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Joseph Smith (1687 - 1765)

Joseph Smith
Born in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colonymap
Ancestors ancestors
Son of [uncertain] and [uncertain]
Brother of and
Husband of — married 26 Apr 1716 in Canterbury, Windham, Connecticut Colonymap
Descendants descendants
Father of , , , and
Died at age 78 in Canterbury, Windham, Connecticut Colonymap
Problems/Questions Profile manager: Gary Spring private message [send private message]
Profile last modified | Created 29 Mar 2021
This page has been accessed 207 times.

Biography

Joseph was born on 6 Aug 1687 in Cambridge, MA to John and Sarah (Prentice) Smith.[1][2][3]

He married Elizabeth Burnap in Canterbury, Windham County, CT on 26 Apr 1716.[4]

He died on 5 Sep 1765 in Canterbury (1; 227).[4]

Research Notes

  • 1701. On March 16, 1701, John Woodward of Newtowne, husbandman, Nathaniel Hancock of Cambridge, cordwinder, and John Staples of Newtowne posted bond for the guardianship by John Woodward of Joseph Smith, one of the sons of John Smith, late of Cambridge, husbandman.[5]
  • 1701. By deed dated April 1, 1701, John Smith of Cambridge, yeoman, with the consent of his wife Martha, for £72, sold to Daniel Dana of Cambridge 14 acres of land in Cambridge bordering the land of his brother Joseph Smith.[6]
  • 1708. By deed dated September 23, 1708, Joseph Smith of Newtowne, weaver, for £56, sold to Daniel Dana of Cambridge 14 acres in Cambridge bordering Dana's existing land. The deed was witnessed by [step-father] John Woodward, [mother] Sarah Woodward, and [step-brother] Daniel Woodward.[7]

Sources

  1. ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQXN-TXZ : 15 January 2020), Joseph Smith, 1687.
  2. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FC9S-QG6 : 10 November 2020), Joseph Smith, 9 Aug 1687; citing Birth, Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 004198966.
  3. ↑ Thomas W. Baldwin, compiler, "Vital Records of Cambridge, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, Volume 1. Births" (Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1914), p. 651-53.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Windham County Connecticut, CTGenweb Project, BARBOUR COLLECTION OF CT VITAL RECORDS; http://ctgenweb.org/county/cowindham/records/barbour/barbourcanterburyrs.htm
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Middlesex County Probate Records. File 20660. FHL Film #007553765, images 1048-1050. Link to images at familysearch.org.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Middlesex County Deeds, Volume 13, pp. 153-155. FHL Film #007448441, images 491-492. Link to images at familysearch.org.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Middlesex County Deeds, Volume 14, p. 691. FHL Film #007448442, image 371. Link to image at familysearch.org.




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Comments: 6

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Ashley-1950 Chase Ashley
I'm doing research on the family of John Smith of Cambridge and his wife Sarah (Prentice) Smith, including their son Joseph. I'll add what I find about Joseph to a Research Notes section in this profile. If I discover evidence indicating that he was not the Joseph Smith of Canterbury, I'll create a separate profile for him and disconnect John and Sarah as this profile's parents.
posted by Chase Ashley
Gary Spring
Ellen - good point regarding the uncertainty of Joseph's parentage. I had neglected to indicate on the profile that this relationship is uncertain. I have not marked John and Sarah as Joseph's parents as "uncertain." This recognizes the reasonable possibility but makes note that it's something that needs to be confirmed.

Your point also applies to the Joseph Smith who died on 1765. This one's more certain that the parentage because the place is consistent with he who married Elisabeth but is still is uncertain.

Thanks for your rigor!

posted by Gary Spring
Smith-62120 Ellen Smith
Thanks, Gary.

I agree that much genealogy is based on inference, not solid proof. This is especially true for people named Smith.

I think there is a credible basis for identifying the Joseph Smith who married Elisabeth Burnap as the father of the four children (Benjamin Smith, Joseph Smith Jr., Mary Smith, John Smith) of Joseph and Elisabeth who were recorded in Canterbury, Connecticut, and also as the same Joseph Smith who died in Canterbury in 1765. The geography and the dates are consistent, and only one adult named Joseph Smith appears in Canterbury records during that period.

My concern with Joseph relates to whether the child born in Cambridge in 1687 is the same person as the man who married Elisabeth Burnap in 1716 in Canterbury. I have not seen any evidence -- not even circumstantial evidence -- for making that identification.

posted by Ellen Smith
Smith-62120 Ellen Smith
I still fail to see any evidence (even circumstantial evidence) that the Joseph Smith who was born in Cambridge in 1687 is the same one who later appeared in Canterbury and married Elizabeth Burnap in 1716. I don't see any record confirming the age of the man who lived in Canterbury, nor any evidence that other members of the Cambridge Smith family relocated to Canterbury or nearby towns, nor any names of children that connect Joseph of Canterbury to the Cambridge Smith family, nor an indication of a family bible or a published local history or family genealogy that supports the connection. I am not even aware of a pattern of people from Cambridge moving to this part of Connecticut (but there may be evidence of such).

We cannot confidently connect an adult man to a birth record solely because they are approximately the right age (within several years) and were within less than 100 miles -- particularly not when they have such a common name.

Is there evidence that is not mentioned in the profiles, or that I have somehow overlooked???

posted by Ellen Smith
edited by Ellen Smith
Jewett-369 Bob Jewett
Smith-287004 and Smith-238921 appear to represent the same person because: Same dates and places ... just added and missed your Smith ... sorry ... his wife will be coming for a merge in a bit.
posted by Bob Jewett
Smith-62120 Ellen Smith
Smith-287004 and Smith-238921 do not represent the same person because: Sorry, but I find NO EVIDENCE to identify this Joseph Smith as the man born in Cambridge in 1687 to the parents who are connected to Smith-238921. Yes, the man who married Elizabeth Burnap in 1716 is likely to have been born around 1687 and in Massachusetts, but there are plenty of other candidates named Joseph Smith who were born in the vicinity of 1690 at various places in New England. I am rejecting the merge and revising the birth data on Smith-287004
posted by Ellen Smith

Rejected matches › Joseph Smith (abt.1690-1765)

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