Joshua Woodman Jr. (1672 - 1706)

Born 2 Apr 1672 in Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts

Ancestors

Husband of Mehitable (Wicom) Woodman — married 15 Dec 1703 in Newbury, MA

Descendants

Died 14 Dec 1706 at age 34 in Rowley, Essex County, Massachusetts

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Biography

1636 -- Joshua Woodman, Jr., was born at Newbury, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony, son of Edward and Joanna (Salway) Woodman. ^[1]

January 22, 1666 -- Joshua Woodman, Jr., and Elizabeth Stevens at Newbury. She was born 1645 at Andover, Massachusetts, daughter of Captain John & Elizabeth (Parker) Stevens of Andover who had emigrated from Caversham, Oxfordshire, England and probably came on the ship Confidence in 1638 from Southampton, England. ^[2]

Joshua and Elizabeth settled at Andover and Newbury and may have lived for a time in Haverhill, Massachusetts, as he owned considerable land there. ^[3]

She died in 1714 and is probably buried in Byfield. ^[4]

He died May 30, 1703, aged 67 years, and is buried in the graveyard adjoining the Byfield Parish meeting house.

Joshua Woodman, son of Mr. Edward Woodman, was the first "man child" of English parentage to be born in Newbury. The first child born was Mary, daughter of Thomas Browne from Christian Malford, Wiltshire, England.

Joshua lived in both Andover and Newbury. It appears he also could have lived for a time in Haverhill, Massachusetts where he owned considerable land and where he built a house about the time of his marriage. After he was 60 years of age he bought 12 acres of land in the upper woods from Benjamin Lowle of Newbury, bounded northerly by the highway upon the Merrimack River, commonly called the "freehold lots." There is no record of Joshua building or living on this property. Shortly after his death it was sold by his three sons to Thomas Williams.

Joshua and his son Joshua, Jr. were, no doubt, living in the Byfield section of Newbury in 1701 when they had half their ministry rate abated by the Newbury Church. We must assume this abatement was given because they were already contributing to the new parish church being built in the Byfield section of the town. From town records we find (orthography is accurate as recorded):

WILL OF JOSHUA WOODMAN.

In the name of God & by his assistance I Joshua Woodman Senyr of Newbury in the County of Essex in the province of the Masschtt, New England Doe humbly comitt my Soul, Body & Spirritt Into the Everlasting Armes of God all sufficient my heavenly ffather & unto Jesus Christ my only Savior & Blessed Redeemer thro' the power & presence of his Eternall Spiritt, My Body to ye Earth Whence it was taken, In hopes of a happy and Glorious Resurrection In ye Great Day of the Man Christ Jesus. To Him be Glory both now & Ever amen. And for my Worldly Goods

I Doe Dispose as is here after Expressed.

Imprimus to Elizabeth my Dear & Loving Wife I give all my stock and moveable Goods for her comfortable maintenance During her naturall Life & in her Life or at her death to be divided or Disposed of according to her Discretion. And in case my Wife Elizabeth shall Dye without disposeing any or all of this my above mentioned estate, What remains undisposed of shall be Equally Divided among my three Daughters Elisabeth, Sarah and Mary--after my son Jonathan shall have Received out of it fourscore pounds with what he hath already had being about fiftye Six pounds Eight Shillings as also after my Daughtr Mehetabells portion Shall be Equalized wth my Three Daughters above mentiond Shee haveing Already Receivd about Seventee pounds.

I forbear to mention my Dear & Loving Daughtr Dorothy in this my Last Will Because Shee hath allready Receivd her full portion.

Item. To my Sons Joshua Woodman, David Woodman & Benjamin Woodman, I give all my Lands both upland & Meadow With all the priviledges thereunto belonging Lyeing on the north side of Merrimack River to be Equally Divided amongst them haveing Respect to Quantity & Quality in sd. division: but they shall not any of them Come to the actuall possession of it, but by and with ye Consent of their mother during her Life being now left for her use and advantage.

All the rest of my Estate both Reall & prsonall whether Debts due to mee by Bill Bond Book or otherwise or whatsoever in Time to Come shall appear to be mine or belonging to me I Give to my said Wife during her naturall Life. ffurther I doe appoint Elizabeth my Dear & Loveing Wife & Benja my Loveing Son to Execute this my Last Will and Testament--my Debts & ffunerall Charges to be by them Discharged.

In Witness of this my Last Will & Testament I have hereunto sett my hand & Seale This Twenty Seventh day of March Seventeen hundd & Three & In the second year of her Mages Reign.

JOSHUA WOODMANS [SEAL.]

Signed sealed and declared by Mr. Joshua Woodman in presence of us William Moody Essex ss. Before the Thomas Colman Honble John Appleton Esq Moses Hale. Judge of Probate of Wills, &c. in said County att Ipswich July 12. 1703

Sources

1. ↑ Source Needed
2. ↑ Source Needed
3. ↑ Source Needed
4. ↑ Source Needed

• George Brainard Blodgette and Amos Everett Jewett. Early Settlers of Rowley, Massachusetts. 1933. Reprinted by the New England History Press, Somersworth, New Hampshire. 1981. Pages 409 & 417.

Descendant and Ancestors of Lt. Edward Woodman April 4 1998 by Rob Roy Copyrighted 1998

New England Marriages: Prior to 1700 (Clarence Almon Torrey), Torrey, Clarence Almon, ((Baltimore:MD, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997), NEHGS #B2-84750), 929/.374 ED: 20., p. 838

Massachusetts Magazine, ((Salem, Mass., U.S.A. : Salem Press Co., 1908-)

Andover, Massachusetts Vital Statistics: 1630-1850, NEHGS, (1630-1850 (Topsfield Hist. Soc.)

Genealogy and History of Edward Woodman Andrews Moriarty, "Genealogical Research in England - The Woodman Family," New England Historical and Genealogical Register, volume XCVII (1943), pages 284 - 285.

Theoda Mears Morse and Charles White, A Genealogical History of the Families of Morrill, Maine (Morrill, Maine: Morrill Historical Society, 1957), p 442.

John A. Woodman, Genealogy and History of the Descendants of Mr. Edward Woodman who settled at OULD NEWBURY Province of Massachusetts Bay in 1635 (Ocala, Florida: by author, 1995), pp 1, 5, 10.

David W. Hoyt, The Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury, Massachusetts, with some Related Families of Newbury, Haverhill, Ipswich, and Hampton, Three Volumes and Supplement in One Volume, volume I (1897) (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1982), p 365.

J.H. Woodman, A List of the Descendants of Mr. Joshua Woodman, who settled at Kingston, N.H., about 1736 (Brunswick, Maine: J. Griffin, 1856), p 6.

Morse, A Genealogical History of Morrill, Maine, p 442.

Moriarty, "The Woodman Family" , p 281, 285.

Cyrus Woodman, The Woodmans of Buxton, Maine (Boston: David Clapp & Son, 1874), p 4.

Hoyt, Old Families of Salisbury (1897), p 365.

Woodman, Genealogy and History of Edward Woodman, p 10. 11ibid, p 12a