Tag Archives: Joses Bucknam

Bucknam, Hay family

Family of American Revolution POW Joses Bucknam and Abigail Hay

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Joses Bucknam and Abigail Hay are my 5X great grandparents and Joses is the ancestor under whose service I chose to join the Daughters of the American Revolution.

I’ve shared the story of his capture and imprisonment at the notorious Old Mill Prison in England, but realized I haven’t provided a family sketch for him.

As today is the 185th anniversary of his passing, it seems an appropriate day on which to share more about his life.

Joses Bucknam was born 6 Mary 1761 in Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts, the son of James Bucknam and Mary Goddard.

Abigail Hay was the daughter of William Hay and Phebe Brown, although her birth was not recorded in Stoneham, where she grew up. She was born in November 1768, based on her age at death and died in Glenburn, Penobscot, Maine on 19 September 8154.

After Joses returned to Massachusetts in a prisoner exchange with the English, he married Abigail on 19 September 1786. They likely lived in Medford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, where several of their children were born. In the summer of 1793 or in 1794, the young family left Massachusetts and settled in Mason,  Hillsborough, New Hampshire.

Children:

  1. Abigail, born c1787, probably Medford, Middlesex, Massachusetts; died 4 May 1796, Mason, Hillsborough, New Hampshire.
  2. Phebe Hay, born 24 September 1790, Medford, Middlesex, Massachusetts; married (1) Cyrus Davis, 15 July 1810, Mason, Hillsborough, New Hampshire (2) Mr. Johnson, before 1 January 1833, when Joses wrote his will.
  3. Joses, born 16 February 1793, Medford, Middlesex, Massachusetts; died after 1840, probably Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia; married Elizabeth Low, 22 August 1816, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts.
  4. Caleb, born 16 November 1795, Mason, Hillsborough, New Hampshire; died 3 August 1874, Cascade, Dubuque, Iowa; married (1) Deborah Barrett, 17 December 1818, Mason, Hillsborough, New Hampshire (2) Louisa Brooks Snow, 26 December 1820, Mason, Hillsborough, New Hampshire.
  5. Abigail, born 13 May 1798, Mason, Hillsborough, New Hampshire; died 1 January 1820, Mason, Hillsborough, New Hampshire; married Charles Scripture, 20 November 1817, Mason, Hillsborough, New Hampshire.
  6. Mary Goddard, born 11 February 1801, Mason, Hillsborough, New Hampshire; died 21 August 1879, Glenburn, Penobscot, Maine; married Oliver Scripture, 1 December 1819, Washington, Sullivan, New Hampshire.
  7. James, born 12 July 1803, Mason, Hillsborough, New Hampshire, reportedly died in North Carolina. No further record.
  8. Eliza Simons, born 6 February 1806, Mason, Hillsborough, New Hampshire; married Caleb Brooks, before 1 January 1833, when Joses wrote his will.
  9. Lucretia, born c1809, probably Mason, Hillsborough, New Hampshire; not in her father’s will in 1835.
  10. Nancy Hay, born 2 July 1811, Mason, Hillsborough, New Hampshire; married William Robbins, 1 December 1835, Mason, Hillsborough, New Hampshire.
  11. William Hay, born 4 January 1815, Mason, Hillsborough, New Hampshire; died 1862, Cascade, Dubuque, Iowa; married Susan Henry, c1836, probably in New Jersey where Susan was born in in Virginia, where their first two children were born.

Joses Bucknam left a short will, probated in May 1835. (Hillsborough County, New Hampshire WB 41:56-57, Source: FamilySearch)

In the name of God, Amen. I Joses Buckman of Mason in the county of Hillsborough & State of New Hampshire considering the uncertainty of this mortal ife & being of sound & perfect memory, blesed be Almight God for the same, do make & publish this my last Will & testament in manner & form followin — First I give & bequeath unto my beloved wife Nabby Buckman the use of all my Real & personal Estate which shall remain after my just debts and funeral expenses are paid during her natural life & at her decease the property which shall then remain shall be equally divided between my children Joses Buckman Jr. Phebe Johnson Caleb Buckman Mary g. Scripture Eliza S. Brooks James Buckman Nancy buckman William H. Buckman —

Item – I give and bequeath unto my daughter Nancy Buckman ten dollars –

And I do hereby appoint Willis Johnson sole Executor of this my last Will & testament hereby revoking  all former Wills by me made —
Done this first day of January one thousand eight hundred & thirty three.  In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal this first day of January A.D. 1833.

