Joseph Greenleaf (1727 - abt. 1772)

Born 2 Jul 1727 in York, York, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Dorcas (Gray) Hilton — married about 1752 (to about 1772) in Berwick, York, Massachusetts, United States

Descendants

Died about 1772 at about age 44 in Pownalborough, Lincoln, Massachusetts Bay Colony

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Biography

Joseph Greenleaf was born on 2 Jul 1727 in York, York, Massachusetts Bay Colony. His parents were Stephen and Mary (Mackres) Greenleaf.^[1][2][3]

Joseph had military service ^[2] (page 177): "Entered, Sept. 24, 1750 to Nov. x, 1750, Capt. James Thompson's Co., Boston Service, Ranging Woods, Muster Rolls Vol. xciii. p. 59. Private, April 30, 1757, Capt. Jonathan Williamson's Co., District of Wiscasset, Me. List of Militia men, Muster Rolls, Vol. xcv. p. 336. Ensign, Aug. 9, 1757, on a return of officers belonging to the Mass. forces, commanded by Col. Joseph Frye, that was in the capitulation of Fort William Henry. [Mass. Arch., Muster Rolls, Vol. xcv. p. 449 ]"

Joseph married Dorcas Gray about 1752, probably in Berwick, Maine, where her family resided.^[4] They moved to Pownalborough, Lincoln, Maine by 1755, and lived there for the remainder of their lives.

Joseph and several other Greenleaf men appear on a 1760 petition to Massachusetts Governor Shirley for protection against French and Indian attacks. ^[5]

Joseph and Dorcas had children.^[2]

1. Ebenezer (1753), married Elizabeth Chapman
2. John (1755), married Anna Pierce Roberts
3. Martha (1757), married Peter Holbrook
4. Sally (1760), married Benjamin Arnold
5. Rachel (1763), married Luke Sawyer
6. Joshua (1765), married Hannah Williamson
7. William (bp. 1768) ^[6], married Sally Lander
8. Lydia (1770, bp. 1771) ^[7], married Samuel Hinckley
9. Joseph (bp. 1772) ^[8]

The Joseph Greenleaf baptized on 30 November 1772 was likely born after his father's death, as he is offered by Stephen and Sarah McKenney, and is the only child on that page to have his surname listed.

Joseph may not have flourished economically, as on 4 August 1766 Joseph "Greenlefe" and his wife and family of 5 or 6 children were warned out of town, and on 15 September were told to leave.^[9] Such actions were usually taken because the town wanted to avoid having to subsidize its inhabitants. They may have remained in Pownalborough or moved to Woolwich, as subsequent baptisms of children are recorded in the church there.

Joseph died in 1772,^[2] and his widow Dorcas married Moses Hilton in 1781, in Wiscasset, and remained there when several of her sons removed to the area of Starks, Maine.

Sources

1. ↑ Vital Records from the New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (Compiled from articles originally published in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register.) NEHGS member site
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} James Greenleaf, "Genealogy of the Greenleaf family", 1896, pp. 337-8, 366-7 p.337; p.366
3. ↑ "Maine Births and Christenings, 1739-1900", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4HY-BPX : 14 January 2020), Joseph Greenleaf, 1722.
4. ↑ U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900; Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com; birth date: 1732 birth place: South Berwick, York, ME, USA Name: Dorcas Gray; Ancestry member site
5. ↑ The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1847-. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2018.) NEHGS member site
6. ↑ "Maine, Church Records, 1734-1907", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPHD-4TNR : 3 October 2019), William Greenleaf, .
7. ↑ "Maine, Church Records, 1734-1907", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPHY-4C39 : 3 October 2019), Joseph Greenleaf in entry for Lydiagray Greenleaf, .
8. ↑ "Maine, Church Records, 1734-1907", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG55-V4HQ : 3 October 2019), Joseph Greenleaf, .
9. ↑ Vital records of Wiscasset Maine, Maine Genealogical Society, issue 66, Picton Press (2011)