Joel Ferree (1731 - 1801)

Born 13 Feb 1731 in Leacock Township, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, British Colonial America

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 19 Jun 1801 at age 70 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA

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Biography

Joel Ferree performed Patriotic Service in Pennsylvania in the American Revolution.

Joel Ferree is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A039558.

Joel Ferree was born 13 February 1730/1, based on the age at death inscribed on his gravestone. ^[1] He was the son of Philip Ferree and Leah du Bois. He was included in his father's 1753 will. ^[2]

Marriage and Children

Joel Ferree may have married four times: ^[3]

1. Mary Copeland, m. 1752, d. 1759
2. Jane Johnson, m. 5 Nov. 1759, d. 11 Dec. 1785 ^[4]
3. Susan Green, widow of Isaac Ferree
4. The widow Sarah Davis ^[5]

Joel had three children, all with his first wife:

1. Isaac Ferree , baptized 1753
2. Rachel Ferree, baptized 1755
3. Leah Ferree, b. 18 August 1757

Land Records

In a Lancaster County deed dated 4 April 1743, Joel and his siblings sold to their father any future rights they had to 1,000 acres of land inherited from their maternal grandfather, Abraham Dubois. Joel was only 12 years old at the time, so his signature was not legally binding. Most of his siblings acknowledged the deed in 1747 so that it could be recorded, but Joel and his brother Philip, who were still not 21 years old, waited until 1758. ^[6]

In 1752, Joel's parents, Philip and Leah Feree, sold 333⅓ acres of land in Leacock Township, Lancaster County, to "their son Joel Ferree." This was part of the 1,000-acre parcel which Joel's grandfather, Abraham Dubois, had patented in 1717, and which he had passed to his daughter Leah. (At one point in the deed the larger parcel was mistakenly referred to as 100 acres.) ^[7]

On 8 March 1759, Joel and his wife Mary sold 100 of the 333⅓ acres that Joel had received from his parents. ^[8]

In November 1766, Joel Ferree patented two parcels of land in Berks County, Pennsylvania, one of 200 acres and the other of 263 acres. The land was called Old Town. ^[9]

In January 1775, Joel received patents on two adjacent parcels in the Wiconisco Valley in Upper Paxton Township, Lancaster County (now Dauphin County). Feree's Choice was 108 acres and Old Town was 395 acres. ^[10]

On 27 August 1791, Joel sold 95 of the 333⅓ acres he had received from his parents to his son-in-law, Adam Lightner. ^[11] On the same day, he sold the two parcels that he had patented in 1775 to his son Isaac. ^[12]

In 1797, Joel and his wife Sarah, "late Sarah Davis," sold a house and lot on the east side of Lime Street in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to Jacob Backenstoss. Sarah had purchased the lot from John Musser in 1784, as "Sarah Davis, … widow.". ^[5]

In 1787, Joel and his brother Philip, along with Samuel Lefevre, David Witmer and Joel's deceased brothers (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), as well as the descendants of all of the above, were granted the right to share the cemetery located on the land of John and Abraham Carpenter. ^[13] The cemetery is located on Black Horse Road just south of Paradise in Lancaster County, and today is usually referred to as Carpenter's Graveyard.

Gunsmith

Joel was a gunsmith. Deed records beginning in 1752, when he was in his early 20s, and continuing until 1791, when he was in his 60s, generally referred to him as a gunsmith.

He supplied guns during the American Revolution. ^[3] On 22 July 1775, the Pennsylvania Council of Safety resolved that,

a messenger be sent to Joel Ferree, of Lancaster County, with a letter from this Committee, requesting him immediately to complete the Guns wrote for as patterns and to know how many he can furnish of the same kind and at what price. ^[14]

In a letter to his friend Benjamin Poultney, addressed from Leacock Township on 17 August 1775, Joel Ferree wrote that,

some time ago as I had a Letter from George Ross, Esqr., by order of the Committee, making enquiry what Qt. or Number of Barrels I could supply 'em weekly with, to which I return'd answer in the Particulars demanded. I was of opinion then to have been able to provide 15 or perhaps 20 pr. week, but as I am determined to use my endeavors to promote the Business and serve my Country in the common Cause, I am about to enlarge my works in so extensive a Manner as to turn out between 30 & 40 weekly. My Diligence in the Affair shall be as quick as possible. It will not require much time to complete my works in order for such Dispatch of Business; I hope a few days will do. ^[15]

Military

Joel assisted the American cause by serving as a member of the Safety Committee of Lancaster County, PA. [Source?]

Census Records

1790 US Census - Leacock Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania: ^[16]

Joel Ferree

White males over age 16: 1

White males under age 16: 2

White females: 2

1800 US Census - Leacock Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania: ^[17]

Joel Ferree

Free White Males, 45 and over: 1

Free White Females, 16-25: 1

All other Free Persons: 1

Death and Burial

According to an undocumented family story, Joel Ferree was shot and scalped in 1801 while hunting during a visit to what is now Coraopolis in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. ^[18]

There is a gravestone for Joel Ferree at Carpenter's Cemetery in Paradise, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. ^[19] The inscription reads: "In memory of Joel Ferree who died June 19th, 1801, aged 70 years, 4 mo. & 6 days." ^[1] If he indeed died in Allegheny County, then the gravestone in Lancaster County may be a cenotaph. Coraopolis is more than 250 miles west of Paradise, and it seems unlikely that his body would have been transported all the way, especially in June, when it can get pretty hot.