Joses Buckman (ss)

Signed sealed published & declared by the above named Joses Buckman as &/or his last will & testament in the presence of us who at his request & in his presence & in the presence of each other have subscribed our names as witnesses thereto .

William Wright Calvin Elliott, Ferdinand L. Johnson


Mason Town Cemetery, Summer 1980
Grave of Joses bucknam, Center with American Flag

I was honored to visit the grave of my 5X great grandfather, Joses Bucknam, in 1980. Several of my ancestors and collateral relatives are buried here. Joses’s grave is in the middle of the photo and is the dark gray stone, rounded at the top. It is difficult to make out, but someone placed an American flag on his grave.

RIP, Joses Bucknam
1761-1835

 

Bucknam

Joses Bucknam (died 1757) and Phebe Tuttle, of Charlestown and Malden, MA

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After immigrant William Bucknam, I am descended form three Joses Bucknams, followed by James, and then one more Joses before the surname drops off my family tree.

Today’s post is about the third Joses Bucknam and his wife, Phebe Tuttle.

Joses Bucknam was born 17 April 1692 in Charlestown, Suffolk, Massachusetts, the son of Joses Bucknam and Hannah Peabody. It might seem strange that this family kept jumping back and forth between Malden and Charlestown. Actually, the Mistik side of Charlestown, as it was called, was on the other side of the river and it was later named Malden. The Bucknams owned land on both sides of the water, so they didn’t really move very far!

Phebe Tuttle, was a bit older than her husband, having been born on 12 August 1690 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts. She was the daughter of Edward Tuttle and Abigail Floyd.

Joses Bucknam and Phebe Tuttle were married on 23 August 1713 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts.

Joses and Phebe were the parents of eleven children, although several of them didn’t live to adulthood.

Children:

1. Joses, born c1714; died before 11 October 1762 (Middlesex County Probate File #3394); married Mary Sprague, 8 June 1743, Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts.
2. Sarah, born 12 August 1715, Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts; married (1) Timothy Dexter, 22 March 1737/38, Mladen, Middlesex, Massachusetts (2) John Hopkinson, 28 June 1753, Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts.
3. David, born c1719; died 28 December 1749, Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts; married Esther Sprague, 4 March 1745/46, Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts.
4. John, born c1720
5. Mary, born c1722
6. James, born 3 January 1724/25, Charlestown, Suffolk, Massachusetts; died 10 October 1799, Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts; married Mary Goddard, 17 September 1747, Roxbury, Suffolk, Massachusetts.
7. Jacob, born 27 March 1727, Charlestown, Suffolk, Massachusetts; married (1)? Lydia Carter, 23 June 1751 (2) Jerusha Barker, 22 August 1763, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts (3) Elizabeth Ridgeway, 27 January 1769, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts. I found marriage records for Jerusha and Elizabeth, but none to Lydia Carter.
8. Aaron, born 3 February 1728/29, Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts; died before 23 March 1776, probably Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts; married (1) Alice Skinner, 14 October 1750, Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts (2) Joanna Floyd, 1 May 1768, Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts.
9. Hannah, born 14 December 1730, Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts; married Peter Underwood (of Littleton), 23 November 1758, Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts.
10. Moses, born 10 October 1733, Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts; died 27 May 1796, Medford, Middlesex, Massachusetts; married Borradell Green, 18 January 1759, Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts.
11. Phebe, born 1 October 1736, Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts; she may be the Phebe who married John Bucknam of Medford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, 19 May 1776, Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts. She also may be the Phebe Bucknam who died in February 1817, Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts. In any case, it appears she had no children.

Unlike other family members who left wills, Joses Buckman died intestate in the summer of 1757. His son, Joses, was appointed as the administrator of his father’s estate. (Estate Administration of Joses Bucknam, 1757, Middlesex County, Massachusetts Court File #3394
Source: American Ancestors)

However, by 15 November 1762, Joses Jr. had died and his brother, Aaron Bucknam, took over the administrative duties.

Things continued to go downhill from there. Although Joses Bucknam Sr., deceased, was called “Esquire,” he had quite a list of debts against his estate.

In the end, no heirs received anything because his estate was declared insolvent. Widow Phebe Tuttle Bucknam received her widow’s thirds, but she died on 6 July 1767, also in Malden, before her husband’s estate had been settled.

The most interesting page in the file is a list of several of the children and what they had already received in the lifetime of their father:


File #3394, Image 24
Source: American Ancestors

The reason that this is my favorite page in the file is because of the signatures/marks of widow Phebe, and her sons Joses, John, James (my ancestor), Aaron and Moses.

