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Joseph Richards |
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Jone |
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Joseph Richards ★ was a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) SM1, and was a mason FU2,
BR19 or a physician PH1, JO8
who was of New Yale BR19 or Newgate, Witney Parish, in Oxfordshire, England RO1, FU2, JO8. The locality of Newgate does not seem to exist in
Witney, but New Yatt is just two miles northeast of Witney, and it is less than
one mile west of the village of North Leigh. He married Jone PH1, whose
name was sometimes transcribed as “Jane” FU2,
JO8, SM1.
Sometime between July and October of 1681, as one of the
first purchasers of land in Pennsylvania RO1, he purchased five hundred acres of land from William
Penn, Esquire, who was the Chief Proprietor and Governor of Pennsylvania HA28, RO1, JO8. He was listed in the twenty-third purchase group and
was called a yeoman of Newgate in Oxfordshire RO1. On
April 4, 1682, his freight was loaded on to the Amity of London: eight dozen candles, thirty parcels of glass, and
three hundredweight apiece of iron and nails BA9. He also
brought with him two servants, who were William and John Beckingham EG2. The Amity, which sailed under Master Richard
Dymond, departed the Downs on April 23, 1682, and arrived in the Delaware River
on August 3, 1682 BA9. His five-hundred-acre parcel of land was surveyed by
Charles Ascomb on August 26, 1682 in Aston Township, adjacent to land owned by
William Woodmansey EG2, JO8. Aston Township was formerly called Northley
FU2, a name which is reminiscent of “North Leigh”, near New Yatt in
Oxfordshire.
He was a member of the jury at the Upland Court in
Chester County on September 12, 1682, and he was also a juror for the Court
held at Chester for Chester County in February 1682/3, June 1683, September
1684, March 1685, June 1686, December 1686, June 1687, September 1687, October
1687, December 1687, June 1688 (in which court session he was the foreman for
the Petty Jury), October 1689 (again the foreman), June 1690, October 1690,
June 1691, and October 1691 RE6. Joseph was also a member of the Grand Inquest for the
Chester Court in December 1684, March 1685, and June 1686, and as a foreman of the Grand Inquest in June 1686, he and the
other Grand Jurymen recommended the way a new sixty feet wide highway from
Bethel to Chichester should be laid out RE6. He was called to serve on the Grand Inquest again at
the Chester Court in August 1689 and June 1690, when he was the foreman RE6.
He was a plaintiff against Thomas Nossiter on June 27,
1683, but although he was called forth thrice, he did not appear RE6. On
August 4, 1684, while at the Quarterly Meeting of Friends in Chester, he and
Charles Ashcom made a settlement about how a tract of land should be
apportioned, and Joseph paid Charles for that land JO7. He was
described as a mason “of New Yale in the parish of Witney in the county of
Oxford” in a deed dated February 25, 1685, in which Ann Cossitt, the widow of
William Cossitt, and Thomas Cossit, her son, granted Joseph one half of a
parcel of 250 acres in Pennsylvania for the sum of two pounds and ten shillings
BR19. Joseph
and his family resided in Chichester, Chester County, in or
before 1685 FU2, SM1. A truce was made at the Chester Monthly Meeting on
December 6, 1686 between Joseph and William Woodmansey, who previous
to that had undergone some sort of dispute or quarrel JO7:
Willm Woodmansey did acknowledge he spoke foolishly in
comparing him to a London pick pocket & ye like & that he was grieved
& sorry for ye same, w[hi]ch Joseph Richards did accept desiring &
intending hereby yt there be an end of strife from ye beginning to this day.
Joseph was again a plaintiff
against William Buckenham in an action of debt in September 1688 RE6; this defendant was probably his former servant, William
Beckingham.
As the foreman of the Grand
Inquest for the Chester Court, he and others, including John Beals, presented a
petition on behalf of the people of Chester County on March 4, 1689/90 RE6. To
summarize, the Grand Jury desired an account of the taxes the people had paid RE6. They
wanted an itemized account of the materials and labor costs for the construction
of the courthouse and prison, and an account of the tax which had been gathered
to pay for the courthouse and prison, and an account of the tax for the wolves’
heads RE6.
Further, the Grand Jury wished to be made aware of the wages allowed to each councilman and assemblyman, how much money was allocated for
the poor, and which particular individuals received that poor relief RE6.
Unrelated to the account of the taxes, the Grand Jury wanted to implement
standardization for dry and liquid measurements, because “ther is great
Diversity in Mesures Som are to bige and others are Something to Little we
desire that all Mesurs be Made by the Winchester Measure” RE6.
Finally, the Grand Jury wished to post a table of fees in the courthouse RE6.
On September 30, 1688, Joseph made over a lease for two
hundred acres of land in “Astone” to Thomas Marten, and the following day he
made a release for the same land to Mr. Marten RE6. That
same day, October 1, 1688, Thomas Marten made over a conveyance by assignment back
to Joseph for a plantation and a parcel of land of two hundred acres in
“Astone” RE6. Then,
on December 5, 1688, Joseph made a deed granting that same parcel of land and
plantation to his son, Joseph Richards, Jr. RE6. A part of his land was mentioned in a record of the
layout of a road from “Astone to Edgmond Road” in December 1688, which also
mentioned land owned by John Beals RE6:
Beginning att a Spannish Oake above Edward Carters and
soe along ye Cutt
Road and downe ye vallie which Joseph Richards had fenced in from thence
through John Beales Pasture along by William Woodmansees along ye Old Road
over Chester Creeke…
As a
member of the Grand Inquest on June 4, 1690, he participated in the route of a
street, the width of which was thirty feet, which began at the public landing
site at Chester Creek, and ended at “the further Side of Joseph Richards his
Lott neere David Loyds House” RE6.
While in court on March 10, 1691, he acknowledged a deed to his son,
Nathaniell, for one hundred acres of land in Chester County RE6, BR19, but at the Chester Court on June 9,
1691, he entered a caveat against Nathaniell regarding that parcel of land RE6.
He or
his son (the court record did not add a suffix of “Jr.” or “Sr.”) was a
plaintiff against Richard Crossbey at the Chester Court on October 6, 1691;
both Joseph and Richard appeared when called at court, but Richard alleged that
he “had noe declaration and Therefore craved a none suite [non-suit] and ye Cort Granted it” RE6.
On
December 13 or 14, 1692, Joseph Richards, James Lownes, Roger Jackson, Robertt
Barber, and George Simcock exhibited a petition to the Chester Court for a road
in Chester, and after the court considered the petition, it ordered the Grand
Jury to “Lay out a road from the Dayall Post straight way to the Road for ye Convenience both of Towne and Countrey” RE6. He was called a physician when he purchased a parcel of thirty
acres next to the King’s Road, and a parcel of three acres of meadow which was
near the Delaware River, from David Lloyd on September 8, 1693 BR19, JO7. Joseph was selected to act as the Supervisor for Aston for the year 1693, but he
was presented to the Grand Inquest on March 13, 1694 because he failed to cut
and clear the road that leads from Concord through the Township of “Aishtonn” RE6. The Chester Court ordered him to notify the inhabitants of
“Aishtowne” that they were required to correct this issue RE6.
He was
the foreman for the inquest
into the cause of John Powell’s death, which determined that John drowned in
Chester Creek on August 5, 1693 RE6. Joseph was named as the Constable for “Aishtown” on
March 10, 1695/6 RE6. He was a defendant against John Beales at the “Orphants
Court” held at Chester on March 14, 1698 in a case regarding a land conflict RE7. When
the court called the defendant to appear, George Stroode appeared for Joseph,
but later Joseph also appeared, who presented papers to be read RE7. David
Loyd appeared for the plaintiff, and he read before the court that the Record
of Philadelphia stated that William Woodmanse’s land was laid out
before Joseph Richards’ land was laid out RE7. This
case was debated for a while, but after Joseph’s attorneys refused to plead and
departed the courtroom, John Beales requested a judgment from the court, which
ruled in his favor RE7.
