Parentage of Joseph Lockwood of Greenwich (-1748 or '49)

Date: 1718 to 1749
Location: Greenwich, Fairfield, Connecticut Colony
Surname/tag: Lockwood

Parentage of Joseph Lockwood of Greenwich (-1748 or '49)

The question is as follows: "Was Joseph Lockwood of Greenwich, will ex. 1748/pr. 1749, the son of Gershom Lockwood of Greenwich, will ex. 1716/pr. 1719?"

The answer is: almost certainly.

To answer this question, we might look at the tracts of land of the parties, as Gershom left considerable real estate to his sons. The effort to definitively identify Joseph is seriously hampered by the fact that Connecticut town land records are largely inaccessible on FamilySearch via the public internet, but we can make some progress with probate records in Connecticut and deeds in Oyster Bay, New York.

Gershom Lockwood devised, by his last will, that his land was to be equally divided between his sons Gershom [II] and Joseph Lockwood, with the exception of his land in Oyster Bay, of which half was to go to them [and he did not specify what should be done with the other half]. An agreement among Gershom's heirs modified this arrangement slightly, leaving us with the following high-level division:^[1]

• a deed dated 28 November 1698 from Gershom Sr. to Elizabeth, now his widow, is to be honored, after which:
• all land in Greenwich and Stamford to be divided equally between sons Gershom and Joseph;
• half of land on Long Island to daughter Hannah Hanford;
• other half of land on Long Island to be divided between Gershom and Joseph.

It is noteworthy that Joseph Lockwood's original signature appears on the division of 28 March 1718/19. He had some trouble with his surname, but his hand was studied and steady, if perhaps not often practiced. A copy of this agreement was put on the books in the Town of Oyster Bay. The transcription here concurs with the original -- that Joseph signed his name.^[2]

The three siblings disposed of their shares in the land at Oyster Bay in their lifetimes in several deeds, of which to but one was there someone named Joseph Locwood a party: on 4 January 1744/5, Joseph Lockwood of Greenwich and Thomas and Elnathan Hanford of Hartford [sons of Hannah, who were in possession of Hannah's and Gershom's shares] sold a total of 320 acres in Oyster Bay to Samuel Jackson of Hempstead.^[3]

While at first glance we might take this to be an indicator that Joseph, son of Gershom, was still living in 1744/5, there is one complication -- the transcription indicates that he made his mark on, rather than signed, the document. Here we have someone who seems every bit to be playing the part of the Joseph Lockwood, son of Gershom, whose signature appeared on an agreement put on the books of Oyster Bay in order to document his ownership of this land, and yet now, 25 years after that record, he is making his mark as he disposes of the land. Let us hold this quandary in our thoughts, as we return to Greenwich for the next set of documents.

While for the most part, the deeds of Greenwich remain impenetrable at this time, we do have a list of deeds there to which anybody named Gershom Lockwood was party in this period, thanks to an article by Donald Lines Jacobus. On 3 February 1721/2, Gershom Lockwood, Jr., and Joseph Lockwood, Jr., brothers, made a division of land, recorded in Greenwich Deeds, page 2:340. These are surely Gershom I's sons. No probate record for Gershom II has been found, but it appears, from the same list, that Gershom II may have distributed several parcels of his inherited land to his children by deeds of gift.^[4] Of the land which went to Gershom II, then, we can say little unless we were attempt to trace land appearing in probates of his descendants, but we should expect that half of Gershom I's land, by value, went to Gershom.

Now, then, let us compare the land held by Gershom I in 1719 with that of Joseph in 1749.

Gershom Lockwood's inventory, taken 28 March 1718/19, as to land:^[1]

• land at Longmeadows L60
• 2 lots in Myanus neck at Hubberts Spring with meadow to it L30
• lot in the middle of the neck L6
• meadow in Myanus neck that was his own division L18
• Rights lot with the additions thereunto belonging L10
• 6 acres in Elisabeths Neck L15
• 4 acres in the south field L15
• Meads grass lot and Hubberts lot with salt meadow joining it L25
• Youngs lot with that they had of Sam'll Mead L40
• house and home lot Gershom Lockwood lives in L145
• two rights in the Hassekie meadow L4
• L40 prized in Joseph Lockwood's home lot L40
• land called Nonsuch L50
• land in the Indian field L3
• with salt meadow L3
• another lot in the Great Swamp L2
• undivided land below the road L1
• divident to be taken up L6
• right in undivided lands in Greenwich L40
• 167 acres at Tanamuns L167
• 320^[5] acres on Long Island L200
• house, barn & home lot & meadow bought of Jno How L139
• right of commonage in Greenwich
• 30 acres of land at Windsor which came to him by his first wife