 

Bucknam

Will of Joses Bucknam, 1741, Middlesex, MA

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While working on that almost endless image renaming and reattaching project, I realized that I have actually written very little about my descent from Joses Bucknam, all four of them, that is!

When I discovered my first Joses Bucknam, who married Abigail Hay, and not only fought in the Revolutionary War, but was captured and shipped off to Old Mill Prison in England, I had never seen the given name JOSES before. I initially thought it had been incorrectly transcribed at some point.

I soon found out, after finding Joses’s father, James, descended from three more Joses Bucknams, that Joses was, indeed, their correct name.

Those pesky online trees often say Joses was also called Joseph. Not so much! While JOSES is a Greek variation of the name Joseph, I have never, ever found a primary document where any of my four Joseses are called Joseph.

Joses Bucknam who died in 1741 is the second of the four Joseses in my family tree. He was born in January 1666/67 in Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts and  died there on 5 April 1741.

It would seem as though he lived his entire life in Malden, but actually, the family lived for many years in Charlestown.

Joses Bucknam married Hannah Peabody on 24 February 1690/91 in Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts. She was the daughter of John Peabody and Hannah Andrews.

No death date has been found for Hannah, but Joses left a will dated 8 April 1736 in which he mentioned his beloved wife, Hannah, so she was living as of that date.

Joses and Hannah were the parents of twelve children, all born in Charlestown:

  1. Joses, born 17 April 1692; died 25 August 1757, Charlestown, Suffolk, Massachusetts; married Phebe Tuttle, 23 August 1713, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts
  2. Hannah, born 13 August 1694; died 22 January 1782, Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts; married Joseph Sargent, 4 June 1713, Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts
  3. Sarah, born 2 May 1698; died 31 May 1714, Charlestown, Suffolk, Massachusetts
  4. Mary, born 4 March 1699/1700; died 28 May 1734, Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts; married James Barrett, 13 February 1728/29, Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts
  5. David, born 1 April 1702; died 1 April 1714, Charlestown, Suffolk, Massachusetts
  6. Nathan, born 22 October 1703; died 6  February 1795, Medway, Norfolk, Massachusetts; married Mrs. Margaret Fiske, 23 January 1727/28, Quincy, Norfolk, Massachusetts. Nathan became a minister and was called Reverend when he married. Note that Mrs. was sometimes a term of respect given to women of a certain social class. She was the daughter of Moses and Anna Fiske and baptized there in 1705.
  7. Mercy, born 5 October 1705; died 27 May 1706, Charlestown, Suffolk, Massachusetts
  8. Judith, born 15 December 1706; died 4 July 1786, Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts; married Richard Perkins, 3 December 1730, Malden, MIddlesex, Massachusetts
  9. Ruth, born 31 December 1707; married Thomas Richardson, 26 June 1733, Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts. She died after Thomas, who passed away on 11 June 1754, in Malden and was called the husband of Ruth
  10. Jacob, born 14 October 1709; died 18 January 1724/25, Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts
  11. Martha, born 19 September 1711; died 18 August 1741, Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts; married Jonathan Oakes, 1 February 1738/39, Malden, MIddlesex, Massachusetts
  12. Elizabeth, born 25 December 1712; living when her father wrote his will on 8 April 1736, but not found after that time.

    Children Sarah and David died within two months of each other. There was a measles epidemic that swept through Massachusetts in 1713 and 1714. It seems likely that they might have been two of the many victims.

Will of Joses Bucknam, 1741
Middlesex County, Massachusetts Probate File #3392
Source: AmericanAncestors

