The Multiple Joseph Problem

The Multiple Josephs Problem, aka the Complexity of Genealogical Research

When I began the search for my Leonard ancestors, I traced my Leonard line back to a Joseph Leonard living in Middleborough, Massachusetts, in the late 1700s. But then I quickly found there were seven different Joseph Leonards living in Middleborough in the late 1700s. Family searchers had identified contradictory wives and children for each of the Josephs, and Internet genealogies didn’t offer their sources. The materials I received from the American Genealogical Biographic Index indicated the problem of the multiple Josephs, and indeed the multiple Leonard families in Middleborough, had existed for more than a century. Until middle names were adopted in the decades following 1775, there were multiples not only of Josephs, but of Georges, Thomases, Seths, and Samuels and Abigails, Sarahs, Marys, and Hannahs, to name a few. With descendants of all the early Leonard families in Massachusetts – descendants of James, Henry, Solomon, John, and others – the quandary became all the greater.

The generations then living also had problems with multiples of given names with the same surname. The courts had to be sure that the correct person, not a completely different and innocent one, was named in a trial or suit or party to a contract. The courts then identified the plaintiffs and defendants by their town of residence and occupation. Examples are Joseph Leonard, Middleborough refiner of iron, or Nathaniel Leonard, Middleborough millwright.

New England was not quite as rigid and class-conscious as England in the 1700s. One’s class was less a matter of birth and more a matter of occupation and economic status. The title Esquire referred to lawyers, judges, and elected officials. Gentlemen had sources of income, usually owning land from which they derived income and sometimes rents, and occupations not requiring their physical labor. Yeomen were farmers who owned and worked their own land, while husbandmen were farmers who leased land. Merchants and seamen were what you’d expect. At the bottom of the pyramid were laborers and servants. Still, there was an element of pride in class even as America was moving toward a working-class equal to the leisure class.

Designation of town and occupation didn’t provide enough information to identify individuals named Joseph in towns that included several Josephs who were refiners of iron, as occurred in the James Leonard line, or who were farmers. So many towns added the suffix “Senior,” “Junior,” “2^nd,” 3^rd, 4^th, etc., to the name, with the oldest one being “Senior,” the next oldest being “Junior” or 2^nd, and so on. This worked well for a time, but then new Joseph Leonards were born and attained majority, while older Leonards died or moved to other towns. So, over time, Joseph Leonard 5^th became Joseph Leonard 4^th and later Joseph 3^rd.   While which Joseph was which was probably clear in the town at that time, since everyone knew everyone else, it’s a puzzle to family researchers several hundred years later. You need to know which Joseph was Joseph 3^rd at that point in time, which usually means you need to know all the Josephs age 21 or more living in that town at that time. There was not a formal system or time to redesignate Joseph 5th to Joseph 4th. So the designations sometimes add to the confusion, as we’ll see in a moment.

The documents which refer to Josephs by order of birth by suffix include vital records (birth, marriage, death, including those of their children), military records, land records, and court records, including probate. Census records and military records are mixed and somewhat confusing.

Here are the Josephs of Middleborough in order of birth. The three ancestral lines are indicated by A, B, and C. The years when their designations appeared to change are 1776, 1784, 1790, and 1794.

Ancestral lines of Josephs:

A1-A2-A3: James Leonard1, Thomas2, Elkanah3, Joseph4, Joseph5, Joseph6.

B1-B2: James Leonard1, Benjamin2, Joseph 3, Joseph4, Joseph5.

C1-C2: Solomon Leonard1, Jacob2, Joseph3, Joseph4, Joseph5. Joseph5 was a descendant of both James and Solomon through his mother, Huldah.

C2 Joseph born in 1754 was offered land in Pennsylvania if he would move there, which he did in 1779, so thereafter he does not appear in Middleborough records.

Three Josephs died during the late 1700s. A1 Capt. Joseph was the first, in 1776; and his son, A2 Joseph, died a few years later, in 1783. In 1793, C1 Joseph Leonard, yeoman, died.

When C1 Joseph, the yeoman, moved to Middleborough is unknown. He was a landowner in Bridgewater in the 1760s. He first appears as a Middleborough yeoman in court suits in Middleborough in 1784, indicating he must have moved there before that year.

Before 1800, B2 Bloomer Joseph moved to Bowdoinham, ME, leaving but two Josephs in Middleborough. Again, the exact year Joseph moved is unknown. He does not appear in the Maine census for either 1790 or 1800.

Note that “junior” doesn’t necessarily mean the son of “senior,” nor does “3^rd” necessarily denote the third in a succession of the same name in the same family.

Joseph Leonards in the Militia and Revolutionary War

Joseph Leonard was a Captain in the 4th Company of the Middleborough Militia in the 1770s, dates uncertain. He was succeeded by William Canedy, who served from the 1770s to 1775.^[15]

Another identifier applying in a limited number of cases, was a person’s rank in the militia. Officers were chosen by members of the militia. It was an honor, and the titles carried over to daily life. The element of confusion here was that promotions did occur over time. Lt. Leonard became Capt. Leonard. Ensign Leonard became Lt. Leonard. It was not clear when the promotions occurred.

All of the Josephs were on the Revolutionary side, as were virtually all of the Middleborough Leonards. The one known Loyalist among the Middleborough Leonards was Zebulon. At a town meeting held 17 June 1777, “the Selectmen report the following persons as being enimically disposed toward the United States: Zebulon Leonard... ...The vote put whether they were enimically (sic) disposed passed in the affirmative at said meeting. Moved by Isaac Perkins and Joseph Leonard.”^[16] He must have had some redeeming qualities, for Zebulon was elected Town Selectman and Moderator in the 1790s.

Most of the Josephs served in the Revolutionary War. Joseph Leonard 2nd was a private in Capt. Joshua White’s Company.^[17] Both Joseph Leonard 3rd and Joseph Leonard 5th were privates in Capt. Wade’s Third Company of Minutemen in 1776.^[18] In Capt. Tupper’s Third Company of Infantry, which appears to have almost the same membership, there were a Joseph Leonard, corporal, and a private Joseph Leonard in 1776. I would guess that these were Joseph Leonard 3rd, gentleman, and his son, Joseph 5th, the millwright. In the alarm of August 1780, Capt. Tupper’s Third Company included a corporal Joseph and a private Joseph, presumably the same as earlier.^[19] Harder to identify are the Joseph Leonard of Middleborough who received a bounty 28 Apr 1781 to serve in the Continental Army for 3 years and the Joseph Leonard who served as a private in Capt. Abner Bourn’s Company in the alarm of 1 Aug 1780.^[20]

The militia list in 1782 include all members of the militia in its first four companies.^[21] It includes virtually all the able-bodied male citizens of Middleborough between the ages of 16 and 65. Leonards listed include:

Second Company, train band, privates: Joseph Leonard 5th, Gideon Leonard, John Leonard Jr.

Second Company, alarm list: Ensign Joseph Leonard, Private John Leonard

Third Company, train band: Sergeant Joseph Leonard, Privates Benjamin Leonard, George Leonard, Roland Leonard, Benijah Leonard, Perez Leonard, Samuel Leonard

Third Company, alarm list: Privates Joseph Leonard, Zebulon Leonard

There are four Joseph Leonards mentioned. Ensign Joseph is probably Joseph 3rd, and Joseph 5th is identified. The other two are presumably Joseph 2nd and Joseph 4th.

More about the Josephs

The times exercised an influence. Taxes increased precipitously during the Revolutionary War (1776-1783). Paper money was issued and financed by bonds. Speculators bought the paper money at deep discounts, hoping that State governments would pay interest and later redeem bonds at face value in gold or silver, resulting in a handsome profit. Soldiers from the Revolutionary War were unpaid. Merchants and other wealthy persons demanded that debts be repaid in silver or gold, refusing to accept paper money. Farmers who couldn’t pay had their assets sold by the local courts and sheriffs, dispossessed of their lands when they couldn’t pay their taxes, and sometimes thrown into debtors prison. By 1786, a full-scale rebellion, Shays Rebellion, was underway in western Massachusetts, pitting the merchants and the wealthy against the farmers and rural inhabitants. The Rebellion resulted in bloodshed in 1787, and the Rebellion’s causes were somewhat alleviated by improving economic conditions in 1788 and 1789. Although not part of the Rebellion, the Leonards in Middleborough were impacted, some adversely, by the economy, as you’ll notice in some of the court cases, particularly concerning debts, quoted in the following.

A: The “James1, Thomas2, Elkanah3” line

A1:   Elkanah Leonard’s son, Joseph, was born 9 April 1705. He married Hannah Pratt 9 April 1729 in Middleborough.^[22] Hannah died before November 1731, and Joseph soon thereafter married Fear Southworth, daughter of Nathaniel Southworth and Jael Bennet.^[23] In the few records that refer to this Joseph, they call him “Joseph Leonard, Middleborough gentleman.” He was a substantial land holder in Middleboro, having inherited it from his father. He was also an officer in the militia, promoted to Captain shortly before he died. He had five children: Joseph, Timothy, Hannah, Abiah, and Gideon.^[24] Timothy and Gideon predeceased their father. Joseph died 27 June 1776 at the age of 71 in Middleborough, while Jael died 23 April 1784.^[25] He is usually referred to as “Captain Joseph Leonard” in genealogies.

Joseph Leonard, Middleborough yeoman, sold to his brother Elkanah Leonard 65 acres in the Sixteen Shilling Purchase on 8 June 1733, probably land acquired from their father.^[26]

A2: Capt. Joseph Leonard’s son, Joseph, was born at Middleborough 29 July 1732. He married Abigail Raymond 7 May 1752 in Middleborough, MA.^[27] It appears he was a farmer and worked part-time at Judge Peter Oliver’s mills and forge on the Nemasket River in the village of Muttock. The foreman at the Oliver works was Jesse Bryant,^[28] who would later become father-in-law of this Joseph’s son, Nathaniel, who married Jesse’s daughter, Betsey. The Oliver works employed about 50 men.

This Joseph became a Lieutenant in the militia. He also served in several alarms during the Revolutionary War as noted above. Joseph had 11 children: Joseph, Hannah, Gideon, Timothy, Abiah, Noah, Nathaniel, Fear, Abigail, Remember, and Simeon. All survived to adulthood, and all but Fear married.^[29]

This Joseph was the sole surviving son when Captain Joseph died in 1776. For reasons not now clear, Captain Joseph’s will was not probated until after Lt. Joseph died 1 November 1783. Perhaps it was because Capt. Joseph’s wife didn’t die until April 1784 and wanted to maintain control of his property;^[30] perhaps it was because Lt. Joseph as sole surviving son felt no urgency to do so; perhaps it was because of the economic conditions. The task of settling Capt. Joseph’s estate fell to Lt. Joseph’s son, Joseph.

At the time he married Abigail Raymond in 1752, Joseph was Joseph 3^rd.   He remained Joseph Leonard 3^rd until after 29 August 1783 when he and Abigail sold land. Note that over 30 years passed with consistency in the designation.

On 15 April 1777, Joseph Leonard, Middleborough Gentleman, sold to his son, Joseph, Middleborough joiner, part of his homestead, signing the deed as Joseph Leonard 3^rd. Witnesses were Zebedee Sprout, a cousin,^[31] and Hannah Sprout, Joseph’s sister.^[32]

On 18 May 1781 Joseph Leonard 3rd sold 16 acres of his homestead farm to his son, Joseph Leonard 5th, bordering land he had previously sold to his son, Gideon.^[33] The deed was witnessed by Gideon Leonard and Zebedee Sprout. On the same day he sold 22 1/2 acres of his homestead farm to his son Gideon.^[34]

Two suits over debts were brought against Joseph Leonard 3rd, Middleborough gentleman, in the October 1781 session of the Court of Common Pleas for notes dated in 1774 and 1778 to be paid by delivery of bloomery iron.^[35]

Also in the October 1781 session of the Court of Common Pleas, William Cannady (Canedy), Middleborough Gentleman, brought suit against Joseph Leonard, III, Middleborough Gentleman, administrator for the estate of Joseph Leonard, Senior, for a note dated 28 March 1772 for $30.^[36] This would seem to indicate that Joseph Leonard 3rd was the initial administrator of Capt. Joseph Leonard’s estate. The pattern of events leads one to postulate that Joseph 3rd was in ill health, perhaps dying, unable to complete his duties as administrator and anxious to wrap up his affairs. Or perhaps the effects of the Revolutionary War postponed further action.