Joseph Lockwood's inventory, taken 18 January 1748/9, as to land:^[6]

• the house, barn and land adjoining L720
• the lot called Benjn: Hobbys lot of abt 8 acres L540
• the lot called the Grass Lot of abt 5 acres L337
• the lot called the old house lot of abt 7 acres L570
• about 6 acres on Elisabeths Neck L216
• a lot called Potters Lot in the south field of 5 acres L200
• about 4 acres near the point of the South field L160
• about half an acre of land on the hill neck L20
• about 6 acres of land joining to the Longmeadows L300
• one acre of salt meadow in the Longmeadows L45
• one acre of salt meadow on the south side of the path near Longmeadows Bridge L30
• abt 60 acres of land in Mianus Neck called Cohansey at L40 an acre L2400
• 26 acres of land in Mianus Neck called the Wiergrass L1337
• abt 9 acres in ye Neck called Daniels lot L450
• 5 acres in the lot called Wrights Lot in the neck L200
• abt 4 acres in the Neck joyning to Gershom Lockwoods Indian Lot L200
• 7 acres of land at Longmeadow Brook L90
• 8 acres of land in Stanford [Stamford] called Smiths Lot L180
• abt 6 acres between the meadows in Greenwich L60
• abt 4 acres at ye south corner of ye upper [hassekie] meadows L30
• abt 9 acres near Caleb Lockwoods @ L15/acre L135
• 1 acre 1/2 [1.5 acres] of land lying west of a pine swamp L12
• the sum of abt 300 acres of land at Stanwich L1400
• 45 acres of land joyning south upon the Mile & a Half Line at L10/per L450
• abt 39 1/2 [39.5] acres below the mile & half line & adjoining to Mianus River at L15/per L592
• right in the commons & undivided lands at Greenwich and elsewhere L50

There are certainly some lots in these two lists which appear likely to represent the same property. But we would be remiss not also to review the division which occurred between Joseph's three sons, Daniel, Joseph [II] and Eliphalet, which describe some of this land in different, and in some cases, more helpful terms.

Division of the estate of Joseph Lockwood, 15 March 1748/9, as to land:^[6]

-- Daniel Lockwood's share:

• lot called the old home lot about 7 acres L570
• abt 6 acres joining to Long Meadow L300
• abt 26 acres at the Wyer Grass in Mianus Neck L1337
• L167:10 right in a lot in Mianus Neck next to Gershom Lockwood's Indian Lot L167:10
• Half of about 60 acres in the neck called Cohansey which is the North part only [wiith some particular bounds tweaks by the appraisers] L1200

-- Joseph Lockwood [II]'s share:

• ye house barn and homestead L720
• lot abt 8 acres called Benjm: Hobby's lot L540
• lot abt 9 acres called Daniel's Lot in Mianus neck L450
• lot in ye neck called Wright's Lot of abt 5 acres L200
• lot abt 5 acres called ye grass lot L337:10
• 3 acres 12 rods in ye south field joining to Peter Pecks Point L127:10
• half of abt 60 acres in the Cohansey lot [with complicated bounds]: L1200

-- Eliphalet Lockwood's share:

• all the lands & rights of lands on the west side of Mianus River in Greenwich, with all rights of lands elsewhere not disposed L249:21
• all the land on Elizabeth Neck L236
• Potter's lot in ye south field of abt 5 acres L200
• a L32:10 right in the Lot in the South field in Stamford near Peter Pecks Point L32:10
• 2 acres of salt meadow in two pieces in in ye Long meadow L75
• a L32:10 right in ye lot in Mianus Neck lying near to Gershom Lockwood's Indian lot L32:10
• lot by Longmeadow Brook which land was bought of Jon'th Lockwood L90
• lot in Stanford [Stamford] called Smiths Lot L180
• lot Between ye Meadows L60
• small lot in the Hassakey meadows L30
• 9 acres near Caleb Lockwoods L135
• small lot near Pine Swamp L12

One additional probate must be mentioned -- Eliphalet Lockwood's real estate was divided in 1757 between his brothers Daniel and Joseph. In this division, the brothers split a lot called "land at Stanwich called Tinnemuns West RIdge," by which we conclude that Tinnemuns, as named in Gershom's inventory, is equivalent to Stanwich in Joseph's inventory.^[7]

If we put these lot lists into a table, we can see that a number of them match each other -- they match quite well between Joseph's inventory and the division among his sons, and there is considerable overlap with between Gershom's inventory and the land that was in Joseph's possession in 1749. It would be difficult to believe that this Joseph was not the son of Gershom who inherited half of his land in 1719.