In the name of god, amen, this eight day of April in the year of our lord one thousand seven hundred and thirty six, I Joses Bucknam of
malden in the county of Middlesex in new england yeoman, being well in body, and of a perfict mind, thinks be given unto gid, but yet calling to mind the mortallity of my body, and knowing that it is appointed for all men once to dye, Do make and ordain this my last will and Testament (that is to say) principally and first of all, I give and Recommend my soul into the hand of god that gave it, hopeing through the (?), death and passion of my Saviour Jesus christ, to have full and free pardon and forgiveness of all my sins, and to Inherit everlasting life; and my body I commit to the earth, to be deceantly Buried at the discretion of my Executor, hereafter named, nothing doupting but at the genarail Resurrection I shall reseive the same a gain by the allmight power of god, and as touching such worldly Estate wherewith it hath plesed god to bless me with in this Life, I give, (devise) and dispose of the same in the following manner & form: (that is to say.) first of all I will that all those Depts, and duties as i do own in Right or (?) to any manner of person, or persons whomsoever, shall be (?) and truly, contented, & paid, in convenient time after my decease, by my Executor hereafter named, Item, I give unto my son Joses Bucknam all my Estate borth Real, & personal to him and his heirs for ever except what is here after excluded from him by this Instrument, and mr willerds Body of Devinity; he paying all the Legacies to the Rest of my children and grand children given to them by this will, Item, I give and bequeath unto hannah my dearly beloved wife all my dwelling Hous wherein I now dwell with the yeard and geardings before the said hous, and the well, and half the orcherd on the north side of the Roade to wards Jonathan Sargeantshouse (blurred and illegible) in my part and I also give her (blurred) to be keapt well (more blurred and illegible) the said hous where it may be conveniant for her use, and also the liberty to keep a hoge at her door so long as she shall continue in my name, I also give her six coord of good fier wood to be prought to her door for her fiering yearly, & every year by my Executor so long as she continues in my name, and I also give her eight bushels of Indian corn, and four bushels of Rey, & two bushels of good barly malt, & sixty pounds of good beef, & as much porke, and twelve pounds of good (payable?) money to be payed to her yearly, & every year so long as she shall continue in my name all to be paid to her as aforesaid by my Executor; also my wil lis that my said wife shall have the use of all my household stuf During her widowhood in my name, and I give her mmy great Bible silver tankerd to be her own to keep, or dispose of as she shall so cause, and if she dye in my name she shall be deceantly buried by my Executor, but if my said wife see cause to marrey then my will is that she shall quit all the above said estate & (?) one third part of the household stuf she shall have for her own, and shall have ten pounds in money paid to her by my Executor a year, yearly, & every year During her naterel life, the other two thirds of my household stuf shall be equally devided amang all my daughters, but if my wife dye in my name then my will is that all my household stuf shall be equaly devided amongall my daughters, my will farther is that all my Books not disposed of otherwise By this will shall be equally devided amone all my daughters ; Item, I give unto my son nathan Bucknam on hundred pounds in money to be paid to him, or his heirs, by my Executor within one year after my decease, I also give him my negro man pompe if he out lives me, or one hundred pounds in money which he (?) and I also give him my history Josephus in foleo, the resone why I give him no more by this will is because he has had already out of my estate given to him in learning books money & other things better then four hundred pounds in money; Item, I give unto my daughter hannah sargeant sixty pounds in money to be paid to her by my Executor within six month of my (decease?) sixty (?) was had at marriege as may appere by booke, Item, I give unto my daughter Judeth parkins sixty pounds in money to be paid to her after my decease by my Executor, she has had sixty pounds at marrege as may appeare by booke; Item. I give unto my daughter Ruth Richardson sixty pounds in money to be paid to her by my Executors within two years after my decease, she has had sixty pounds at marrage as may appeare by booke; Item. I give unto my daughter martha Bucknam one hundred & twenty pounds in money to be paid to her by my Executor at her marrage or three years after my decease which shall first happen; Item. I give unto my daughter Elezabeth Bucknam one hundred and twenty pounds in money to be paid to her by my Executor at her marrege or within four years after my decease which shall first happen; my will farther is that if either of my said daughters shall dye before thay have reseved there aforesaid legeces & leve no child then the surviveing sisters shall have there Legeces equally devided amonge them; my will farther is that my two unmarred daughters shall have conenant runs to live in the hous solong as thay continue unmarried if they se cause; Item. I give unto my two grand children namly james Barrit, & mary Barri(t) thirty pounds, to each of them in money to be paid to them by my Executor when thay come to the age of twenty one yeaers, only mary shall have hers paid to her at marrage if she marres younge, and if either of them dye before he or she come to the age to reseve there Legeces then the survivor shall have the whole sixty pounds for it shuld have been the remainder of there mothers Legece if she had lived; my will is that my two sons shall have my wareing cloths and I do by this my last will & Testament constitute make and ordain my my eldest son Joses Bucknam my sole Exedutor of this my Last will & Testament, and I do hereby utterly, disalow, revoke, & disanoll, all & every other, or formere Testaments wills, & Legeces, bequeths, and Executors by me before this time named willed, & bequethed; Ratifying and confirming this & no other to be my last will & Testament. In witness whereof I have here unto set my hand and seal. the day and year first above written.

Joses Bucknam (seal)

signed sealed published pronounced
and declared by the said Joses Bucknam
as his Last will & Testament in the
presence of us the subcribers.

Joseph Kimpson
John Marble
Ebenezer Pratt