Joseph Razey (abt. 1728 - abt. 1790)

Husband of Mary (Hollon) Razey — married 6 May 1757 in Worcester County, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Descendants

Died about 1790 at about age 62 in Swanzey, Cheshire, New Hampshire, USA

Problems/Questions Profile managers: T Stanton [send private message] and Betty Warner [send private message]

Joseph was a Friend (Quaker)

Introduction

There remains debate as to the origins of Joseph Razey (the surname is also seen as Rasey, Razee, Racy and other variations among descendants) so it is best to currently precede his biography with this Introduction. Please refer to the Research Notes for more extended discussion. Kindly do not alter content or immediate lineage of this profile without discussion with the profile managers.

It was long believed and frequently published in various sources and family histories that Joseph was the son of Malcolm MacLeod of Raasay (Scotland). That has been disproved through genetic testing by multiple Razey descendants. However, researcher and descendant David Guy Harden has postulated that Joseph is actually the son of Malcolm MacLeod of Brae (Scotland) and Katheryn McQueen stating in a 2014 paper, “I would agree that Joseph Rasey’s parents are not Malcolm MacLeod of Raasay and Mercy Davis but not because of the DNA results. Malcolm MacLeod of Raasay is not the Captain Malcolm MacLeod of Brae who married Katheryn McQueen. It is the latter that are the parents of Joseph. Now as to the DNA evidence, I am not in direct male line descent from Joseph Rasey but I am his multi-great grandson and not only is my Haplogroup R1b but my DNA structure is 98% descendant from the British Isles.” Harden also discusses the reason Joseph changed his surname from MacLeod to Rasay.

Update: In 2020, it came to light that there were factual errors in some of the research of David Harden, since deceased, and family have no additional information on his research. The profile managers have left the content of this profile as it was realizing that some content may be in error but there is presently no additional primary source documentation.

Biography

Joseph was born about 1728 according to some however no definitive date of birth has been established. One of the earliest primary sources lists his year of birth as 1740.^[1] He is recorded as among the voters at the first town meeting of Richmond in Cheshire County.^[2] This book also documents his membership as "of the more prominent names of those belonging to the [Society of Friends] previous to 1800, were...Joseph Razee" (pages 229-232 of the previous Bassett citation.)

He married Mary Hollon on 6 May 1757 in Mendon, Massachusetts which lists the groom as resident in Uxbridge and the bride resident in Mendon. A contemporary certified copy of the marriage record is attached to this profile as PDF. There are other historical documents and indices.^[3]

Multiple contemporary sources read that he left Richmond in 1777. He passed away about 1790. Military service records in New Hampshire for Joseph Razey are those of his son as demonstrated by pension documents signed by another son Pelatiah Razey after the son Joseph died at age 69. Joseph the son served in the company of Capt Benjamin Ellis. There is no record of this Joseph Razey serving in the Revolutionary War.

Children (documented):

1. Pelatiah (or Geliah?) RASEY, b. 25 Jan 1758; d. 10 May 1758, Mendon, Worcester Co., MA

In some family histories the first child who is believed not to have survived is named Geliah. The Mendon town records read Pelatiah^[4] however it should be noted that these records are not contemporaneous with the births for Pelatiah (1) who is believed to have died in infancy, Pelatiah (2) who lived, and Robert (3) all appear next to each other in the same handwriting.

2. Pelatiah RASEY, b. 17 Feb 1759^[5]

3. Robert RASEY, b. 15 Jan 1761^[6]

Robert was still alive 1870 US Census listed with approximate age of 91 (implied birth year 1779). In the 1860 census he is listed with approximate age of 84 (implied birth year 1776). This 1761 birth date seems erroneous however this is what is listed in the Mendon town birth records. See notation about these entries above under child 1.

4. Joseph RASEY II, b. 6 Jan 1763

As with some of the other children, Joseph's birth appears in both New Hampshire and Mendon, Massachusetts official records with slightly different dates of birth.^[7][8]

5. Tryphena RASEY,

Her birth is recorded in two different official records. It is recorded as 28 Jan 1765 in official NH records^[9] and is recorded as 28 Jun 1765 in Mendon, Massachusetts records.^[10] If in Massachusetts, her birth was the last child of Joseph born in Mendon. The remainder were born in Swanzey, NH. A logical supposition is that the family relocated to Joseph's family home in Swanzey from Mary's in Mendon during this timeframe - 1764 to 1766.

6. Asahel RASEY, b. 29 Apr 1767 ^[11]

7. Molly (Polly) RASEY, b. 14 Sep 1768 ^[12] Her New Hampshire birth document clearly reads Molly but she is erroneously seen as "Mary Polly" which is undocumented. Some later records read Polly.