On 29 August 1783 Joseph Leonard, Middleborough Gentleman, sold to William Bennett, Middleborough cordwainer, land bordering the land he had previously sold to his son. Joseph signed this deed as Joseph Leonard 3^rd, and Abigail also signed to extinguish her dower rights.^[37] Joseph died 1 November 1783. Rufus Richmond, a neighbor, and Zebedee Sprout witnessed Joseph’s signing the deed. Zebedee appeared before the recorder and stated that he had seen Joseph Leonard 3^rd sign this deed.^[38] This was necessary because Joseph 3^rd had died the previous November. The Court of General Sessions approved this deed of Joseph 3rd in July 1784.^[39]

On 10 Nov 1790 Benjamin Reed, Middleborough cooper, sold to Rev. Caleb Turner and others a small parcel of land to be given to Abigail, widow of Ensign Joseph Leonard, late of Middleborough, and her four youngest daughters. Witnesses were Benjamin and Abiah Reed.^[40] Rev. Caleb Turner was pastor of the Congregational Church of Lakeville, the church to which Abigail belonged. What is puzzling is that Abigail had five sons still alive who could have given her a plot of land on which to support herself and her daughters. But the answers to such questions are lost in the fog of time.

A3: The third generation of Josephs in this line was born on 8 October 1752 in Middleborough. This Joseph married twice; first as Joseph 4th to Elizabeth Richmond 2^nd (her mother was Elizabeth Richmond 1^st) on 3 December 1778 in Middleborough.^[41] Elizabeth died on 1 December 1791.^[42] Joseph married Zilpha Leonard Kinsley, widow of Cephas Kinsley, on 9 October 1800 in Middleborough.^[43] Zilpha, the daughter of Samuel Leonard and Lydia Besse, was a descendant of Solomon Leonard. Zilpha predeceased Joseph, dying 27 April 1827,^[44] while Joseph lived to the age of 91, dying 20 March 1844.

This Joseph was a carpenter (or joiner) and millwright.   Along with several of his brothers he probably learned his craft at Judge Oliver’s works on the Nemasket, which had over 50 buildings.^[45] Elisha Clark Leonard characterized this Joseph as follows: “A very intelligent man considering his advantages. He was so keen and discriminating he was called Lawyer Leonard.”^[46]

In 1777 Joseph Leonard 5th, Middleborough yeoman, acquired 3 acres from Elkanah Leonard, Jr., next to land that Joseph 5th had bought from Joseph 3rd.^[47]

Joseph, the husband of Elizabeth, would have initially been Joseph 5^th upon coming of age. Joseph was Joseph 5^th in the announcement of his intent to marry Elizabeth Richmond in October 1778,^[48] but Joseph 4th when they married in December 1778, the change apparently due to the belated recognition that Capt. Joseph had died.   When he married Zilpha Leonard Kinsley in November 1800, he was referred to as Joseph Leonard 2^nd.^[49]

The inventory of Capt. Joseph’s estate was taken on 3 July 1784 and begins: “Real estate in several parcells, as the same has been sold in the Life time of said Joseph by deeds from him, which was not acknowledged in his Life time nor since, but the same deeds Given to Ensign Joseph Leonard son of the deceased who was considered as the only heir to the deceased.”^[50] Both Capt. Joseph and Ensign (Lt.) Joseph were dead at this point. Capt. Joseph’s grandson, Joseph Leonard IV, was appointed the administrator of the estate, with Rufus Richmond and Jonathan Shaw as sureties.

On 5 July 1784, Joseph Leonard 4^th, administrator, declared that the estate of Joseph Leonard was insolvent. Joseph Leonard IV, administrator for Joseph Leonard, Gentleman, Middleborough, was empowered in April 1785 by the Court of Common Pleas to sell decedent’s real estate for payment of debts and charges as listed.^[51]

On 29 January 1785, Joseph Leonard 4^th, Middleborough joiner, sold part of his father’s homestead to Simeon Macomber, Middleborough joiner, witnessed by Joseph and Rufus Richmond. The transaction wasn’t recorded until 30 January 1797.^[52]

On 19 February 1787, Joseph Leonard 4th sold 11 1/2 acres with house, barn, and orchard between the lands of Elkanah Leonard and Samuel Miller to Zebedee Sprout.^[53] As the administrator for Capt. Joseph’s estate, he sold another 7 3/4 acres to Zebedee Sprout at public auction.^[54]

On 21 February 1787 Joseph Leonard 4^th, Middleborough millwright, sold to Rufus Richmond 15 and one-half acres that had previously been owned by Capt. Joseph Leonard and was bounded by land of Lt. Elkanah Leonard, witnessed by Joseph Richmond and Samuel Miller.^[55] Capt. Joseph’s father was Ensign Elkanah Leonard who had a son, Elkanah, and the son’s son was Lt. Elkanah Leonard.

On the next deed, Joseph Leonard 4^th was a witness to a land sale by Samuel and Rhoda Miller dated 27 March 1789.^[56] On 3 October 1791, Joseph Leonard, Middleborough joiner, sold a piece of cedar swamp to Zebedee Sprout.^[57] This was followed by a further sale of land by Paddock and Kezia Richmond on 29 December 1794 witnessed by Joseph Leonard 2^nd and Joseph Richmond. ^[58] Joseph 4^th and Joseph 2^nd are almost certain to be the same Joseph Leonard. So at some point between 27 March 1789 and 3 October 1791 Joseph’s suffix changed from 4th to 3rd and then again between 3 October 1791 and 29 December 1794, from 3rd to 2nd.

In November 1796, Joseph Hammond attached the property of Joseph Leonard II, Middleborough millwright.^[59]

On 29 January 1810, Joseph Leonard, Middleborough yeoman, sold to Gideon Leonard part of his land. Witnesses included Unite Kinsley and Betsey Leonard 5^th. The deed wasn’t recorded until 7 March 1834.^[60]

On 16 March 1818, Joseph and Zilpha Leonard quitclaimed a dower interest in property sold to Ebenezer Strowbridge by Unite Kinsley and his wife Susan.^[61] Unite was Zilpha’s son by her previous marriage.

On 27 May 1829, Joseph Leonard, Middleborough millwright, sold to his son, Joseph Craigie Leonard, part of his property in Middleborough.^[62]

B: The James1, Benjamin2, Joseph3 Line

B1: This Joseph Leonard was born in 1718 in Middleborough. He married Ruth White 27 March 1746 in Middleborough.^[63] He was very much an ironworker in the best of Leonard traditions, being characterized as a Joseph Leonard, Middleborough bloomer, in court documents of the time. He had a large family comprised of 6 sons and 6 daughters, all of whom except the first Hannah and Benajeh survived to adulthood. The children’s names were Hannah, Benajah, Joseph, Ruth, Betty, Archippus, Rowland, Ichabod, Benajah, Hannah, Abigail, and James.^[64] It appears that all five of his surviving sons were trained in the refining of iron and served in the Revolutionary War with their father.^[65]

This Joseph died in 1813 in Middleborough. In keeping with tradition, one of his five living sons was named Joseph.

Joseph Leonard who married Ruth would have been second in order of birth and therefore became Joseph 2^nd.

On 27 January 1759, Joseph Leonard 2nd and his wife Ruth signed a deed selling 7 acres of his homestead land near the slitting mill to Peter Oliver.^[66]

He was Joseph Leonard, Jr. when he married Ruth White,^[67] and Joseph Leonard 2nd, Middleboro refiner of iron, when he sold land on 3 June 1773 when he sold land to Benjamin White.^[68] He is recorded as Joseph Leonard Jr. on the births of children Ruth, Rowland, Ichabod, and called Joseph 2^nd on the birth of children Benaiah, Hannah, Abigail, and James.^[69]

Joseph Leonard, Middleborough refiner of iron, and John Jackson, Middleborough yeoman, were sued over the debts of Stephen Leach (who had absconded) by Thomas Davis, who alleged they had enough of Leach’s goods and credits to satisfy an earlier Court award to Davis. “Leonard said that he had ‘weighed out’ 436 lbs. of his own refined iron and 67 lbs. of Leach’s ready to deliver at Peter Oliver’s forge in Middleborough on 1 April 1769, but that no person has appeared to receive the same…”^[70]

Several cases against Joseph Leonard, Middleborough refiner, were brought before the Court of Common Pleas in 1785 over debts owed.^[71]

B2: Joseph was born on 14 September 1752 in Middleborough. He married Rebecca Lyon on 26 November 1777 in Middleborough.^[72] This Joseph was a bloomer or refiner of iron, like his father. He and Ruth had eight children, two sons and six daughters. Six of the children survived to adulthood – Ruth, Isaac, Polly, Hannah, William Druce, and Rebecca; two daughters died in childhood – Rebecca and Hanna.^[73] In the 1800-1810 timeframe, the family moved to Bowdoinham, Maine, which was then part of Massachusetts. Joseph died in Bowdoinham.^[74]

When Joseph married Rebecca in 1777, he was called Joseph 4^th.^[75] He was called Joseph Jr. when the births of his first four children were registered.^[76]

Suits before the Court of Common Pleas in 1785 and 1786 refer to him as Joseph 3^rd, Middleborough Refiner.^[77]  

In April 1794 Nathaniel Goodwin attached property of Joseph Leonard, Jr., Middleborough bloomer.^[78]

C: The Solomon1, Jacob2, Joseph3 Line

C1: This Joseph Leonard was born on 1 November 1730 in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, a town neighboring Middleborough. He married Huldah Dean 31 January 1750/51 in Raynham, Massachusetts, another town bordering Middleborough.^[79] Huldah was a descendant of James Leonard.^[80] He and Huldah had seven children: Jonathan, Lucy, Betsey, Huldah, Polly, Joseph, and Silas.^[81] Joseph died in1793. His will specifically mentions his children.^[82]

Joseph was a farmer, a yeoman in that he owned the land he farmed. He and Hulda bought, lived on, and sold several farms in Bridgewater. On 10 December 1753 he received 40 acres from his father in Bridgewater.^[83]

Joseph Leonard, Middleborough yeoman, attached Elijah Reed, Middleborough yeoman, on two notes dated 20 February 1784 and 27 August 1784 for a total of 144 pounds sterling.^[84] This would seem to indicate he came to Middleborough before 1784 and therefore probably was inserted in the numbering system as Joseph 2nd about the time Joseph 3rd died.

On 7 March 1786 Joseph bought land from Elijah Reed in Middleborough.^[85] It would appear he may have moved to Middleborough earlier. The purchase refers to him as Joseph Leonard 2^nd, Middleborough yeoman and was signed 7 March 1786 by Elijah Reed, Jr., Middleborough yeoman.^[86]  

Joseph died 11 October 1793 in Middleborough.^[87] Witnesses included Jonathan Leonard, Joseph’s brother. This piece of property bordered land already owned by Joseph Leonard 2^nd.^[88]

As Joseph Leonard, Middleborough Yeoman, he also bought land from Levi Hathaway on 2 March 1793, shortly before he died.^[89]

On 19 October 1793, shortly after Joseph’s death, his widow Huldah sold to Jonathon Leonard, her late husband’s brother, 28 acres she had been given by her late mother, Mary Dean.^[90] On 6 May 1796, the Joseph’s daughters Betsey Briggs and Lucy Leonard quitclaimed and relinquished to Jonathan Leonard part of the homestead of Joseph Leonard, late of Middleborough.^[91]

C2: Joseph’s son, Joseph, was born on 2 June 1754.^[92] He married Mary Scott 5 May 1779.^[93] According to Manning Leonard, “in early life he followed the sea and was for seven years engaged in whale fisheries. About 1779 his uncle gave him some lands in Pennsylvania, upon the condition that he would remove there and oversee other lands belonging to the donor. He accepted the gift and located in the town of Pittstown, Luzerne Co., PA.^[94] Joseph died on 1 December 1842 in Binghamton, Broome County, New York.

Joseph Leonard who married Mary apparently never comes into play, his father having moved to Middleborough while Joseph was out to sea and his having moved to Pennsylvania in 1779 before marrying. By the 1790s he was in the Binghamton, New York, area. He is mentioned because his name may be found in the records. For example, he quitclaimed and relinquished to Jonathan Leonard any dower interest in their father’s homestead.

