Josiah Sawyer

Biography

Josiah Sawyer was born in Newbury in 1680/81, the son of Samuel Sawyer and Mary Emery,[1] and grandson of William Sawyer, born in England and the first "Sawyer" to settle in Newbury.[2]

On 22 Jan. 1707/08, in Newbury, he married Tirzah Bartlett, also of Newbury.[3] The couple settled in a house that Josiah had acquired from Shubael Long in July of 1707, thenceforth becoming known as the "Sawyer House".[4] This property was located in the area that became known as the West Parish of Newbury, shown as "Nbr. 23" on the map of the West Parish as drawn by John Brown and dated 15 Sep. 1729.[5] At this location, they raised the following children:

Josiah, b. 12 Apr. 1709
Moses, b. 21 Feb. 1711/12
Tirzah, b. 7 Nov. 1713
Israel, b. 9 Oct. 1717; d. 2 Aug. 1739
Gideon, b. 15 Dec. 1719
James, b. 12 May 1722; d. 27 Sep. 1723, and
Hannah, bpt. 28 Apr. 1723 (Queen Anne's Episcopal Chapel, Newbury); d. 6 Sept. 1739.
Youngest daughter Hannah appears to have been the first child of this family baptized in the new Episcopal Church in Newbury, called Queen Anne's Chapel. Her father Josiah was actually one of 22 who petitioned for establishment of this Church in 1712,[6] and one of 18 (another being his father-in-law Samuel Bartlett) who adopted the rules of this church on 28 Nov. 1722.[7] This Queen Anne's Chapel was only the second Episcopal Church in all of New England, and was frowned upon by the authorities in its early years. Even when his son Josiah moved across the river to Amesbury, the grand-children were brought back to Queen Anne's in Newbury for baptism.

The fall of 1739 was a terrible time for Josiah, losing his wife and two children within just 5 weeks. One assumes there must have been lethal epidemic in the neighbourhood.

Josiah's Will, dated 25 June 1755, makes son Moses his Executor, mentions sons Josiah and Gideon, and daughter Tirzah, "wife of Reuben French of Salisbury" (his other three children had by then died). His estate was probated on 3 May 1756.[8] The "Sawyer House" as mentioned above passed into the hands of Moses Sawyer (1711 - 1778), and after his death to Moses' son Joseph (1758 - 1831).

Josiah passed away on 4 April 1756, in Newbury.[9] He was buried beside his wife in Sawyer Hill Burial Ground in the West Parish of Newbury, in the area soon afterwards (1764) set apart from Newbury as Newburyport, MA.[10]

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Sawyer-150

Josiah Sawyer (1681 - 1756)

Josiah Sawyer

Born 20 Jan 1681 in Newbury, Essex, Massachusetts

Son of Samuel Sawyer and Mary (Emery) Sawyer

Brother of Mary (Sawyer) Woodman, Samuel Sawyer, John Sawyer, Hannah Sawyer, Joshua Sawyer, Unknown Sawyer and Benjamin Sawyer

Husband of Tirza (Bartlett) Sawyer — married 22 Jan 1708 in Newbury, Essex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Father of Josiah Sawyer, Moses Sawyer, Tirza (Sawyer) French, Israel Sawyer, Gideon Sawyer, James Sawyer and Hannah Sawyer

Died 4 Apr 1756 at age 75 in Newbury, Essex, Massachusetts Bay

Sawyer-150 created 21 Sep 2010 | Last modified 8 Jan 2020

Sources

↑ Vital Records of Newbury, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Essex Institute, Salem, Mass., 1911)| Volume 1, Page 465
↑ Ould Newbury, Historical and Biographical Sketches (Damrell and Upham, Boston, 1896)| Page 359
↑ Vital Records of Newbury, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Essex Institute, Salem, Mass., 1911)| Volume 2, Part 2, Page 441
↑ Ould Newbury, Historical and Biographical Sketches (Damrell and Upham, Boston, 1896)| Page 357
↑ Ould Newbury, Historical and Biographical Sketches (Damrell and Upham, Boston, 1896)| Pages 392-93
↑ Ould Newbury, Historical and Biographical Sketches (Damrell and Upham, Boston, 1896)| Page 373
↑ Ould Newbury, Historical and Biographical Sketches (Damrell and Upham, Boston, 1896)| Page 384
↑ Ould Newbury, Historical and Biographical Sketches (Damrell and Upham, Boston, 1896)| Page 359
↑ Vital Records of Newbury, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Essex Institute, Salem, Mass., 1911)| Volume 2, Part 2, Page 716
↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #54580970 for Josiah Sawyer
See Also:

Family Search | Josiah Sawyer
Family of William Sawyer of Newbury- William Appleton, NEHGR- Vol. 28, pp. 196 (Apr. 1874)| NEHGR 28: page 196, Person Nbr. 11
Sawyier, Nathaniel. A Genealogy of Some of the Descendants of William Sawyer, of Newbury, Mass. (W.E. Moore, Manchester, N.H., 1889) Page 6
Appleton, William. Some Descendants of William Sawyer, of Newbury, Mass. (D. Clapp & Son, Boston, 1891) Page 2, 4
Ould Newbury, Historical and Biographical Sketches (Damrell and Upham, Boston, 1896)| Ould Newbury, Page 359