Ancestry of Josiah Gilbert, loyalist, ca.1750-1830
Recent Y-DNA tests indicate that Josiah Gilbert, loyalist, is descended from one of three Gilbert men who came to Massachusetts around 1640: John, b. 1619/21, Josiah, b. 1625, or Obediah, b. 1629. DNA of a descendant of Josiah, loyalist, matches that of descendants of John and Obediah while DNA from a descendant of Josiah, 1625, had not been tested last I knew.DNA of descendants of Thomas, b. 1611/2, and Jonathan, b. 1617 does not match that from descendants of John, Obediah and Josiah, loyalist -- a finding that's puzzling since all five of those born in the 17th century are recorded in the parish records of Yardley, Worcestershire, England as sons of Thomas, b. 1589, and his wife.Thomas m. Elizabeth Bennett, 1610.My hypothesis is that Josiah, loyalist, is decended from (1) Josiah, b. 1625, Yardley, m. Elizabeth Belcher, ca. 1651, d. Stonington, CT, bef Sep 1688; (2) Moses, b. 1666, Weathersfield, CT, m. Jannetie Fluyt, 1694, d. Fairfield, CT., 1713 or 14: (3) Josiah, b. 1698, Fairfield, m. Sarah Lord, 1722, d. Fairfield, 1760; (4) Moses, b. 1723, Fairfield, m. Sarah Gilbert (dau. Benjamin Gilbert who decends from Obediah) 1745/6, d. Brandon, Vt. 1805.Problem is that the only children of Moses and Sarah found so far are Abraham, b. 1748, Greenfield, CT, and Moses, b. 1757, Greenfield (?).That leaves plenty of time for an unrecorded birth of Josiah, loyalist, and other children of Moses and Sarah.Other suggestive facts are:Josiah, loyalist, named his first son Moses. b. Queensbury Parish, New Brunswick, 1784, who m. Margaret Green, and named his son Josiah, b. 1802, Douglas, NB, m. Susan Ann Yerxa, 1827, d. Douglas, NB 1883.Also Josiah, moving to Upper Canada and remarrying after the death of his first wife, named sons Abraham (a name virtually unused among other descendants of Thomas Gilbert), b. 1798, possibly Walsingham, Norfolk co., Ontario and Benjamin (the name of his supposed maternal grandfather), 1806 or 1807, possibly Townsend, Norfolk C., Ontario.Moses, jr., b. 1757 and in my theory Josiah's brother, had two known sons:John, b. 1779, Great Barrington, MA., and Josiah, b 1783, Nobletown, NY.So the naming patterns are suggestive.Further, Moses and Sarah at some point moved from Connecticut to New York, settling in Nobletown (now Hillsdale).Some histories of loyalists say Josiah was from New York, others claim New Jersey but I can find no plausible line of ancestors in that state.Also New York city and along the Hudson River were the prime recruiting areas for Fanning's regiment, later the King's American Regiment, in which Josiah served.Sometime around 1808, Josiah moved to Norwich, Ontario where, according to family information (I am a descendant), he died about 1830.A record in the Norwich archives states that Josiah is buried at St. Charles
Cemetery, Dereham, Oxford Co., Ontario but no record of the burial nor any will or obituary has been found.I will be most interested in any reactions to this assessment and of course it would be great if proven descendants of Josiah of Yardley and Weathersfield would submit DNA that would either buttress or refute my hypothesis.
More Replies:
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Re: Ancestry of Josiah Gilbert, loyalist, ca.1750-1830
Jane Gilbert 4/20/12
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Re: Ancestry of Josiah Gilbert, loyalist, ca.1750-1830
Everard Munsey 4/30/12
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Re: Ancestry of Josiah Gilbert, loyalist, ca.1750-1830
Jane Gilbert 4/30/12
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Re: Ancestry of Josiah Gilbert, loyalist, ca.1750-1830
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Re: Ancestry of Josiah Gilbert, loyalist, ca.1750-1830