Joshua M Scriven Sr. (1754 - 1821)

Born 17 May 1754 in Westerly, Kings Co., Rhode Island

Ancestors

Husband of Mercy (Chapman) Scriven — married 17 May 1754 in Westerly, Rhode Island Colony

Descendants

Died 27 Jul 1821 at age 67 in Grafton, New York

Problems/Questions Profile managers: David McKnight [send private message] and Bob Scrivens [send private message]

Biography

In the "History of Grafton, New York" from LANDMARKS OF RENSSELAER COUNTY by George Baker Anderson, Joshua was recorded, along with his father, William, and uncle Zebulon, as one of the first inhabitants of the town of Grafton, New York ("near the close of the Revolution"). On March 30, 1793, Joshua is recorded as leasing a farm in Petersburg, 158 5/10 acres. Manor Papers, NYS Library

He is also referred to as "Joshua Scribens" on 1810 US Census. He was a twin to Hannah Scriven. (Their birthdays were listed in Rhode Island, Vital Extracts, 1636-1899, Vol. 05: Washington County: Births, Marriages, Deaths.) The other siblings were Elizabeth, Betsy, Mercy, Zebulon, Zipporah, and Hannah (From Cooper website, MyHeritage.com)

Buried: 1821 Hewitt Plot, Grafton, Rensselaer Co., New York (see photo).

Joshua was Hannah's twin. In fact, the first birth that mother Mercy Lewis Scriven gave was also twins: James and John (August 28, 1751) He is also my 4th great grandfather.

Migration of Joshua and family from Rhode Island

The Weekly Genealogist (NEHGS), sent via e-mail (The Weekly Genealogist, Vol. 17, No. 11, Whole #678, March 12, 2014), answered a question about early migration routes in the New England/ New York area, including ones that were probably a factor in the Scriven family’s migration from Rhode Island to Rensselaer Co. in New York, and then on westward. Joshua and his family probably traveled west along the coast to New York and then up the Hudson River to Albany, New York.

The Boston Post Road or King’s Highway was built along the coast to connect Boston with New York. While investigating possible burial sites of James Scriven, the family’s first immigrant ancestor, a Google Earth image placed a possible old Quaker Cemetery just off the Old Post Road in Westerly, Rhofe Island. “By 1750, weather permitting, wagons and regularly scheduled stagecoaches traversed a continuous road from Boston, Massachusetts, to Charleston, South Carolina, a trip of about 1,300 miles.”

An aside: South Carolina is of interest here, since that was the final destination of William Screven of Kittery, Maine. His line is unrelated, as some have thought, but there may have been a connection to the Rhode Island Scrivens back in England since Screven came originally from Somerton, Somerset County in England, close to where James Scriven came from. Plus, William’s surname originally was spelled “Scriven.” I had assumed Screven arrived in South Carolina via boat, but maybe not, the way this highway is described.

The Scrivens probably came through New York City finally, and then went north on a route that was named the Albany Post Road. Much of the road follows what is New York State Rt. 9 today. It ran from New York up the east side of the Hudson River to the fur trading outpost, and second-largest city in New York, Albany (first called by the Dutch name, Beverwijck), starting in 1669. “Seventeenth-century Dutch fur traders were the first Europeans to settle in Rensselaer County. Due to its strategic location at the juncture of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers, the area continued to develop as a major center of trade.” [1] It followed older trails of the Wiccoppe and Wappinger Indian tribes on the east side of the Hudson River. By 1671 these tribes had been hired to carry the mail between the two towns. This road was later called The King’s Road. A companion document in Family Search notes that the Hudson River was navigable for commerce and passengers, even north of Albany, so “Settlers who came via New York City along the Albany Post Road may have arrived by sea, or by the King's Highway. Arrivals by sea were most likely from northern Europe and the British Isles. Settlers arriving via the King's Highway were most likely from New England.” The latter point would seem to include the Scriven clan from Rhode Island [2]

Both these roads were widened and improved during wars with the Dutch in the 1600’s and then again for the French and Indian Wars in the 1700’s. They were just used for mail deliveries at first, then for troop movements. During the Revolutionary War, the roads were even fortified. Regular mail and stage coach service were instituted after the war. “In 1806 competing turnpike routes lessened the traffic on the old route. By 1850 railroads had made the Albany Post Road obsolete and stagecoach service stopped.” The article calls Albany “a major junction of migration to western New York and into Pennsylvania.” That last point is significant, since many Scrivens moved on from Albany and Central New York to Bradford County, Pennsylvania, in the 1800’s.

Burial location

This was William of Westerly's son and Zebulon's father, according to Jack Swift. Joshua's grave (and that of other family members) can be found in an abandoned cemetery just over the Petersburg line in Grafton, Nrw York. Go west on Rt. 2 (The Taconic Trail), passing Scriven Rd., then coming to Crandell Rd. next. A short way on Crandall, take a sharp left on a dirt road. The cemetery is on the left on that road, just as you start up a hill.

For a brief discussion of Westward Migration of the Scrivens, see The Scriven Family Migration Routes or the end of Matthias Scriven's biography

Sources

1810 and 1820 US Census

Joshua Scriven in the New York, Tax Assessment Rolls of Real and Personal Estates, 1799-1804

LANDMARKS OF RENSSELAER COUNTY by George Baker Anderson.

DOB: from FamilySearch.org; Joshua Scriven, "Rhode Island, Births and Christenings, 1600-1914"

Rensselaerwyck Manor Papers, New York State Library http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/msscfa/sc7079l_m_z.htm

Joshua Scriven on Find-a-Grave [3]

Rhode Island, Births, 1636-1930

Rhode Island, Vital Extracts, 1636-1899 for Hannah Scriven, Vol. 05: Washington County: Births, Marriages, Deaths (shows he and twin, Hannah's DOB)

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Robert Scrivens for creating WikiTree profile Scriven-76 through the import of 2293fi_608439562v2o181f2jw4c6.ged on April 19, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Robert and others. Thanks to cousin Jack Swift who directed me to Joshua's gravesite.