - abt. 1701)

Born about May 1648 in Gloucester, Essex, Massachusetts [uncertain]

Husband of Mary (Dutch) Elwell — married 22 Jun 1669 in Gloucester, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died about 1701 at about age 52 in Newcastle, New Hampshire [uncertain]

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Biography

The date of birth of Joseph Elwell, son of Robert Elwell and Joane ----, is not recorded. He was likely was born about May, 1648 in Salem or Gloucester, Massachusetts,^[1] as on 28 Mar 1664 he deposed "aged 16 years next May".^[2][3]

Joseph married Mary Dutch on 22 June 1669 in Gloucester, Massachusetts.^[2][4] They had the following children, all born in Gloucester:^[1][4]

1. Hezekiah, b. 2 Jun 1670, m.c.1693 Elizabeth Fennick (Phoenix);
2. Joseph, b. 19 Aug 1672;
3. Samuel, b. 8 Jun 1675;
4. Benjamin, b. 13 Sep 1678.

"Mariages in Charlstowne… Joseph Elwell & Marie Dutch m. by Mr Richard Russell, Magist, June 22, 1669".^{[citation needed]}

Like most of the men in the family, Joseph was a fisherman.^[1] In 1672, Joseph and his brother Samuel, testified against Michael Long for setting sail on Sunday and, at the same court, the two brothers were summoned for a defect in a bridge. In 1675 an execution was entered against Joseph to satisfy a judgment against him by William Sargent.^[3]

On 12 Dec 1679, Joseph and Mary sold a large tract of land on Cape Ann to John Turner of Salem, merchant.^[1] They were living in Salem in 1681, when John Appleton of Ipswich sued Joseph for debt on a bill from 1676.^[3]

By 1693, Joseph and his family had moved to Great Island (Newcastle), New Hampshire, where he signed a petition in that year asking that they be set off as a new town because of the need for a local church.^[1] Also in 1693, he was summoned to the inquest on the drowning of William Button. In 1694 Joseph did six days worth of work at Fort William & Mary at Great Island.^[3]

Joseph's date and place of death are unknown. A Joseph Elwell died at Newcastle in 1701 and his widow Margaret was appointed executor of his estate with Joseph Elwell of Newcastle, fisherman, and another man as sureties.^[3] Having only this information, there seems no way to judge which Joseph was the father and which was the son.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Elwell, Rev. Jacob Thomas, "The Elwell Family in America: A Genealogy of Robert Elwell of Dorchester and Gloucester, Massachusetts." (Boston MA: Charles H Pope, 1899). Accessed online at Archive.org or see attached images. Page 9. (NOTE: The first 10 pages (2 generations) of this book were reprinted in NEHGR 53:25-32, Jan 1899).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Anderson, Robert Charles, et al. The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume II, C-F, Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001. Accessed online at AmericanAncestors.org (requires subscription). Page 430.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4} Davis, Walter Goodwin. "The Ancestry of Nicholas Davis, 1753-1832, of Limington, Maine." Portland, ME, Anthoensen Press, 1956. Accessed online at HathiTrust. Pages 201-202.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Vital Records of Gloucester, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849. Online database accessed 4 Aug 2018. Births of children p.239-248; Marriages p.199 "Elwell, Joseph, and Mary Dutch, June 22, 1669."

See Also:

• Davis, Walter. The Ancestry of Phoebe Tilton. Anthoensen Press, Portland, 1947- pp. 87-96.
• Versailles, Elizabeth Starr. Elwelliana: Memorabilia of Levi Henry Elwell: 1854-1916. 1974.