The wedding of
genealogy and genetics has produced a new science—genetic genealogy (GG). It is a “science” because hypotheses will be formed
and conclusions drawn based on evidence.
If GG is to be accepted as such, then the genealogy part will have to
conform to rigid standards, otherwise the conclusions are worthless. In the
past, those who simply copied someone else’s family tree from the Internet, or
from an old family history, could call themselves genealogists. No more! Every
piece of evidence must be supported by reputable sources, or should have
circumstantial support that renders its acceptance beyond a reasonable
doubt. Of course DNA evidence is now our
newest tool—and the most powerful. You can argue with the interpretation of
results, but not with the facts.
Proof that Joseph Gleason of Upton (d. 1747) was
the Father of Joseph Gleason of Sandisfield
Judith Gleason Claassen
The following presents
evidentiary proof to settle a mystery in the history of Gleason Lineage I.
Results of Y-DNA testing has shown that certain persons are indeed members of
the lineage that descends from Thomas Gleson, born Suffolk in 1609. Although
the paper trail of evidence is incomplete, it is clear that the descent is
true. We only have to find that evidence that makes the connection. This is the
proof for just one step in that genealogical connection.
The purpose of
this discussion is to prove that Joseph Gleason of Upton, Massachusetts, who
died 1747, was the father of Joseph Gleason of Sandisfield, Massachusetts. Until
now, the father of Joseph of Sandisfield has been unknown in Gleason genealogy
circles. Joseph of Upton will be labeled JosephA; his son, born 1740 in Upton, will be JosephB; and Joseph Gleason of
Sandisfield will be indicated as JosephC.
It will be shown that JosephB and
JosephC are one and the same.
Background
Joseph GleasonA
married Hannah Ha[y]ward, 28 Feb 1739 in Upton, MA.[1] His origin is unknown.
He died in Upton in 1747 where his probate records can be found with the
inventory of his estate, guardianship of his children, and his occupation as
blacksmith.[2] The Vital Records of Upton
list the birth of two children; however, the probate records reveal three
children born to this couple:
1. JosephB, born 20 Dec
1740 (Age 7 in the probate of
Guardianship)
2. Caleb, born about 1743 (Age 4 in the probate of Guardianship)
3. Hannah, born 6 Oct 1745 (Age 2 in
the probate of Guardianship)
Children
of Joseph of Upton
Worcester County, MA:
Probate File Papers, 1731-1881. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New
England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. (From records supplied by the
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives.)
Joseph
GleasonC married Sarah Eddy, 22 Dec 1762 in Oxford, MA.[3] He was identified
in the record as Joseph Gleason of Sandisfield. Sarah was born 11 Jun 1737 in
Oxford to Ebenezer and Ruth Eddy.[4] The couple settled in Sandisfield, and in
the Sandisfield Vital Records we find that that Joseph Gleason and wife Sarah
had the following children:[5]
1. Caleb, born 5 Jan 1764
2. Jesse, born 31 Oct 1766
3. Sarah, born 1 Oct 1769
4. Joseph, born 29 __ 1771
5. Daniel, born 21 Feb 1774
6. Hannah, born 26 Feb 1777, died 11
July 1777
7. Ebenezer, born 15 January 1781
8. Samuel, born 4 April 1783
It is important
to note the names Caleb, Hannah, and Samuel given to their children for
reference in the following paragraphs.
Supporting Evidence
1. JosephC married two
days after the twenty-second birthday of JosephB. Often, in this
culture, young men did not marry before age twenty-two.
2. Hannah Hayward was born 25 July 1718
to Samuel and Hannah, according to the records of Bellingham, Massachusetts.[6]
3. Samuel and Hannah Hayward of Bellingham and
Mendon had a son Caleb, born 25 Jul 1720. He died at age twenty-one “by a very
sad accident.”[7] This Caleb was the younger brother of Hannah (Hayward)
Gleason, wife of JosephA, and the name Caleb was given to their
second child. The probate records of JosephA say that Caleb was a
very “weakly” child, and show money spent by widow Hannah for his care.
4. On 13 Nov 1751 Hannah (Hayward)
Gleason married Samuel Temple “of Bedford” in Upton.[8] The couple moved to Acton and had several children.
Samuel Temple had died by Jan 1761, and Hannah was given administration of his estate
in Acton.[9] By this time, her oldest son JosephB was twenty-one and
likely received his inheritance of £48-6-5 from his father’s estate. His little
brother Caleb, age 18, asked that Thomas Stearns of Littleton be given his
guardianship.[10]
Inheritance
of Joseph Jr. of Upton
Proof of Relationship
The final proof of
the relationship comes from the record of a “mortgage” of £16 from JosephC
and Sarah Gleason of Sandisfield to Thomas Stearns of Littleton to be paid to
Caleb Gleason, brother of Joseph of Sandisfield, should he ever return to claim
it. Here the word mortgage was used as we would use the word “note.” A copy of
the original document was presented to the Littleton Historical Society and is
described in their Proceedings of
1895:
Mortgage, Joseph
and Sarah Gleason, of Sandisfield, Berkshire Co. Mass., to Thomas Stearns, of
Littleton, March 1, 1722 [sic],
containing a peculiar provision that if Caleb Gleason, late of Bedford, brother
of Joseph, of whom Thomas Stearns was guardian and who had been absent ten or
eleven years and was supposed to be dead in Great Britian, should appear within
fifteen years, the £16, for which mortgage was given, should be paid with
interest, if not, mortgage should be void. [11]
The document was
never recorded. Despite the obvious error in the transcription of the date,[12]
it conclusively proves that the brother of Joseph of Sandisfield was the Caleb
Gleason whose guardian was Thomas Stearns of Littleton; and since we have shown
that Thomas Stearns of Littleton was the guardian of Caleb the son of Joseph of
Upton, it follows that Joseph Gleason of Upton was the father of Joseph Gleason
of Sandisfield.
Judith Gleason Claassen
August 2016
NOTES:
The Vital
Records of the various towns are published and are available online at:
Massachusetts
Vital Records to 1850 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New
England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2016).
[1] Vital Records of Upton, Massachusetts
[2] Worcester
County Probate, Record no. 24079-24080.
[3] Vital Records of Oxford Massachusetts
[4] Ibid.
[5] Vital Records of Sandisfield, Massachusetts
[6] Vital Records of Bellingham, Massachusetts
[7] Vital Records of Bellingham
[8] Vital Records of Upton
[9] Middlesex
County Probate, Record no. 22331.
[10] Ibid.,
Record no. 9207
[11] Proceedings
of the Littleton Historical Society, No. 1, 1894-1895 (Littleton: The
Historical Society, 1896), 15. Available online at https://archive.org/details/proceedingsoflit12litt
[12] Clearly this date is either a
misreading of the original or a typographical error. Sandisfield did not exist
until 1750, and Joseph and Sarah were not yet born in 1722.
Guardianship
of Caleb
Middlesex County, MA:
Probate File Papers, 1648-1871.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org.
New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (From records supplied by the
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives. Digitized mages provided by
FamilySearch.org)
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