8. John RASEY, b. 7 Mar 1771^{[13] [14]}

9. Silas RASEY, b. Oct 1773^[15][16]

Revolutionary War Records: NARA M881. Compiled service records of soldiers who served in the American Army during the Revolutionary War, 1775-1783. Page 1 - Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the. 1775-1785 New Hampshire. ^[17] File Format: jpg. Page 1 - Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War. Joseph Razey. ^[18] [Note: military records are believed to be those of the son Joseph. See discussion in the narrative bio above.]

Research Notes

Parentage Joseph Razey's parentage by Malcolm MacLeod of Raasay has been proven incorrect by DNA testing. David Guy Harden's work (see Acknowledgements) encompasses an extensive analysis of that erroneous lineage, how it came to be accepted as fact prior to DNA analysis, and why it is in error. Does his research prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Malcolm MacLeod of Brae is the father of Joseph Razey? Harden ends his extended article by writing, "I think the clues are all here for somebody to figure out what all this means."

Category: Y-DNA Haplogroup_I I2-Y7824

So far, the RASEY Surname Project has results returned for four members representing two major progenitors in the United States: Joseph RAZEE I of Massachusetts, then Rhode Island and Joseph RASEY I of Massachusetts, then New Hampshire. Testing just these four individuals has resolved two long-standing issues for RASEY/RAZEE/etc. genealogists: 1. The two families are not genetically matching based on both their STR haplotypes and their SNP haplogroup subclades, thus firmly debunking the assertion that Joseph RAZEE I was the father of Joseph RASEY I.

2. The results for the descendants of Jîoseph RASEY I debunk the legend of a connection to Malcolm MacLEOD of the Isle of Raasay, Scotland, whose kin are Haplogroup R1b, while Joseph's are a subclade of Haplogroup I2. Being in these different haplogroups means they cannot possibly have shared a common ancestor for tens of thousands of years.^[19]

Update: In 2020, it came to light that there were factual errors in some of the research of David Harden, since deceased, and family have no additional information on his research. The profile managers have left the content of this profile as it was realizing that some content may be in error but there is presently no additional primary source documentation.

In Harden's research he has uncovered that Joseph's parents being Malcolm MacLeod of Brae and Katheryn McQueen may have first been discovered and proposed by the late William Gurley (1854-1943), Prof of Geology and Anthropology at the University of Chicago who was also the President of the Sons of the American Revolution Illinois Association.

Harden ties everything together with the following:

The story of the ancestry of Captain Malcom Macleod of Brae and his connection to Bonnie Prince Charlie is valid and well documented: “Alastair Macleod 7th of Raasay … he m Catherine … by whom he had issue, 1. Malcolm, his heir. 2.John, father of Capt. Malcolm Macleod, who joined his uncle Malcolm, 6th of Raasay in arms for Prince Charles Edward in 1745. The elder son, Malcolm 8th of Raasay, accompanied by his 2nd son Dr. Murdoch Macleod of Eyre, and Capt. Malcolm Macleod, his nephew, joined Prince Charles Edward at the head of a hundred of the Macleods of Raasay. He kept his eldest son [Malcolm] out of the rising and conveyed the estates to him. He [Malcolm] m. Mary … by whom he had issue, 1. John, his heir …His eldest son, John Macleod, 9th of Raasay, matric arms 16 July,1779. He entertained Dr. Johnson, during the famous tour to the Western Isles in 1773; m. Jane, dau. of Macqueen of Rigg in Skye…” [Burke, 1939,"Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry including American Families with British Ancestry." Burke's Peerage, p. 1495]

Note that Capt. Malcolm, son of John and grandson of Alastair 7th of Raasay is mentioned twice as having joined Prince Charles Edward in 1745. It is further specified that Alastair 7th of Raasay’s son Malcolm was deliberately kept out of the rebellion. As a matter of record, the heir, Laird Malcolm MacLeod 8thof Raasay, never visited America. Note that this quote makes it clear that" Malcolm, his heir", was not Capt. Malcolm of Brea. It is these two Malcolms that are most frequently confused but the Malcolm of our line is Captain Malcolm of Brae.

Now the proof that this Capt. Malcolm Macleod is the one who emigrated to America is found in Dr. Samuel Johnson’s A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland (1775) where it is mentioned that Captain Malcolm had just returned from a trip to America. Note: several individuals have searched the Johnson text without finding this "proof" asserted to be there by Harden. One might draw this inference based upon various statements but it does not appear to state that Malcolm had been in America.

Surname Change To paraphrase the work of J. F. McLean^[20] the MacLeods and associated friends had been involved in some skulduggery raising troops for the British and preparing them for war. "At the close of the Revolution all of the highland settlers of Washington County would have been sent to Canada had it not been for the Hon. Edward Savage...(who) had sufficient influence to prevent his wife's relatives and friends being sent out of the country on account of their Tory proclivities. They considered that they had sworn allegiances to the King...from the fact that the land given to them was in 'the name of the King." (Page 443 of McLean's book.) Allegiance to the King is rather interesting considering the MacLeods had been involved in supporting Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Malcolm MacLeod of Brae did not change his surname when he retired to Vermont, a virtual hermit prior to his 1777 death. However it is believed that because of the persecution of supporters of the King and the threat of exile that Joseph MacLeod adopted the surname Razey (Rasey).

