Joseph
Church
Born in Little Compton, Bristol, Plymouth Colony
Ancestors 
Son of Joseph Church Jr.
and Grace (Shaw) Church
Brother of
Sarah (Church) Talman, Nathaniel Church, Alice (Church) Southworth, Deborah (Church) Briggs, Elizabeth (Church) Palmer, Caleb Church, Richard Church and Israel Church
[spouse(s) unknown]
Descendants 
Father of
Joseph Church and Grace (Church) Closson
Died
at age 23
in Little Compton, Bristol, Massachusetts Bay
Profile managers:
Cameron Little 
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Biography
Joseph Church was born on 17 June 1689 to Joseph and Grace (Shaw) Church in Little Compton, Bristol, Plymouth Colony[1] (later Rhode Island.)
Arnold's Vital Record of Rhode Island provides an entry in Little Compton for a marriage of Joseph Church in 1709, but unfortunately no bride is named and no specific date is given.[2] The Warren Silver Book does not state who Joseph married, but indicates that, "His wife may be the Bethiah (Pearce) Church who married John Hurst at Tiverton 26 November 1719." Whatever her identity, she was the mother of Joseph's two children.[3]
Children born Little Compton:[3][4]
- Joseph Church, b. 23 Oct 1710
- Grace Church, b. 15 Dec 1712
Joseph died on 25 October 1712[5][6] aged 23 years and was buried in the Old Commons Burial Ground in Little Compton.[7] No probate records have been found in Bristol County for Joseph.[3]
Research notes; Disputed Wife and Children
In his Descendants of Richard Church of Plymouth, Massachusetts,[8] John A. Church makes some glaring errors in Joseph's biographical sketch.
First and foremost, the author gives Joseph a death year of 1742 instead of 1712. It is unclear how John A. Church made this mistake as both Joseph's grave and death record give the correct 1712 date. It might be thought that John A. Church did not have access to either source, however, he gives the exact date of 25 October, so it is possible that he altered the date in order to include additional persons as offspring of Joseph. In fact, he ascribes at least 3, maybe 4, children to Joseph that were not possibly his because they were born after his death.
The second issue with this biographical sketch is naming Joseph's wife as Lydia Randall and also naming his son's, Joseph (IV), wife as Lydia Randall. Although possible that both men married women with the same name, it seems unlikely and there is clear record of marriage between Joseph (IV) and Lydia Randall while the only marriage record that can be connected to Joseph (III) says "Joseph; m. 1709". Therefore, it should be concluded that John A. Church made a mistake in naming Joseph (III)'s wife as Lydia Randall and that no certain name can be ascribed to her as of yet.
Sources
- ↑ Arnold, James N., Vital Record of Rhode Island : 1636-1850 : First Series : Births, Marriages and Deaths : A Family Register for the People (Providence, R.I. : Narragansett Historical Pub. Co., 1891), Vol. 4:6:101, citing Little Compton Vol. 1:7].
- "Church, Joseph, of Joseph and Grace, June 17, 1689."
- ↑ Arnold, James N., Vital Record of Rhode Island : 1636-1850 : First Series : Births, Marriages and Deaths : A Family Register for the People (Providence, R.I. : Narragansett Historical Pub. Co., 1891), Vol. 4:6:18, citing Little Compton Vol. 1:37.
- "Church, Joseph; m. 1709."
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Wakefield, Robert S., Mayflower Families Through Five Generations, Richard Warren, Vol. 18, part two, The Descendants of Richard Warren Through His Children Mary, Anna, and Elizabeth, 2011 Edition, Published 2016, Page 227. (Link via $ubscription to AmericanAncestors.org.)
- ↑ Arnold, James N., Vital Record of Rhode Island : 1636-1850 : First Series : Births, Marriages and Deaths : A Family Register for the People (Providence, R.I. : Narragansett Historical Pub. Co., 1891), Vol. 4:6:102, citing Little Compton Vol. 1:37.
- "Church, Joseph; of Joseph, Oct. 23, 1710.
- ", Grace, Dec. 15, 1712."
- ↑ Arnold, James N., Vital Record of Rhode Island : 1636-1850 : First Series : Births, Marriages and Deaths : A Family Register for the People (Providence, R.I. : Narragansett Historical Pub. Co., 1891), Vol. 4:6:101, citing Little Compton Vol. 1:7].
- "Church, Joseph, died Oct. 25, 1712."
- ↑ "Rhode Island, Births and Christenings, 1600-1914," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F872-YZD : accessed 8 September 2015), Joseph Church died 25 Oct 1712; citing , reference ; FHL microfilm 908,270.
- ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/73144127/joseph-church: accessed 26 October 2022), memorial page for Joseph Church III (17 Jun 1689–25 Oct 1712), Find A Grave: Memorial #73144127, citing Old Commons Burial Ground, Little Compton, Newport County, Rhode Island, USA; Maintained by Thomas Palmer (contributor 47199783) .
- ↑ Church, John A., Descendants of Richard Church of Plymouth, Massachusetts, The Tuttle Co., Rutland, Vermont, 1913, pages 36, 48. Note: This biographical entry gives the wrong death date by thirty years (1742 instead of 1712) and includes at least 3 children, possibly 4, that could not have been this Joseph's because he died in 1712.
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Joseph by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. Y-chromosome DNA test-takers in his direct paternal line on WikiTree:
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Joseph by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. Y-chromosome DNA test-takers in his direct paternal line on WikiTree:
- Alan Church
:
Family Tree DNA Y-DNA Test - George Church :
Family Tree DNA Y-DNA Test 700 markers, haplogroup R-FTD32647, FTDNA kit #B543744
-
~0.39%
Don Sage :
23andMe, GEDmatch M688071 [compare]
+
AncestryDNA, GEDmatch FQ5715853 [compare], yourDNAportal DON0ad2b8fa, Ancestry member donsageJr
Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
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Joseph was born in 1789 and died in 1712 AT AGE 23. It should not be surprising that he left no Will.
It's perhaps not surprising that he left no will, but it is a bit odd that there was no inventory of his estate nor guardianship records for his children. Perhaps a further search of Bristol records is in order.
There is probably no inventory because he was probably not living independently, but part of another household. Perhaps his parents, which would make formal guardianship for his children unnecessary. The Will of his father, Joseph Church Jr, treats his grandchildren, Joseph and Grace, the same as his daughters.
edited by Joan (Gardner) Moore