The 1790 Census and the Joseph Leonards

The 1790 Census is comprised of seven pages which find 1,527 persons living in Middleborough, of which 146 (about 9.5%) were living in the 23 Leonard households. The Middleborough census taker was Joshua Thomas, who lived in or near an area called Thomastown in South Middleborough (assuming this is the right Joshua Thomas) on the first of the seven pages of the Middleborough census.   It appears from the layout of the 1790 census in Middleborough that he did not live near any of the Leonard families, all of whom are on pages 3, 5, and 6.

The logical approach to sorting these out is by which had married children who had presumably moved out of the household and which had unmarried children presumably living at home, after accounting for children who died or were not yet born. This theoretically should match the numbers on the chart. However, reality isn’t so neat: some unmarried children might be apprenticed or working elsewhere. Orphaned children of brothers or sisters might be living with the family. They might or might not be living near sons, daughters, or other relatives. They might be living near people from whom they bought land or to whom they sold land or who witnessed their land transactions. They might be living near families whom their sons or daughters married. One or more of the married children or their aging parents might be living with them in a combined household. The son who was to inherit the farm would be the most likely to join a combined household. All of these assume the census takers in 1790 went through the neighborhoods listing families as they came to them.

The 1790 Census lists 4 Joseph Leonards in Middleborough. Joseph and Fear had died, as had the Joseph married to Abigail. The Joseph married to Mary had left Middleborough. That left the four in the Census: two Joseph Leonards, one Joseph Leonard 2nd, and one Joseph Leonard 3rd. By household, they stack up as follows: The 1790 Census lists 4 Joseph Leonards in Middleborough. Joseph and Fear had died, as had the Joseph married to Abigail. The Joseph married to Mary had left Middleborough. That left the four in the Census: two Joseph Leonards, one Joseph Leonard 2nd, and one Joseph Leonard 3rd. By household, they stack up as follows in the Census:

The VRs detailing family members paint a slightly different picture:

There are four Josephs, but only two are given numeral suffixes. The implication is that there are two Joseph Seniors or the Census left out one or more suffixes.

At that time, Joseph Leonard Senior (B1) was the bloomer/refiner born in 1718 and married to Ruth.

Joseph, 72, iron refiner, and Ruth had a total of 12 children. By 1790, two children had died. Four sons, Rowland, Ichabod, Benajah, and James, had not married by 1790, one of which was under 16 and two unmarried daughters. Rowland, Ichabod, and Benajah later were in business together in Wareham under the firm name of Rowland Leonard & Company, although when they started is unknown. The pattern for 1790 would therefore be 1 male under 16, 4 males over 16, and 3 females, assuming all were still living at home. The closest match is the first Joseph on the table, with 1 male under 16, 2 males over 16, and 4 females.

The Joseph Leonard with only one male child at home, second on the table, a male under 16, lived next to Jedidah Lyons, father of Rebecca who was married to (B2) Joseph Leonard, born 1752, bloomer.   Logically, either Joseph (B1) or Joseph (B2) would have been living next to Jedidiah.

But (B2) Joseph and Rebecca had a total of 8 children. In 1790, two daughters, Rebecca and Abigail, had not yet been born. Of the remaining 6 children, 2 were a son over 16, 1 under 16, and 4 were daughters. This would yield a pattern of 3 males over 16 and 5 females. This almost matches the pattern for Joseph 3rd in the census table, with 2 sons under 16, 1 male over 16 (Joseph), and 5 females.

This would put him in the neighborhood with Jesse Bryant, the Norcutts, and others who worked at the Oliver mill site. That would be a logical place for someone working at the Oliver forge or slitting mill in Muttock to live, but both Joseph the bloomer and Joseph the millwright may have been working there. Joseph 3rd lived next to Jesse Bryant, part-owner and foreman of the Oliver mill works, next to Philip Leonard, and near Archippus Leonard, ironworker and son of Joseph Leonard (B1). Nearby were Lemuel Leonard, Rev. George Leonard 2nd, and John Leonard.

Joseph (A3) and Elizabeth had a total of 4 children. In 1790, one son had not yet been born, one son was under 16, and there were two daughters. This calculates to a family of 5 in 1790, with one son under 16, Joseph over 16, and 3 females (two daughters and Elizabeth). That pattern doesn’t quite match any on the census table. Extra are 1 male under 16

On 27 March 1789 Joseph (A3) was Joseph 4th witnessing a land sale by Samuel and Rhoda Miller; on 4 October 1791 Joseph Leonard 3rd, Middleborough joiner, sold land to Zebedee Sprout; and by 29 December 1794 he signed as Joseph Leonard 2nd in witnessing a land sale to Paddock and Kezia Richmond. Logically, he would have been either Joseph 4th or Joseph 3rd for the 1790 Census, but also logically, he would have been the Joseph Leonard 2nd in the census living near his mother Abigail and 4 unmarried sisters, his brother Noah Leonard, Rufus Richmond, and Zebedee Sprout (frequent witnesses to his land transactions). Samuel Miller and Joseph Richmond, father of Elizabeth Richmond, whose land abutted his, and not far from Elkanah Leonard, a cousin. Simeon Macomber, to whom Joseph 4th sold land in 1785, also lived close by.

One name that’s missing in the 1790 Census is Gideon Leonard, very much alive, brother of Joseph and Elizabeth. It’s possible that Gideon, his wife Hannah Sprout, and their three children, two daughters and one son under 16 were living with Joseph and Elizabeth; but it is more likely that Gideon is mislisted as Gideon Miller with 1 male over 16, 1 male under 16, and 3 females in the household. This Gideon lived close to Joseph 2nd, Abigail Leonard, brother Noah Leonard, Simeon Macumber, Rufus Richmond, and other familiar people in this chapter. He figured in many real estate transactions, either as a witness or in the land descriptions. Another brother, Nathaniel, appears in the 1790 Census as living in Raynham with his wife and daughter.

Joseph (C1) yeoman, and Huldah had a total of 7 children. three sons and four daughters. In 1790, their three sons were married, and two daughters remained unmarried in 1790. Two of their sons had moved away, Joseph to Binghamton, NY, and Silas to Kent, CT. Both of his parents were dead, as were Huldah’s. Their profile in 1790 would appear to be two males over 16 and three females. Joseph was a farmer and would have lived in an agricultural area. This matches the pattern for Joseph Leonard 2nd on the table. He would have been Joseph 2nd in 1790 if the usual order was followed.