Jasper
Yeates sold a lot located in Chester to Joseph for the
sum of sixteen pounds on June 12, 1699 JO7, BR19, and
two days later at the Court of Common Pleas in Chester, Jasper assigned over to
Joseph the deed for that parcel of land RE7. At
the Court of Quarter Sessions at Chester on February 12, 1699/1700, John
Hoskins, his mother Mary Hoskins, and Charles Whitaker acknowledged a deed to
Joseph for a lot which was situated in the town of
Chester, which was dated December 20, 1699 RE7. He
was mentioned as a defendant against John Bristow in a case which lacked
details on November 30, 1703 RE7; this
was probably related to the land transaction which occurred on January 16,
1702/3, in which John Bristow had purchased the three acre parcel of meadow and
the thirty acre parcel of land from Joseph, which Joseph had previously
purchased from David Lloyd BR19, JO7.
Joseph
died about the year 1710 in Chichester, Chester County (now Delaware County),
Pennsylvania FU2, SM1. His will,
which was written on September 6, 1705 (“the Sixth Day
of the Seventh Month”) and witnessed by Henry Barnes and Thomas Bowater, was
proved on February 16, 1710/11 PH1. One of his bequests to his daughter, Susannah, was
called a “Limbick & Worm” PH1. This was a tool used by apothecaries in the
distillation of liquids, but was called an alembic, or “alembick” RE20. The
alembic was placed atop a cucurbit, which is a type of flask or container for
the liquid, and the worm was another word for the intort, the long, serpentine,
cylindrical neck of some types of alembics RE20. A
transcription of his will follows PH1:
I Joseph Richards of Chichester in the County of Chester
in the Province of Pensilvania Docter of Fisick being aged & well knowing
the uncertainty of this Transitory Life & being at this time (blesed by ye Lord) in
Perfect Mind & Memory willing to Settle & Dispose of my small Estate as
ye Lord in
his Mercy hath been pleased to bestow upon me, this being the Sixth Day of the
Seventh Month One thousand Seven hundred & five do Declare this to be my
last Will & Testamt: in Manner & form following viz first I Do hereby
Revoke make void all wills heretofore made by me by writing or word of Mouth
first I doe give & bequeath unto my Son Joseph Richards five Shillings Item
I doe give unto my Son Josephs two Eldest Children viz Susanah & Joseph
Richards five Shillings apeice Item I Give & bequeath unto my Son Nathaniel
Richards three Children viz William Nathaniel & Elizabeth Richards five
pounds to Each of them at the decease of my Executrix hereafter Nominated butt
if either of the three Children deceaces before my Executrix as abovesd. his or
her p.te [part]
Shall goe to the Surviv.s [survivors] Item I Give & bequeath unto my Son in
Law Humphry Scarlett all my wareing apparrel Item I Give & bequeth unto my
Daugh.r Ann
Scarlett my best bed & boulster one pillow One Blankett one blue Rugg one
Sheet wth ye bedstead
belonging to it my biggest Brass Mortar the New Table at the Decease of my
Execu.x as
aboves.d Also I
do give to her Eldest Son my Gunn at my Decease Item I do give & bequeath
unto my Daughter Susannah Lowns one flock bed my Limbick & Worm one Wallnut
Table that is in her possess.n already at my Decease one boulster one pillow one
blanket one Sheet & on Green Rugg at the Decease of my Execu.x Item I
doe give & bequeath unto my Daughter Susannah Lowns four Children viz
Joseph James Hannah & Susannah Louns five Pounds apeice (or to Each of
them) at the Decease of my Executrix or to them that Survive Item And Lastly I
do give & bequeath unto my loveing Wife Jone Richards all the Residue of my