Lots in the Inventories of Gershom and Joseph Lockwood (viewing full-size recommended).

The following lots, as listed in Gershom's inventory...:

• 4a in the south field / £15
• Rights [Wrights] lot with the additions thereunto belonging / £10
• land in the Indian field / £3 with salt meadow [in the Indian field] / £3 = £6
• 6a in Elisabeths Neck / £15
• two rights in the Hassekie meadow / £4
• Meads grass lot and Hubberts lot with salt meadow joining it / £25
• 167a [ 300a?] at Tanamuns [* in what was later called Stanwich] / £167

... appear to be present in Joseph's inventory as...:

• 4a near the point of the South field / £160
• 5a called Wrights Lot in the neck / £200
• 4a in the Neck joyning to Gershom Lockwoods Indian Lot / £200
• 6a on Elisabeths Neck / £216
• 4 acres at ye south corner of ye upper [hassekey] meadows / £30
• 5a called the Grass Lot / £337
• 300a at Stanwich / £1400

...especially if we imagine that the 167a valued at £167 in Gershom's inventory was a clerical error. There are also a number of other probable matching lots, the descriptions of which are not similar enough to conclude one way or the other.

This kind of overlap in land would be quite difficult for another family to establish, even if they tried.

There is one potential fly in the ointment, though, which we should notice, but which we can seemingly safely remove: Joseph Lockwood made his mark on his will in 1748.^[6] While this might seem problematic for someone who signed his name on his father's estate division in 1719, it is actually consistent with the deed he executed in 1744/5, disposing of his Oyster Bay land. It seems we have room to wonder why he seems to have stopped signing his name, but the fact that he was not signing his name consistently in the Oyster Bay deed and in his last will helps assure us this is the same person.

In conclusion, there is no replacing a careful review of deeds in a case like this, and it would be lovely if/when we are able to do so, but given the strength of the case, based on the probate records we have at hand, it seems almost certain the deeds would confirm a conclusion that Joseph (-1748 or '49) of Greenwich was the son of Gershom (-bef. 1719) of Greenwich.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Estate of Gershom Lockwood, probate file, 1719. Connecticut State Library (Hartford, Connecticut). "Probate files collection, early to 1880. Fairfield District. Probate packets - Lewis, N.-Lyon, Abigail, 1648-1880." FamilySearch, film # 7,628,175, images 441-463.
   • Last will of Gershom Lockwood, ex. 2 October 1716, pr. 27 March 1719 [1718/19] image 447.
   • Inventory, 24 March 1718/19, image 451.
   • Division, 28 March 1719 [1718/19], image 449.
   • There are other documents in the file, notably concerning a Negro woman named Molly, which should be cited in fullsome profiles of Molly and of Gershom Lockwood and his daughter Sarah (Lockwood) (Selleck) (Hickox) Kellogg, but are omitted here for brevity.
2. ↑ Cox, John, Jr., ed. Town of Oyster Bay (New York). Oyster Bay Town Records, Vol. V 1733-1749. New York: Tobias A. Wright, 1930, page 5:373, citing Oyster Bay Town Records, New Book A, page 31a.
3. ↑ Joseph Lockwood and Thomas and Elnathan Hanford to Samuel Jackson, 4 January 1744/5. Ibid., page 5:323, citing Oyster Bay Town Records, New Book A, page 1a.
4. ↑ Jacobus, Donald L. "The Gershom Lockwoods of Greenwich, Conn." The American Genealogist. New Haven: D. L. Jacobus, 1955, page 31:227.
5. ↑ It is difficult to read the number "320" in Gershom's inventory, pertaining to land on Long Island, but the Oyster Bay deed clarifies this number as such.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} Estate of Joseph Lockwood, 1749. Stamford Probates. Connecticut. Probate Court (Stamford District). "Probate records, 1728-1916. Probate records v. 1-3 1728-1772." FamilySearch, film # 7,626,803.
   • Last will, ex. 16 December 1748, pr. 2 January 1748/9, page 2:266/image 402.
   • Inventory, 18 January 1748/9, page 2:268/image 403.
   • Division, 15 March 1748/9, page 1:20-23/images 279-80.
7. ↑ Estate of Eliphalet Lockwood. Division, 4 May 1757. Stamford Probates, 2:321. Connecticut. Probate Court (Stamford District). "Probate records, 1728-1916. Probate records v. 1-3 1728-1772." FamilySearch, film # 7,626,803, image 429.