This Joseph’s family is living next door to Jonathan Leonard. Elijah Reed, Rev. Elijah Reed Jr., and Levi Hathaway lived in this area.   Jonathan figured prominently in Joseph’s real estate transactions.

Now it’s possible that the way the census was taken, the 527 inhabitants of Middleborough are purely in random order and not by neighborhood within Middleborough. It is possible that the census taker, not knowing the Leonards well, made errors in his listing. It’s possible Joseph or his family didn’t include Joseph’s suffix when they answered the census taker’s questions. It is possible that others than husband, wife, and their children made up any given household on the census day. It is likely that some of the people being listed were illiterate and could not read what was being listed. It’s more than possible that some of my genealogical research contains errors. Whatever the case, it is not easy to equate the known Joseph Leonards with the Joseph Leonards listed in the census.

Nothing critical hangs on untangling the Josephs in the 1790 Census. But it would be nice to find consistency and a clear path throughout.

Other Problem Leonard Lines

This “Middleborough Joseph” quandary is not the only confusing situation among the Leonards. Manning Leonard complained about the Joseph Leonards in Bridgewater and the Ebenezer Leonards in and around Preston, CT -- that there wasn’t sufficient information to distinguish which was which in either locality. Several of the Solomon Leonard grandsons and great-grandsons migrated to eastern New York in the 1730s, but the paucity of information about them and their families leaves a void that’s hard to transcend.

If there were a lot of Josephs among the Leonards, there were even more Jameses. One James Leonard whose parents and descendants remain mostly uncertain was born before 1717 in Taunton, moved to Smithfield and later Gloucester, Rhode Island, married Anne, and had a son named Gulliver. He is logically a descendant of “our” James, but through which line of descent -- a son of Uriah? At about the same time in Smithfield, there was a Catharine Leonard whose parents are unidentified.

The records of the early Seth Leonards are confusing and potentially mixed up. A presumed uncle to some degree of the above James, Seth Leonard, moved to Smithfield, Rhode Island, perhaps to avoid relatives in Taunton who were trying to get the courts to declare him “non-compos mentis.” No genealogical relationship to said Seth can be found among those signing a petition for the declaration, while some who were close relatives were not among those signing the petition. Does this portray a major family disagreement, or do we have Seth placed wrong in the genealogy?

Another Leonard mystery already mentioned involves the William Leonard who married Sarah Bolton in 1709. No parentage has been proven for William, despite much research by ECL and GML. William had a son, William, who is said by some to have married Sarah Hoar and by others to have married Ruth Hoar.   Seth Leonard has been ascribed to William Leonard and Sarah Bolton, although no evidence has been found to support that. Seth Leonard and Ruth Hoar supposedly had six children, but how many and which, particularly Daniel, are in contention.   William and Sarah had a son, James, who married Jemima Heiford and had nine children, only five of whom have been identified.

Job Mason Leonard, an entrepreneur and ironmaster in1900 and active in establishing a Leonard family organization at that time, traced his ancestry back to a Russell Leonard about the time of James Leonard’s sons or grandsons, but no record of a Russell Leonard can be found. It would appear he’s a descendant of William Leonard and Sarah Bolton, but that is by no means certain.

There’s the mystery of a George Leonard who appears first in Pennsylvania in the late 1600s married to Christian. He had many descendants who lived in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and later moved to Guilford County, North Carolina, Tazewell County, Illinois, and Clinton County, Ohio.

The origins of Job Strong Leonard, who was born about 1754 in Connecticut, and lived in Granville, Washington County, NY, are unknown. His descendants are scattered among Vermont, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Kansas, among other states.

John P. Leonard has been seeking the parents of Charles Carroll Leonard, thought to have been born on 12 November 1819 in Raynham, Massachusetts, and who ran away from home at a young age, living in New York and Ohio before settling in Illinois. The Y-DNA haplogroup of a descendant is I2b.

Sam Leonard has left no stone unturned in seeking the parents of Justus Leonard, born 15 July 1758, probably in Stephentown, NY, who married Catherine Aylesworth of Rhode Island in Pawling, Dutchess Co., New York, but to no avail. Again, the Y-DNA haplogroup of a descendant is I2b.

Ebenezer Leonard, born 19 September 1757 in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, is probably a descendant of Solomon Leonard, but we’ve been unable to identify his parents. He married Susannah Dunnehe and resided in Otsego County, New York

Samuel Leonard, born in 1757 in New Jersey, married Abigail P. Pierson in 1783 in Morristown, New Jersey, has a large number of descendants and is probably a descendant of James, Henry, or Solomon Leonard. But we’ve been unable to identify his parentage.

The parents of Jacob Leonard, born on 29 April 1771 in New York and married Betsey Davis, remain unidentified.

The Family Historian’s Burden

The Joseph problem has puzzled family historians for a long time. A series of queries in the American Genealogical Biographic Index lays out some of the facts and supposed relationships, but then asks for further facts and verification. Some family researchers have paired a Joseph with the wrong wife. It’s easy to do. You have a Joseph Leonard who is about 21, and you find a Joseph Leonard who marries a Rebecca. Not knowing that there are two other Josephs born about that time in Middleborough who married other women, you attach the Joseph you found to Rebecca. But what if it’s one of the other Josephs who married Rebecca? How can you be sure which Joseph married Rebecca?

Clues are to be found in the suffix given the Joseph: Joseph 4th, for example. The names of the children and their birth records can be helpful, particularly if the mother’s name is given and/or the father’s suffix appears. As noted, these suffixes do change over time, so you may have to research who was designated who during a particular time period. Land records may be helpful, particularly if they include the wife. But even witnesses and neighbors can offer hints, although not necessarily conclusive. Court records can also be helpful. Better yet are probate records, although the Joseph Leonards in this particular piece were not very good about signing wills before they died. Joseph, husband of Huldah, who died in 1793, was the only one to do so.^[95]   For those who died intestate, there should be documents relating to court appointment of administrators and inventories of their estates, as indeed there are for Capt. Joseph^[96] and Joseph who died in 1844.^[97]

What can we learn from this tangle of Josephs?

