ALL IN THE FAMILY

...the colonial family was first and foremost an economic unit, with all members participating in a family economy ~ Keith Krawczynski

Billerica families

Our Billerica families were extensive. Even into the eighteenth century we had Hills, Kidders, Kittredges, Davises, Crosbys, Baldwins, Richardsons and Pattens living there. With only 50 or sixty families in most towns, most of our relative families intermarried. In this post we explore some of those family connections.

Grandpa Joseph Hill

Our immigrant grandfather Ralph Hill (9GGF) was an early and important settler in Billerica. His grandson, our grandfather Joseph Hill (7GGF) was born there in 1672. In 1706, shortly before his death, Joseph's father Nathaniel Hill (8GGF) deeded most of his property to his six sons. Although Nathaniel had moved to Chelmsford, he still owned considerable property in Billerica. Grandpa Joseph inherited land in the part of Billerica that evenutally became Tewksbury.

Blue = Chelmsford Red = Billerica Green = Tewskbury

The Hills and the Baldwins came together with the marriage of Joseph to Susannah Baldwin (6GGM), daughter of our immigrant grandfather John Baldwin (7GGF). We can find no date of their marriage but their first child was born in 1705. Little is known of Grandpa Joseph's life except that he was referred to as Lieutenant Hill. He and Susannah had eight children, all born in Billerica

Joseph died in 1752 at age 80. His will is a good indication of the interconnectdness of families. Witnesses to his will were his brother Ralph Hill (7U), his cousin Peter Hill (2C8X) and our cousin Samuel Kidder (1C7X) who married Joseph's cousin Abigail Hill (3C7X). One of the executors of his will was our grandfather Daniel Proctor (6GGF) of Chelmsford who married Joseph's daughter Susannah (6GGM). Joseph died a considerable land owner and left property to all four of his sons.

To his daughter, our grandmother Susannah Hill Proctor, he left £26.

Note: Two of Joseph's daughters married two brothers in our Patten family. Jane (6A) married our cousin John Patten (1C8X) and Mary (6A) married our cousin Nathaniel Patten (1C8X).

Joseph must have been a man of some standing in Billerica. After his death, Grandma Susannah is called "widow of Joseph Hill, Gentleman, deceased." Men higher up on the social ladder were called gentlemen, the mere commoners, goodmen. Susannah died five years after Joseph at age 81

the Deacon Samuel Hill house in Billerica

Our grandfather Joseph Hill's first cousin, Samuel Hill (1C9X), built a house in Billerica which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. The house is estimated to have been built around 1725. Originally a single room in depth, a lean-to was added to the house in the 18th century, giving it a "typical Georgian saltbox" appearance. One of the upper rooms has a "rare example of wood paneling painted with a marbleized finish."

The house (red marker below), near the Concord River, lies on the Riverhurst Road at the very edge of the Ralph Hill Conservation Area in Billerica. The land was originally owned by Samuel's grandfather, the immigrant Ralph Hill.

Grandpa Joseph Davis, Jr.

Our grandfather, Joseph Davis, Jr. (8GGF), after surviving a rough childhood, ended up living in Billerica. He was born in Reading, MA in 1669, the oldest child of Joseph (9GGF) and Hannah Davis (9GGM). Over the next seven years, Joseph, Sr. and Hannah had five more children, including two sets of twins. Then, in January of 1676, Joseph, Sr. died unexpectedly, leaving the family destitute. Later that same year, in October, two of the young boys, 6 and 3 died as well.

Grandma Hannah, unable to care for her four remaining children, was ordered by the Court to place them with other families. I can find no record of which family, most likely relatives, took Grandpa Joseph, Jr. in.

Only about ten miles separate Reading from Billerica. It's possible that Joseph had already moved to Billerica by 1791, the year he turned twenty-two. That was the year he married Rebecca Patten (8GGM), daughter of Thomas Patten (9GGF) who had received his Billerica property from his father William (10GGF) of Cambridge. Joseph and Rebecca made their home in Billerica where they had nine children. Joseph was a deacon of the church, prominent in town affairs, and elected selectman in 1720.

Joseph died in 1747 at age 78. He left money to all of his children except his youngest son Joshua (7U) who inherited his homestead property and was made executor of his will. Somehow Joseph must have forgotten to provide for his wife, Grandma Rebecca, in his will. Luckily, Uncle Joshua made it right. Among the probate papers, we find this:

It reads: To the Honorable Samuel Danforth Esq...These are to certify your Hon that whereas I Thought there was not suffitient Provision made for my comfortable subsistance during my natural Life in the last will and Testament of my Loving Husband Deacon Joseph Davis, I have Received full satisfaction for that defect of my son Joshua Davis, by his Ingageing to me to suply the same and therefor I do give my free consent that said will may be confirmed." Grandma Rebecca died four years after Joseph in 1751 at age 76.

As it turns out, the Davis and Kidder families of Billerica were quite close. Joseph and Rebecca's daughter Sarah (7A) married our uncle Enoch Kidder (6U). Two Kidders, Uncle Enoch and our cousin Thomas Kidder (1C8X), witnessed Joseph Davis' will. Also witnessing the will was our cousin Jacob French (2C9X).

Grandpa Hezekiah Ballard

Joseph and Rebecca Davis' oldest daughter was our grandmother Rebecca Davis, Jr. (7GGM). Rebecca was born the year of the infamous witch trials, 1692. Twenty-one years later, she married the son of two of the major players in that drama. Joseph (8GGF) and Elizabeth Phelps Ballad (8GGM) were the couple who "fetched two of the persons called the afflicted persons, from Salem village to Andover, which was the beginning of that dreadful calamity that befel us in Andover..."

Hezekiah Ballard (7GGF), son of Joseph and Elizabeth, was only ten years old when his mother became ill and died. Luckily, his father Joseph came from a large family, most still living in Andover. Hezekiah probably grew up well cared for.

Grandpa Hezekiah was a blacksmith living on a lot near his father's homestead in 1713 when Rebecca Davis left Billerica to live with him in Andover. Seven years after the marriage, Hezekiah's father, Joseph, gave him "a gift of deed to that part of my Ancient Homestead which he is now Settled upon."

Perhaps Hezekiah wanted to keep a low profile in Andover after the hulabalu that surrounded his parents. I can find absolutely no records for him and Rebecca except the births of their five children and their deaths. Hezekiah died in 1751 at age 69. Rebecca died in 1754 at age 62.

Hezekiah had our cousin Jacob Richardson (2C8X) witness his will

The map below shows the triangle of Andover (red), Billerica (blue) and Reading. About ten miles separate each of these towns.

Grandpa William Kidder

When Grandma Rebecca Davis (7GGM) left Billerica to live in Andover with Grandpa Hezekiah Ballard (7GGF), she certainly didn't give up ties to her family and good friends, especially the Kidders, in Billerica. When it came time for her only daughter, our grandmother Sarah Ballard (6GGM), to marry, the chosen one turned out to be William Kidder (6GGF) of Billerica. Billerica must have been a familiar place to young Sarah since she had aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents living there.

Our Grandpa William Kidder is another of our relatives who might have remained completely under the radar except for the heartache of losing so many family members. William and Sarah had seven children but only three lived to adulthood. Isaac Kidder (5U) was their third child and first son. He died in 1744 at only 4 months. Their next two children, both sons, also died young. Another Issac (5U) died in 1749 at 3 years. Son Enoch (5U) died in 1751 at 2 years. In 1752, William and Sarah's last child was born, a third Isaac (5GGF). This Isaac was our grandfather.

But the tragic times were not over for William and his family. Seven years after our grandfather Isaac's birth, Grandma Sarah Ballard Kidder and her daughter Sarah (5A), 22, died on the same day, 3 May 1759.

While there is no record of a second marriage for Grandpa William, we know he married again. He mentions a wife, though not by name, in his will. At the time of William's death, he had only two children still living, his daughter Rebecca (5A) and our grandfather Isaac. William left a third of his estate to his new wife along with bequests to his daughter Rebecca and the children of his deceased son William, Jr. The bulk of the estate went to his only remaining son, Isaac, executor of the will.

Grandpa William died in 1789 at age 79. He noted the birth of a new nation in his will: "this first day of January, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine and in the thirteenth year of the Independence of America."

