Holbrook line: Joseph Hayward 1643-1713

 I just love it when history comes up and slaps me in the face, which seems to happen often as I research the ancestors of my children.  Of course, I'm dismayed when the outcome is not good, but I find that knowing what tough times our ancestors went through helps me have faith that our current generations, also, will survive and thrive.  Joseph Hayward's story, or more specifically, his family's stories, are an example.

Just to make it fun for researchers, Joseph's last name is also spelled Heyward, Haward, Heywood, and probably other spellings, but Hayward seems to be the one most commonly used.  And to make it more fun, there is another Joseph Hayward, born the same year and frequently confused with our Joseph.  The one we are not interested in, at least not at the moment, lived his life in Bridgewater, Plymouth Colony, and died in 1702, a few years before our Joseph.

Joseph was the son of George and Mary (possibly Hayward was also her maiden name, but not known for sure) Hayward and was born January 15, 1643, where his parents had lived since at least 1636. (The town was founded in 1635.)  Concord is about 20 miles northwest of Boston, and if that name rings a distant bell, you read about Concord as the site of one of the first battles of the Revolutionary War.  But that was much later, and Concord was a very small village when Joseph was born, the second of at least 7 children born to George and Mary.  

We don't know much about Joseph's early life.  George was a respected citizen in the town and Joseph was raised in a family that had books (per George's will).  He likely learned to read and write, if not in a school, then in the home.  Rev. Peter Bulkeley (a "former ancestor") had helped found the town and was the town's Puritan minister for many years, and we can assume Joseph attended church services regularly and was brought up as a Puritan.  

He married Hannah Hosmer on October 26, 1665, and they had at least four children together.  Sadly, she died December 15, 1675. Joseph had four small children to raise, and he didn't stay single long.  He married widow Elizabeth Treadway Hapgood, the daughter of Nathaniel and Sufferance Haynes Treadway, on March 23, 1676/77, in Concord, Massachusetts.  Joseph had been made a freeman of Concord on May 1, 1673, and the couple seems to have stayed in Concord for the rest of Joseph's life, although daughter Lydia was born in Watertown.  There may be a reason for that location-keep reading.  Elizabeth had five children by her first husband, so it would have been a crowded household to start with, and then Joseph and Elizabeth had five children of their own.  Some of the children may have been apprenticed or indentured out, in order that they learn a trade, but I have no records of that.

Sometime in all of this, he became an investor in the iron works at Concord.  I've been unable to determine whether he ever worked there, or whether it was a profitable investment for him.

The event that shaped much of Joseph's life was King Philip's War.  He was a soldier credited with service under Captain Wheeler on June 24th, 1676.  This appears to be a quarterly accounting, so he may have been gone for some time.  Many of the men named on this list are from the Lancaster area, but we recognize Joseph and his brother John, and there is a Stephen Hosmer listed just below their names, who was likely a relative of Joseph's first wife.  His second wife, Elizabeth, became a widow when her husband, Shadrach Hapgood, was killed by native Americans at Brookfield on August 2, 1675.  Joseph's brother, George Hayward, was killed December 16, 1675 "in the Narraganassett campaign".  Joseph had personal, as well as civic, reasons for fighting in the war.  It's hard to imagine how a marriage started in such pain for each of them could have thrived, but these people were tough. And this may be the reason for Lydia's birth in Watertown rather than Concord.  Lancaster, about 16 miles to the west, had been attacked and burned and a native warrior had specifically threatened Concord, in a list of places he still planned to burn.  It's probable that most of Concord evacuated to the east as the threat continued.  (Can you imagine Elizabeth possibly having charge of 9 children, and being pregnant with another, and still managing to feed and house every one?  Wow!)

When the war was over, the Haywards returned to Concord and lived out their days.  But there were still more confrontations with the natives, and Joseph's half-sister, Mary Hayward Fairbank, survived the September 11, 1697 attack on Lancaster, but her husband and two children were killed, and she was captured.  She was captive until January 17, 1698/99, but had lived with the natives long enough to learn to "doctor" with roots and herbs and was later referred to as a "doctoress".  This also would have caused consternation in the Hayward household, although by now Joseph was likely too old to participate in the battles of that conflict.  

Joseph died October 13, 1714 in Concord.  He left a will and an inventory.  He specifically gave his daughter Mary Whitcomb a gun, sword, two pistols, bed and bedstead, andirons, and a platter, which makes me wonder if she had been caring for her parents in their old age.  His wife Elizabeth was to inherit all his other personal property, to dispose of as she saw fit.  She was also to have control of the real estate to provide for her comfort, which was then to be divided among all his sons and daughters, not named.  Simeon, his son, was one of the executors.  The inventory is not totaled but includes home and land, 4 parcels in all, valued at 137 pounds.  The fist item below the land is books, valued at 1 pound, 4 shillings, and 2 pence.  His other inventory would be typical for a small household, including farm animals, a spinning wheel, and other furnishings.  

I've seen death dates for Elizabeth of September, 1714 (before Joseph died but after he wrote his will) and also of 1757, when she would have been over 100 years old, but I have been unable to verify either date. 

We can learn much from Joseph Hayward.  He was a family man, a Puritan, a soldier, a stepfather, and one of our ancestors who provides us with a lesson in courage.  

The line of descent is:

Joseph Hayward-Elizabeth Treadway

Lydia Hayward-John Hanchett

Hannah Hanchett-John Stannard

Libbeus Stannard-Eunice Pomeroy

Libbeus Stanard-Luceba Fay

Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy

Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick

Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants