Joseph Leonard

• Find a Grave Memorial
• Leonard family bible; Cox, Barnes, Lednum, Bartlett, Nelson, Marshall.

Biography

Joseph was born ca 1648. He is the son of James Leonard and Mary Martin.

• Source:

Deane, William Reed. Genealogical Memoir of the Leonard Family. Boston, MA: Self-Published for the New England Historic-Genealogical Register, 1851. Page 17. https://archive.org/details/genealogicalmemo00dean/page/17/mode/2up</ref> 

He married Mary Black of Milton on December 15, 1679.

• Source:

Vital Records of Taunton Massachusetts to the Year 1850 Volume II-Marriages. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1928. Page 293. https://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Bristol/Taunton/Images/Taunton_M293....</ref>

They had at least seven children.

• Source:

Deane, 1851. Page 19. https://archive.org/details/genealogicalmemo00dean/page/19/mode/2up</ref>

Joseph and his brothers Uriah and Benjamin worked at James Leonard Iron Works, founded by their father on the Mill River in 1678. By agreement between James' heirs, Joseph inherited one fourth of the iron works and some adjacent land in 1691.

• Source:

Koster, Fannie Leonard. Annals ofthe Leonard Family. Brooklyn, NY: Self-Published, 1911. Page 44</ref> Joseph died "in his 44th year." <ref>Vital Records, Page 126. https://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Bristol/Taunton/Images/Taunton_D126....</ref>

Children

1. Mary b 2 Oct 1680; d 1688
2. Experience b 16 Mar 1681/2; m Samuel Hodges
3. Joseph b 28 Jan 1683/4 ; died age 21, unmarried
4. Mehitable b 22 Aug 1685
5. Edward b 2 Nov 1688
6. William b 26 Mar 1690
7. Silence

Joseph was born in 1647. He passed away in 1692.

Sources

<references /> <!-- Please feel free to improve upon anything you see on this page. Thank you! -->

• Colonial Families of the USA, 1607-1775; page 332
• The New England Historical & Genealogical Register, 1847-2011; Births, Marriages & Deaths of Taunton; Page 37
• U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700; Page 461

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Joseph Leonard:

Alt. Birth: 25 Oct 1647

Notes:

Joseph and Mary "of Milton" married and lived in Taunton . After Joseph's death Mary married a Mr. Willis.

Children of Joseph and Mary Leonard:

01 (F): Mary Leonard

  Born: 02 Oct 1680

Died: 03 Jun 1685
Spouses:

02 (F): Experience Leonard

  Born: 18 Mar 1682/83

Died: 24 Aug 1716
Spouses:

03 (M): Joseph Leonard

  Born: 28 Jan 1683/84

Died: 06 Apr 1705
Spouses:

04 (F): Mehitable Leonard

  Born: 22 Aug 1685               in Taunton, Bristol Co., MA 7 8

Died: after 1724
Spouses: John Harvey

05 (M): Edward Leonard

  Born: 02 Nov 1688

Died: Unknown
Spouses:

06 (M): William Leonard

  Born: 26 Mar 1690

Died: Jan 1749/50
Spouses:

“It is said that the Leonards had been in the iron industry for twelve hundred years, since the days of the “forestsmiths” of Germany, where the name Leonard is found in old German records of the sixth century. The Saxon Leonards, workmen in metals, came to England very early and settled among the iron hills of Kent and Sussex. Later, as the mines in this vicinity were less productive, some of them removed to the iron mining districts of Wales from whence James and Henry Leonard came, leaving their forges in England “plastered with mortgages,” not only at Pontipool but also at Belaton, Stafford County. In the nineteenth century the Leonards might have redeemed their title to this property, but it would have involved an expensive and lengthy suit in the Court of Chancery, which was not undertaken.

“Being well versed in the iron lore, the secrets of which had been long handed down from father to son, James and Henry Leonard, on their arrival in America, at first found employment with one John Winthrop at his bloomery near Lynn, established by Adam Hawkes in 1630. The following entry has been found in an old account book of Winthrop’s dated 1651. “James Leonard, fifteen days’ worke in ye forge oe 1.13.0.”

“After a short connection with John Winthrop’s iron effort at Braintres, the Leonard Brothers struck out for themselves, testing the streams and ponds for chalybeate evidence, little Thomas and James who had come holding onto “Uncle Henry’s finger,” probably having the time of their lives fishing with birch rods on these expeditions. Their elders found large deposits of bog iron, particularly in Quittacus Lake, Middleboro, which were extracted by means of great tongs from the lakes and swamps. They made a contract with the town of Taunton to set up a bloomery there. A stock company was formed, one of the stock holders being Elizabeth Pole, who had bought Taunton from the Indians for a peck of beans.

“The Leonards called their bloomery Raynham forge, doubtless from Raynbam in England, which is the station where one alights to visit Belhus mansion at Aveley Easex, the head quarters of the English Leonards where the beautiful portraits are of our English ancestors. The owner, Sir Thomas Barrett Leonard, is a landed proprietor of at least 10,000 acres of land inberited from the early Leonards. It may be that James and Henry Leonard lived here in their boyhoods and had childhood’s associations with Raynham, for which they named their forge. The site of this old forge which was carried on by seven generations of Leonards, was pointed out to me by my father, when as a child I rode with him through Raynham to Taunton.

“This was the parent forge for many others not only in this vicinity but all over the Atlantic sezboard of the United States, substantiating the famous saying “Wherever you find iron works you will find a Leonard.” The proudest accomplishment of these various forges was in 1775, when Eliphalet Leonard of the fifth generation made in Easton the first bar of American steel.

“James Leonard was a warm friend of the good Indian chief Massasoit who used frequently to visit him, sleeping under his roof and eating his bread. James gave him every assistance in the repair of his guns and making his weapons and tools. Massasoit, before his death, required a solemn oath of his son Philip that he would never harm a Leonard, and Philip in 1675 in an imposing meeting in Taunton Church at which James Leonard was present, affixed his mark to a document promising peace with the men of Taunton. Philip’s tribe molested the white settlers in Middleboro and New Bedford, but the inhabitants of Taunton and Bridgewater suffered little in King Philip’s war, and no harm was done to the Leonards with Philip’s consent. Thus the name of Leonard represents to Taunton not only splendid enterprise, but the hospitality and friendliness which secured safety for the town at a critical period. King Philip had a summer home near the Leonards, and Lake Nipenicket between Raynham and Bridgewater was a favorite fishing ground of his. There is a tradition that Philip’s head was secreted after his death under the old Leonard house in Raynham.

“James Leonard, the immigrant, died in 1691. His wife, Mary Martin, had died earlier and he had married a second wife named Margaret.

• Source: minerdescent.com

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GEDCOM Source

@R-993469111@ England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,9841::0

GEDCOM Source

1,9841::140753132

GEDCOM Source

@R-993469111@ England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,9841::0

GEDCOM Source

1,9841::140753132

GEDCOM Source

@R-993469111@ Ancestry Family Trees Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.

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Ancestry Family Tree http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=90074845&pid...

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