Holbrook line: Joseph Morse 1610-1690 Immigrant

Perhaps I should be writing this about the Joseph Morse who died in 1646 in Ipswich, Massachusetts Bay Colony and who had a son named Joseph, mentioned in his will, but Robert Charles Anderson is not willing to state that Joseph of Ipswich is the father of Joseph of Watertown, Massachusetts Bay Colony, so I will only present that as a possibility.  The Joseph Morse I will write of was born about 1610, somewhere in England and sailed on the Elizabeth from Ipswich, England in 1634.

Joseph was listed as 24 years of age at the time.  He apparently went straight to Watertown and stayed there is whole life.  He was admitted to the Watertown Church and was granted the status of freeman on May 6, 1635.  He was a weaver by trade but also received several grants of land, including meadow and "upland" as well as a farm of 73 acres, all as grants.  He may have rented these lands out or he may have farmed them himself.  He was married by about 1637 to Esther or Hester Piece, daughter of John and Elizabeth (possibly Stoker) Pierce, also of Watertown.  Joseph and Esther had at least seven children, six of whom lived until adulthood.  This was a pretty decent survival rate for the time and indicates that Joseph and Esther were probably not "dirt poor", although they may have struggled during the early years.  Another indication that the family was surviving economically was that they accepted at least one child into their care, who was three years old at the time and who became an apprentice at the age of five, unless these are two different children with the same father. 

Joseph apparently did not take an active part in the civic life of Watertown, although he was a fence viewer for a term.  Raising several children, carrying on a trade as well as (likely) a farming operation may have left him little time for public service.  When Joseph died in 1689/90, his estate was very small, just a little over six pounds.  He had already disposed of his land holdings and probably was living with or under the care of one or more of his children.  Esther lived until 1694. 

This is not much information to fill in the "dash" for a man who lived about 80 years.  I have a book on my "to read" shelf about Watertown, and although I didn't find his name in the index, perhaps the book will be able to fill in some of the gaps in my knowledge of Joseph and how he lived.  We do know that he farmed, he worked, he attended church, he voted, and he served as "master" to at least one child beside his own. 

One other thing:  He is listed as the ancestor of Calvin Coolidge and of Richard Nixon. 

The line of descent is:

Joseph Morse-Esther Pierce
Joseph Morse-Susanna Shattuck
Esther Morse-Nathaniel Joslin
Israel Joslin-Sarah Cleveland
Sarah Joslin-Edward Fay
David Fay-Mary Perrin
Luceba Fay-Libbeus Stanard
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants