Wednesday, September 24, 2014

52 ANCESTORS in 52 WEEKS, No. 39: Joshua HOTCHKISS, early CT

Following the challenge from Amy Johnson Crow to write a post weekly, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, here is my 39th installment, Joshua HOTCHKISS, 1651-1722, Connecticut.  Joshua is my 8th great-grandfather on my maternal lines. 

Joshua is another ancestor who was a very early settler in Connecticut with his parents. He was one of 6 boys and 1 girl of Samuel HOTCHKISS and Elizabeth CLEAVERLY, who married on 7 September 1642 in New Haven, CT. The family appeared to be comfortably middle-class in England, and educated. Samuel, Joshua's father. is believed to have arrived in Connecticut on the ship "Hector" in 1637; however other sources state he arrived in 1642.  That  latter date may be simply due to Samuel's residence in 1642 when he married.  Much of my information on the Hotchkiss family group comes from the following: Directory of the Ancestral Heads of New England Families;  The Hotchkiss Family, First Six Generations: Descendants of Samuel Hotchkiss (ca. 1622-1663) of New Haven, Connecticut;  Genealogies of Connecticut Families Vol.2 by Gary Boyd Roberts; New Haven Vital Records, among other records [online].  

Joshua was born 16 Sep 1651, East Haven, Connecticut.  His first marriage is noted to be in 1677, when he married Mary PARDEE.  Mary, born 18 Feb 1657/58 in East Haven, was the daughter of George PARDEE & Martha MILES. Much has been written about the PARDEE family who left Pitminster England and settled in New Haven around 1644.  

At several points, Joshua was a Sheriff in New Haven.  In addition, he fought in King William's War (and was apparently a pensioner of it.)

Joshua and Mary had three children that we know of, born in New Haven, CT:  
1.  Mary, b. 14 Dec 1679, who apparently died as an infant.
2.  Stephen (Deacon), 25 Aug 1681; m. Elizabeth Sperry on 12 Dec 1704; children
3.  Martha [ancestor], b.14 Dec 1683; m. Thomas BROOKS 25 Mar 1702 in Wallingford, CT; Martha d. after 1755 in Cheshire CT; Thomas d. of smallpox, 20 Jul 1732.

Unfortunately Mary PARDEE Hotchkiss died before 1685.  Joshua then married Hannah Tuttle in perhaps 1688. I need to clarify the six additional children of Hannah and Joshua - there are issues with the birthdates and places for several of the children. Apparently Hannah died in 1718, and Joshua married once more, in 1719, to Mary [surname either Sanford or Ashbun].  

Joshua died 22 Dec 1722 in New Haven, CT, and there is a headstone in the cemetery attached to Center Church on the Green, New Haven, CT.  Details may be found by clicking through on FindAGrave.  

As is only too obvious as I complete this year-long challenge, I have much research still to do on these ancestors! 

If you have information or corrections, please do not hesitate to contact me via calewis at telus dot net or in the Comments below.  Thank you so much for stopping by.  

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Welcome!

Family, friends, and others - I hope you enjoy these pages about our ancestors and their lives. Genealogy has become somewhat of an obsession, more than a hobby, and definitely a wonderful mystery to dig into and discover. Enjoy my writing, and contact me at celia.winky at gmail dot com if you have anything to add to the stories. ... Celia Lewis