First, be very, very careful when verifying your line of descent from James Leonard. Leonards with the same given name abound. There may be several in the same town. Their birth dates can be very close. They may have had the same or similar occupations. They may have lived in close proximity. It is easy to assign the wrong Joseph to parents or a wife other than his own or a father and son unless there is cross-matching information, like a birth date. But for many records, there is little or no solid information to cross-match.   One may then need to turn to circumstantial evidence to support the relationship, such as the names of children, the place they lived, the church they attended, the land they acquired, the court suits they encountered.

Second, don’t accept anyone else’s work as absolutely accurate. That includes this book and this compiler. It is so easy to make mistakes. There is a lot of misinformation on the Internet and earlier genealogies, inadvertent, perhaps, but nevertheless wrong. Check a variety of sources and satisfy yourself that you have the right Joseph or Thomas or Betsey or Hannah. This continues to be a problem even as the Leonards move West starting in the late 1700s and adopt middle names. You’d be amazed how many John Henry Leonards there are. This compilation is meant to help you by listing the many with the same given name(s), but you will have to check them out. If I get to continue this Leonard genealogical compilation, it will include volumes on the descendants of Henry Leonard of New Jersey, Solomon Leonard of Duxbury, John Leonard of Springfield, and others. This will be the Leonard Series, multiple volumes, of which this Leonard Origins is the first, and James Leonard, 1620, , ironworker of Taunton is the second.

Third, there are lots of resources to help (and confuse) you: Vital records, land records, court records, military records, tax lists, local histories, censuses, and family genealogies, to name a few. Researching history -- of the towns, of local events, of the companies for which ancestors worked -- can also provide useful clues as to the actions and motivations of your ancestors.

Fourth, “horizontal genealogy” helps. “Horizontal genealogy” is that which people who are alive know of the previous two generations, their own, and the next two. “Classical genealogy” is vertical in orientation, “up the tree” or “down the tree,” but misses most of the awareness of who’s related to whom by marriage, who the favorite cousins are, family feuds, community networks, and the like. Reconstructing even a small part of that “horizontal genealogy” can give you clues and insights into your family’s history and verify what you find in your research.

[1] Middleborough VR’s on The Complete Mayflower Descendant, Family Tree Maker CD#203, Broderbund, Vol. 1, p. 205. Also Vol. 1, p. 9 in The Complete Mayflower Descendant, Disk 2, Births 1674-1709 (hereafter Mayflower Descendant).

[2] Middleborough Public Library, Town VR’s, 1649-1945, p. 331 (hereafter MidLib Town VR’s).

[3] MidLib Town VR’s, 1649-1945, p. 612

[4] MidLib Town VR’s, Deaths, p. 331

[5] Manning Leonard, “Memorial: Genealogical, Historical, and Biographical, of Solomon Leonard, 1637, of Duxbury and Bridgewater, Mass., and Some of His Descendants,” Auburn: Knapp, Peck & Thomson, 1896 (hereafter, Manning Leonard).

[6] Middleborough VR’s, Vol. I, Book 4, Births 1762-1800, p. 248. “Mr. Joseph Leonard Deceased October 11th, 1793 in the 63 year of his age.”

[7] Mayflower Descendant, Disk 2, Middleborough VR’s, Vol I, Book 1, Births 1724-1736, p. 54. “Joseph Leonard,the son of Joseph Leonard & of Fear, his wife was born July the 29th, 1732.” In the records of births of Joseph’s and Fear’s children, Joseph is referred to as Lieut. Joseph Leonard. This would be in the 1730s.

[8] MidLib Town VR’s, Deaths, p. 331. He is listed as Lt. Joseph Leonard. ECL-GML list his date of death as 2 Nov 1788, but that’s an error.

[9] MidLib Town VR’s, Births, p. 612.

[10] Elisha Clark Leonard and George Marston Leonard, “James Leonard of Taunton, Massachusetts, Ironmaster,” typescript on file at NEHGS, 1960, p. 171 (hereafter ECL-GML).

[11] Mayflower Descendant, Middleborough VR’s, Vol. 1, Book 2 - Births 1736-1764, p. 96. “Joseph Leonard the son of Joseph Leonard by Ruth his wife was born September the 14th N:S 1752.” The next entry is for Joseph and Ruth’s daughter, Ruth, and refers to Joseph Leonard as Joseph Leonard Jr.

[12] MidLib, Town VR’s, Deaths, p. 331.

[13] Manning Leonard, p. 213.

[14] Manning Leonard, p. 215.

[15] Thomas Weston, “History of the Town of Middleboro, Massachusetts,” Cambridge: The Riverside Press, 1906, p. (hereafter Weston).

[16] Weston, p. 156. But which Joseph?

[17] Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution, pp. 695-6 (hereafter MA Soldiers).

[18] MA Soldiers, p. 696.

[19] Weston, pp. 106-144.

[20] MA Soldiers, p. 695

[21] Duane Hamilton Hurd, History of Middleborough, Plymouth County, Part 3, ,pp. 1017-1020 (hereafter Hurd, Middleborough).

[22] MidLib Town VR’s, Marriages, p. 517.

[23] MidLib Town VR’s, Marriages, p. 517

[24] ECL-GML, p. 171.

[25] ECL-GML, p. 171.

[26] Plymouth LR 29-62. Original deed among the Leonard papers at the Old Colony Historical Society, Taunton.

[27] Middleborough VR’s, Vol. 1, Book 2, Part 2 - Marriages 1752-1764, p.118. “May. 7: 1752 . Joseph Leonard the 3rd and Abigail Raymond both of the Town of Middleborough was marred by me Benja Ruggles” Middleborough VR’s, Vol. II,Book 2, Part 1 - Marriage Intentions 1748-1772, p. 47 lists “April 4 1752 Joseph Lonard the 3rd and Abigail Raymond both of Middleborough.” Also, MidLib, Town VR’s, Marriages, p. 517.

[28] Weston, p.

[29] ECL-GML, pp. 171-2.

[30] “Under traditional English common law an adult unmarried woman was considered to have the legal status of feme sole, while a married woman had the status of feme covert...upon marriage a woman’s legal rights were subsumed by those of her husband.” (Source: Wikipedia)

[31] Zebedee, born 1741, shared grandparents Nathaniel Southworth and Jael Bennett with Joseph. Also, Zebedee’s brother Robert Sprout Jr. was married to Hannah Leonard 3rd, Joseph’s sister.

[32] Plymouth LR 61:1 (?)