Our cousin Jacob Richardson (2C8X) witnessed Grandpa William's will.

Cousin Joseph Crosby

In 1660, our cousin Simon Crosby (1C12X) was lucky enough to acquire a large parcel of land in the still fledgling Billerica where he took his family to settle from Braintree, MA.

Simon built and ran a successful tavern and inn in Billerica. He died there in 1725 at the ripe old age of 87. In his will, he divided his property and money among his five children. Simon's signature on his will indicates the infirm hand of an elderly man. Compare the signature when he was constable at forty-two his will to his signature on his will:

Two of Simon's daughters married Kidder brothers. Hannah Crosby (2C11X) was the second wife of our grandfather, Enoch Kidder (7GGF). Enoch's brother Ephraim (7U) married Rachel Crosby (2C11X)

Joseph Crosby (2C11X), Simon's second son, is of note for a fortune squandered. Joseph, like all his siblings, inherited land and money from his father and, in 1691, was lucky enough to marry, Sarah French (1C9X), the daughter of our uncle William French (10U), one of the founders and wealthiest land owners of Billerica.

Note: William was brother-in-law to our Grandpa Ralph Hill (9GGF), another founder and wealthy land owner of Billerica

With his own inheritance and that of his wife, Joseph Crosby became the owner of several parcels of land. Over the next twenty years, Joseph and Sarah had twelve children. From a string of property sales starting in 1708, it appears that Joseph was unable to support his family with his farming and tailor work. The most likely scenario is that Joseph found himself short of living expenses year after year and decided use his land as a source of income. The following is a list of sixteen land transactions made by Joseph:

1707: quit claim rights to lands of Wm. French deceased

1708: sold 2 acres 10 poles of land in Billerica

1709: sold 43 acres of land for £23 13s 8pd

1710: sold land in Billerica to Ralph Hill (our uncle, son of grandfather Nathaniel Hill)

1713: sold 2 parcels of upland and swamp in Billerica

1714: mortgaged land in Billerica

1715: sold land to Daniel Barney in Billerica

1716: sold land in Billerica to Samuel Ruggles for £113

1718: sold 103 acres and 62 acres of land in Billerica for £60

1718: deeded to son Joseph for love one third of a 40 acre lot in Worcester

1718: sold the other two thirds of the 40 acres to Jonathan Waldo

1719: mortgaged 38 acres of land in Billerica

1719: sold 4 tracts of land 456 acres for £123 to Jonathan Waldo

1720: sold 35 acres of land to son Wm. for £160

1722: sold land in Billerica to Samuel Ruggles

1723: sold land in Billerica to son Wm for £54

1723: BOUGHT 25 acres in Lancaster

1727: sold 21 acres of land to Samuel Ruggles for £130

1727: sold 27 acres of land and house in Billerica to son Wm. for £200

1727 was the year that Joseph’s wife Sarah died which probably explains the sale of his homestead to his son William (3C10X). Joseph was 59 when Sarah died. The sale of all of his property over the years had to have amounted to well over £1000. But, just nine years later and having nothing left to sell, Joseph found himself destitute. On 31 Au 1736, he petitioned the Court for aid:

"The petitioner is aged 68 years or upwards, and has for some time past been unable to support himself by business of any sort...He has five sons now living...also six daughters now living...whom to set them well forth in the world the Petit has distributed his lands and estate to the value of several thousand of pounds...not reserving to hemself anything competent for his subsistence...praying this Court would...direct that the Petit may be maintained and relieved by his respective children or their husbands..."

From the records, it appears that only one third of a forty acre lot was actually deeded to any of Joseph's children. The rest was sold to other parties and Joseph's son William paid his father £240 for the land he received. Since William probably received well over £1,000 for the propery he sold, it seems there just might have been a bit of squandering on Joseph's part.

As the petition was never tried in Court, the case must have either thrown out or settled by the family. It’s uncertain what became of Joseph after the date of the petition. We can find no record of his death in Billerica. All but two of his children had moved on to greener pastures. The most likely outcome is that Joseph went to live in the household of one of his married children and he may have died somewhere far from his hometown of Billerica.