Second Wife and 10th Child Some preserved family correspondence/history includes mention of "a separation and that he married a second wife and they were the parents of James Rasay b 1792 in Isle La Motte, Vermont, there is no proof of this to date" [1941]. This particular source states that Joseph "is not buried there [Homestead Cemetery, West Swanzey, Cheshire, New Hamsphire] or at least there is no marker for him." Mary Hollon is buried there next to her daughter Tryphena Grimes. Numerous contemporary accounts read that Joseph left Cheshire in 1777.

Sources

1. ↑ Miscellaneous Rev. docs of N.H., Albert Sillman Batchellor, Ed., Manchester, NH 1910. (17,658 p):122.
2. ↑ BASSETT, WILLIAM, History of the Town of Richmond, Cheshire County, New Hampshire from its First Settlement to 1882, Boston, 1884. https://archive.org/details/historyoftownofr00bass
3. ↑ Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records, Uxbridge. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook).
4. ↑ Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook).
5. ↑ Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook).
6. ↑ Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook).
7. ↑ Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook).
8. ↑ New Hampshire Registrar of Vital Statistics. "Index to births, early to 1900." New Hampshire Registrar of Vital Statistics, Concord, New Hampshire.
9. ↑ “New Hampshire, Birth Records, through 1900.” Online index and digital images. New England Historical Genealogical Society. Citing New Hampshire Bureau of Vital Records, Concord, New Hampshire.
10. ↑ Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook).
11. ↑ New Hampshire Registrar of Vital Statistics. "Index to births, early to 1900." New Hampshire Registrar of Vital Statistics, Concord, New Hampshire.
12. ↑ New Hampshire Registrar of Vital Statistics. "Index to births, early to 1900." New Hampshire Registrar of Vital Statistics, Concord, New Hampshire.
13. ↑ “New Hampshire, Birth Records, through 1900.” Online index and digital images. New England Historical Genealogical Society. Citing New Hampshire Bureau of Vital Records, Concord, New Hampshire.
14. ↑ New Hampshire Registrar of Vital Statistics. "Index to births, early to 1900." New Hampshire Registrar of Vital Statistics, Concord, New Hampshire.
15. ↑ New England Historical Genealogical Society. Citing New Hampshire Bureau of Vital Records, Concord, New Hampshire.
16. ↑ New Hampshire Registrar of Vital Statistics. "Index to births, early to 1900." New Hampshire Registrar of Vital Statistics, Concord, New Hampshire.
17. ↑ Source: #S1467081934 Page 1 - Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War 1775-1785 Note: https://www.fold3.com/image/19739479?terms=Joseph%20Razey&xid=1945 File Format: jpg Page 1 - Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War
18. ↑ Source: #S1467081925 Joseph Razey Note: https://www.fold3.com/page/630209766-joseph-razey?xid=1945
19. ↑ http://dgmweb.net/DNA/Rasey/RaseyDNA-results.html
20. ↑ McLean, JF, An Historical Account of the Settlements of Scotch Highlanders in America, prior to the peace of 1783, together with notices of Highland Regiments and Biographical Sketches, Helman-Taylor Co., Cleveland, John MacKay, Glasgow, 1900

Acknowledgements

Updating of this profile would not have been possible without the work of David Guy Harden, a descendant of Joseph Razey. His research entitled "A Compilation of Early Family Records on the Rasey Family in America" is available at Ancestry.

See also:

• Add sources here.
• http://dgmweb.net/FGS/R/RaseyJoseph-MaryHollon.html
• Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Compiled Marriages, 1633-1850 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: Dodd, Jordan, Liahona Research, comp. Massachusetts, Marriages, 1633-1850. With some noted exceptions all marriage records in this collection can be found at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, and may be available through Family History Centers throughout the United States. See table below for information listed.
• Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook).
• Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War, The National Archives, 1775-1785, New Hampshire, www.fold3.com/image/19739479?terms=Joseph%20Razey&xid=1945

• www.fold3.com/page/630209766-joseph-razey?xid=1945
• Source: S1466591037 Repository: #R1450954418 Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. Ancestry Family Tree http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=117786603&pid=266
• Repository: R1450954418 Ancestry.com
• Source: S1466630233 Repository: #R1450954418 Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 Ancestry.com Publication: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.
• Source: S1466630251 Repository: #R1450954418 Massachusetts, Compiled Marriages, 1633-1850 Ancestry.com Publication: Ancestry.com Operations Inc
• Source: S1467081925 Repository: #R1450985208
• Repository: R1450985208 https://www.fold3.com
• Source: S1467081934 Repository: #R1450985208 Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War Publication: The National Archives