Will

Joel Ferree, of Leacock Township, signed his will on 3 November 1797, calling himself "far advanced in years." The will was proved on 13 July 1801. Joel made provisions for: ^[20]

• His wife Sarah
• His descendants:
  • His son Isaac Ferree: the 140 acre plantation where Joel was then living, located in Leacock and Strasburg Townships.
  • His five grandsons, sons of Isaac: Joel Ferree, Isaac Ferree, Elijah Ferree, Uriah Ferree, and Reuben Ferree.
  • His seven granddaughters, daughters of Isaac: Rachel Ferree, Susanna Ferree, Mary Ferree, Jane Ferree, Leah Ferree, Elizabeth Ferree, and Rebecca Ferree.
  • His daughter Leah, wife of Adam Lightner
  • Jacob Ferree, "late the husband of my daughter Rachel, deceased," was to receive the 300 acres on Peters Creek in Allegany County where he was living. At Jacob's death, the land was to go to "my grandchildren Joel Ferree, Rebecca Ferree, Jane Ferree and Elizabeth Ferree, the four children of the said Jacob Ferree by my said deceased daughter Rachel.
• Enslaved people mentioned in the will:
  • "My Mulatoe girl named Pegg, born on the fourteenth day of March 1796." She was to be freed when she reached the age of 21.
  • His "negroe man named Jack" was to be freed and allowed to live on the plantation in the house where he was then living for the remainder of his life.
  • His "Negroe girl named Nell" was to be freed when she reached the age of 30 on 28 December 1797.
  • His "negroe boy named Kelly" was to be freed when he turned 32 on 5 March 1801.
• Executor: Son Isaac Ferree.
• Witnesses: William Ferree, Jacob Baker, Philip Gloninger.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Inscriptions on the Tombstones in Carpenter's Graveyard, Lancaster County, PA. by Irwin Hoch DeLong. National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Volume 14, Number 3 (September 1925), page 37, #52.
2. ↑ The will of Philip Ferree: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Will Book B, pages 15-17. FamilySearch: "Pennsylvania Probate Records, 1683-1994" > Lancaster > Wills 1730-1773 vol A-B, image 146 of 514. (FamilySearch film #005534200, image 221 of 589.)
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Ferree, Major George Bennett, Ferree Family Gunsmiths (Fort Wayne, Indiana, 1967), pp 7-9.
4. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #20898347 for Jane Johnson Ferree
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} 1797 deed: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book C3, page 93. FamilySearch Film #008067088, image 394 of 679.
6. ↑ 1743 Deed: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book E, page 314. FamilySearch film #007907086 , image 464 of 711.
7. ↑ 1752 Deed: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book D, page 489. FamilySearch film #007907086, image 259 of 711.
8. ↑ 1759 deed: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book GG, page 585. FamilySearch film #008035101, image 626 of 634.
9. ↑ 1766 Patents: Patent Index, A and AA Series , 1684-1781. Records of the Land Office, Pennsylvania State Archives, page 94 (image 95). The patents are available at Patent Book AA-8, pages 106-107.
10. ↑ 1775 Patents: Patent Index, A and AA Series , 1684-1781. Records of the Land Office, Pennsylvania State Archives, page 97 (image 98). The patents are available at Patent Book AA-15, page 195 and AA-15, page 239.
11. ↑ 1791 deed, Ferree to Lightner: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book PP, page 128. FamilySearch film #008067083, image 69 of 401.
12. ↑ 1791 deed, Ferree to Ferree: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book WW, page 620. FamilySearch Film #008067085, image 757 of 877.
13. ↑ 1787 Deed: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book TT, page 162. FamilySearch film #008067084, image 378 of 575.
14. ↑ Minutes of the Pennsylvania Council of Safety, in "Minute of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania (aka "Colonial Records of Pennsylvania"), 1852, volume 10, page 290.
15. ↑ Letter: Joel Ferree to Benj. Poultney. Pennsylvania Archives, Second Series, Volume 1, page 583.
16. ↑ 1790 US Census: Joel Ferree, Leacock Township, Pennsylvania, page 141.
17. ↑ 1800 US Census: Joel Ferree, Leacock Township, Pennsylvania, page 179. FamilySearch film #004956040, image 98 of 248.
18. ↑ Our Ferree Family website: Biographies > Joel Ferree.
19. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #20898334 for Joel Ferree, buried at Carpenters Graveyard, Paradise, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States (accessed March 2024).
20. ↑ The will of Joel Ferree: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Will Book H, page 95. FamilySearch film #005534203, image 390 of 682.

See also:

• Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 14 Feb 2024), "Record of Joel Ferree", Ancestor # A039558.
• FamilySearch Person: L6WT-HLC (Joel Ferree)
• Information on Joel and many other family members can be found on the Ferree Family web site - http://www.ferreedescendants.com/index.html
• Jordan, John W. Genealogical and Personal History of Western Pennsylvania (Lewis Historical Pub. Co., New York, 1915, Vol 1, p. 369-372)
• William Heidgerd, The American Descendants of Christien DuBois of Wicres, France by William Heidgerd (New Paltz, NY, 1968--).

Acknowledgements

This person was created through the import of Elise Free_2011-04-22.ged on 23 April 2011.