Joseph Snow III (1715 - 1803)

Born 26 Mar 1715 in Bridgewater, Plymouth, province of Massachusetts Bay, New England

Ancestors

Husband of Sarah (Field) Snow — married 1 Nov 1737 (to 1753) in Bridgewater, Plymouth, province of Massachusetts Bay, New England

Husband of Rebecca (Grant) Snow — married 14 Mar 1754 (to 30 Sep 1774) in Providence, Providence, Rhode Island

Husband of Margaret Proctor — married 24 Oct 1775 in Providence, Providence, Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

Descendants

Died 10 Apr 1803 at age 88 in Providence, Providence Co., Rhode Island, USA

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Biography

Joseph Snow III was born in March 1715 in Bridgewater, Plymouth County, in the British province of Massachusetts Bay, New England. He was the eldest son of "Deacon" Joseph Snow (II) and his wife, Elizabeth (Field) Snow.

On November 1, 1737, Joseph Snow III married a maternal-side cousin, Sarah Field, b. 1710, in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. They soon moved to Providence, Providence Co., British colony of Rhode Island, New England. His parents also moved there. Joseph Snow in his youth was taught the trade of house carpentry, and was a self-made, self-reliant man.

Joseph III and Sarah (Field) Snow had 9 children, all in Providence, R.I.:

1. Sarah Snow, b. 27 OCT 1738; d. 23 APR 1752. Not married.
2. John Snow b: 3 FEB 1740 - married
3. Joseph Snow b: 3 OCT 1741 - d: 10 OCT 1741
4. Joseph Snow b: 2 Sep 1742 - m. Sarah Badger
5. Lydia Snow b: 8 JAN 1744; d. 22 MAR 1773. Not married
6. Susanna Snow b: 14 OCT 1745; m. Samuel Carew; d: 21 MAR 1706
7. Elizabeth Snow b: 10 OCT 1747; m. Zabdiel Rogers; d: 8 NOV 1793
8. Abigail Snow b: 26 MAR 1749; d. 10 AUG 1752, a child
9. Josiah Snow b: 24 FEB 1750

Joseph Snow, although without a college degree, became a Congregational Protestant minister in Providence, RI. Unhappy with the leadership of that city's First Congregational Church, he led a split in its membership in 1743 and helped found the Providence Beneficent Congregational Church that year. Shortly thereafter, its members requested that he become their pastor despite his lack of formal theological training. He served as pastor of the Beneficent Congregational Church of Providence, Rhode Island for 50 years: from 1743 until 1793. In 1789, being 74 years old, Rev. Snow requested an assistant pastor and Rev. James Wilson arrived to fill the post. Alas, Rev. Snow and a portion of the congregation disagreed with Rev. Wilson's preaching and so, at 78 years old, Rev. Joseph Snow III founded the Richmond Street Congregational Church in Providence. He remained at its head until his death in April 1808 at 89 years old. It was said of him that despite his limited formal education, he "was a pious, devoted, orthodox minister of Jesus Christ." ^[1]

On July 19, 1753, Sarah (Field) Snow died in Providence, Rhode Island, leaving Joseph with 7 minor children to raise.^[2] The following March (14 March 1754), Rev. Joseph Snow married Rebecca Grant, b: 1734 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts. They had 3 sons and 1 daughter, all in Providence, Rhode Island:

1. Rebecca Snow b: 13 FEB 1756; m. James Munro; d: 1815
2. Capt. Samuel Snow b: 10 AUG 1758; m. Frances Wanton
3. Edward Snow b: 9 MAY 1760,
4. Benjamin Snow b: 6 DEC 1762, m. 1st, Sally Rogers; 2d, Sarah Otis

Rebecca (Grant) Snow died on September 30, 1774, in Providence, Rhode Island. On October 24, 1775, Rev. Joseph Snow married a 3rd wife, Margaret Proctor, b. 1719 in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. They married and lived in Providence, Rhode Island, but had no children as she was 56 by the time they married.

Joseph Snow III died on April 10, 1803, in Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island, USA. His wife Margaret survived him but her date of death is unknown.

Sources

1. ↑ The American Quarterly Register, Volumes 12-13, pp. 269-70; A Google Book.
2. ↑ Find A Grave Memorial# 11146663 - Sarah Field Snow

See also:

• Descendants of Anthony Snow - Joseph Snow

• "The William Snow Family ", by Edwin H Snow, Providence RI: 1908

• 1774 Rhode Island Census, Providence, Page 13, Entry 8 — Joseph Snow; from "Census of the Colony of Rhode Island," one bound volume, Rhode Island State Archives, identifier C#00197; viewed through "Colony of Rhode Island Census, 1774", database of images from Rhode Island State Digital Archives (sosri.access.preservica.com/).

Acknowledgements

• WikiTree profile Snow-286 was created through the import of greenwald-millerGEDCOM.ged on 27 September 2010.