real & personal & personell Estate goods & Chattles whatsoever to
her proper use and Disposeal wth ye Advice of my Trustees hereafter Nominated & do
Ordain & make her my Whole & Sole Executrix of this my Last Will &
Testam.t to bury
me decently and to pay all my Debts & Legacis yt
[legacies that] become due at my Decease And hereby I do Constitute &
appoint my trusty Friends Phillip Roman & Robert Lyle to be overseers in
trust hereof in the Assisting of my Executrix in ye full Exeucon [execution] of
this my Last Will & Testamt, To whom I do give to Each of them Twenty Shillings
apeice for their Care besides theire Charges yt Shall A
Crew [accrue] hereby in wittness whereof I do hereunto Sett my hand & Seale
ye day & yeare above written Joseph Richards Signed Sealed & Deliver’d
in the p[re]sence of us Henry Barn’s Thomas Bowater
Jone ★ was also
called “Jane”, and she was the mother of Joseph FU2, JO8,
Nathaniel, Anne, and Susanna SM1, FU2,
JO8. Her son, Nathaniel, was probably the same
Nathaniel Richards who arrived in Pennsylvania on the Society of Bristol in August 1682 BA9.
Joseph
Richards, a yeoman of Aston, Chester County, Pennsylvania, wrote his
will on January 28, 1732/3 which named his children, Susanah Barber, Edward
Richards, Dinah Linvill, Elizabeth Johnson, Ruth Worrow, and Joseph Richards PE24. His will was proved in Chester on January 5, 1735/6, in which
Mordecai Woodword, Elizabeth Peress, and Joseph Davenport affirmed that they
were with Humphrey and Ann Scarlet, Lydia Richards, Elizabeth Johnston, and
Mary Richards at Joseph Richard’s house on November 21, 1735 when they
witnessed him sign his last will and testament PE24.
Nathaniel
Richards may have married Mary Mason. Monthly meetings records for the Chester Monthly Meeting at Walter Faucit’s
residence in the 10th and
11th months of 1689 indicated that Friends were appointed to
“Inspect into the Business of Nathaniel Richards & Mary Mason” US11. The will of Nathaniel Richards indicated that he was a
blacksmith of Chester County, Pennsylvania, and named his wife, Mary, and
children, William, Nathaniel, Elizabeth, and Mary; one of his executors was
James Lownes AB3. The will was
witnessed by John Perries and Humphrey and Ann Scarlet on February 6, 1699/1700
and was proved on October 10, 1700 AB3.
Susanna
Richards and James Lownes, a shoemaker, both of Chester County,
Pennsylvania, married on the 9th day
of the 10th month, 1692 at the Chester Meetinghouse in Chester County in a
ceremony witnessed by Joseph Richards, Nathaneill Richards, George Lownes,
Janes Richards, Dorythy Richards, and others PE25. The Chester Monthly Meeting in Chester County, Pennsylvania
recorded the births of three children who were born to Susannah and James Lowns
(or Lownes) US11. These were Joseph,
born on the 30th day of the 1st month, 1693, Hannah, born on the 13th day of the 11th
month, 1695, and James, born on the 3rd day
of the 1st month, 1698 US11. It
is unclear if Susannah Lowns, the daughter of James Lowns who died on the 12th day of the 3rd
month, 1739, or Rachel Lowns, the daughter of James Lowns who died on the 13th day of the 8th
month, 1739 (according to the records of the Philadelphia Monthly Meeting) were
also daughters of Susannah. The records of the Philadelphia Monthly Meeting in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania state that Susannah, the wife of James Lowns, died
on the 12th day of the 3rd
month, 1739 US11.
Jone
was mentioned in a court record on June 3, 1689, in which she was called a midwife and the mother of
Anne Weaver RE6, and she died
sometime after Joseph wrote his will, on September 6, 1705 PH1.