[33] Plymouth LR 61-136.

[34] Plymouth LR 61-137.

[35] Plymouth Court Records, cases 2 and 33. Beginning back in the time of Thomas Leonard of Taunton, iron was used as a substitute for money in a banking system and store of value.

[36] Plymouth Court Record, case 26.

[37] Plymouth LR 62-217. The deed mentions neighboring land that Joseph had sold to his son Joseph.

[38] Plymouth Land Records,

[39] Plymouth Court Records 1686 -1859, Volume 4, General Sessions of the Peace 1782-1827, General Sessions, April 1782 - August 1791, 4:43-44.

[40] Plymouth Land Records, 72:66. Also quoted in The Mayflower Descendant, Vol. 40, p. 129.

[41] Middleborough VR’s, Vol. II, Book 2, Part 2 - Marriage Intentions 1801, Births 1750-92, p. 85: “Decr. 3d I married Joseph Leonard 4th & Elizabeth Richmond 2d both of Middboro.” Also, MidLib, Marriages, p. 517.

[42] MidLib, Deaths, p. 329.

[43] MidLib, Marriages, p. 517

[44] MidLib, Deaths, p. 335.

[45] Weston, pp. 364-367. Also, a suit before the Court of Common Pleas by Nathaneal Perkins (Boston Physician) and Ezekiel Lewis (Boston Merchant) v. Peter Oliver, Esq., Nathanael Dillington husbandman, Nathanael Wilder blacksmith, Benajah Pratt and Jesse Bryant iron-refiners all of Middleborough describes the Oliver site “in all about 500 acres with a moiety of five dwelling houses thereon and of one saw mill, a forge, a grist-mill, and a slitting mill also standing thereon...” Plymouth Court Record 14:192, Court of Common Pleas, December 1770, case 11.

[46] ECL-GML, Vol. 2, p. 51. The pagination of the typescript is very uneven, with page numbers crossed out and changed or missing altogether. The alternative means of finding the reference is by the generation and person number, “Sixth Generation, #533. Joseph (Joseph5, Joseph4, Elkanah3, Thomas2, James1). ECL was 25 when Joseph died.

[47] Plymouth LR 61-2.

[48] Middleborough VR’s, Vol. II, Book 2, Part 2 - Deaths 1800/Marriage Intentions 1774-1799, p. 94: “October 17th (1777) Mr Joseph Leonard ye 5th and Mrs. Elizabeth Richmond 2nd. Both of Middleborough.”

[49] MiddleboroughVR’s, Vol. II, Book 2, Part 2 - Marriages 1798-1804: “1800 Novr. 9 Mr. Joseph Leonard 2d. & Mrs. Zilpha Kinsley both Middleboro.”

[50] Court Records

[51] Plymouth CR, April 1785, case 7.

[52] Plymouth LR 84-94

[53] Plymouth LR 87-138.

[54] Plymouth LR 87-139.

[55] Plymouth LR 90-92

[56] Plymouth LR 90-93

[57] Plymouth LR 87-142

[58] Plymouth LR 90-94

[59] Plymouth CR, 1796-99, case 104.

[60] Plymouth LR 177-133.

[61] Plymouth LR 137-12

[62] Plymouth LR 174-240

[63] MidLib, Marriages, p. 517.

[64] ECL-GML, p.

[65] Weston, pp. 136-7. The Third Company included a number of Leonards: Sergeant Benjamin Leonard, Corporal Joseph Leonard, privates Archippas Leonard, Perez Leonard, George Leonard, Samuel Leonard, Joseph Leonard, Roland Leonard, and Ichabod Leonard. Archippas, Perez, Ichabod, and Roland were certainly sons of this Joseph, but there are multiples of the other Leonards of an age where they could have served.

[66] Plymouth LR 45-147.

[67] Middleborough VR’s, Vol. 1, Book 2, Part 2, Marriages 1744-1755, p. 105. “(p. 26) March 27, 1746 Then was Married at Middleborough Joseph Leonard, Junr & Ruth White both of Middleborough by me Benja White Justice of Peace.”

[68] Plymouth LR

[69] Middleborough VR’s, Disk 1, Vol. XXII, p.150, Vol. XXV, p.108, Vol. XXXI, p.188 of The Mayflower Descendant.

[70] Court Records

[71] Plymouth CR, 1785-90, cases 23 and 74

[72] MidLib, Marriages, p. 517

[73] Middleborough VR’s, Vol. I, Book 4, Part 1, Births 1762-1800, p. 257. Children were born to Joseph and Rebeckah Leonard, with no suffix on Joseph’s name.

[74] ECL-GML, p. 124.

[75] Middleborough VR’s, Vol. II, Book 2, Part 2 - Deaths 1800, Marriage Intentions 1774-1799: “...also Mr. Joseph Leonard ye 4th and Mrs. Rebecca Lyon both of Middleborough.” “the following persons were married by the Revd. Solomon Reed...Novr. 20, 1777 Joseph Leonard & Rebeckah Lyon both of Middleboro...”

[76] Middleborough VR’s,

[77] Plymouth CR, 1785-96, cases 23 and 74. The second case includes his brother, Archippus.

[78] Plymouth CR, 1794, case72.

[79] Margaret Harris Stover, Vital Records of Raynham, MA, p. 85 for intentions. Marriage date from Manning Leonard, p. 122.

[80] Huldah’s line of descent: James1, Thomas2, Elizabeth3, Mary Williams4, Huldah Dean5.

[81] Manning Leonard, p. 122.

[82] Plymouth Probate Court, Docket 12635.

[83] Plymouth LR 42-167.

[84] Plymouth CR 16:315, Oct 1783 to Oct 1785 session, case #68.

[85] Plymouth LR 65-160.

[86] Plymouth LR 65-160

[87] MidLib, Deaths, p. 331.

[88] Plymouth Land Record 65-160

[89] Plymouth LR 74-63.

[90] Plymouth LR 76-146.

[91] Plymouth LR 83-87.

[92] Manning Leonard, p. 122.

[93] Manning Leonard, p. 122, p. 214. He married in Pennsylvania.

[94] Manning Leonard, pp. 213-216.

[95] Spouses’ signatures were required (still are) to extinguish dower rights.

[96] Plymouth County Probate, Docket 12633.

[97] Plymouth County Probate, Docket 12635.