Josiah Crosby II

Josiah Crosby was born in Billerica on February 8, 1777, the son of Deacon Oliver Crosby and Rachel (Stickney) Crosby. His uncle, Josiah Crosby, also lived in town and served as a selectman, so the nephew was known for most of his life as Josiah Crosby Jr., and later as Josiah Crosby, Esquire. On October 16, 1803 he married Betsey Hartwell of Littleton. Their children were Elizabeth Heywood (1804), who married the Rev. Bernard Whitman in 1826, Oliver (1806), Rachel Ann (1807), Susannah (1809), Sarah Cumings (1813), Martha (1816) and Josiah (1818).

He was a selectman in 1806 and again in 1808 and 1809, and from 1810 to 1817, and once more in 1820, he was the town's representative. As a justice of the peace he took acknowledgments of deeds into the 1820s, and his neighbors trusted him with their affairs. In 1806 he bought forty acres at the auction of the estate of William Baldwin; in 1810 he was a surety and an appraiser for the estate of James Abbot; in 1818 he settled the estate of Isaac Kendall, housewright; and in 1819, as guardian of the three young daughters of Deacon Jeremiah Patten, he sold their father's farm on the Boston road at auction. When the Billerica Academy was founded in 1820, Josiah Crosby, Esq., was the first trustee named, with Samuel Whiting, Joseph Locke, Zadok Howe and others.

His father's will gave him the residue of the estate, including the family homestead on the road to Boston about a mile south of the meeting house, which Oliver Crosby had held since 1768. Josiah Crosby Esq. made his own will on June 6, 1829, providing for his mother Rachel and his children and leaving the rest to his wife Betsy, and he died on July 27, 1829, aged 52. When Betsy's estate was appraised in 1832 the first item was "The Homestead farm with all the buildings, including the Tavern stand & 8 acres of land," and in 1833 the guardian of their son advertised "The large, handsome, and commodious mansion House ... lately owned and occupied by Josiah Crosby, Esq. deceased." The house, later known as the Fiske Tavern Stand, stood at what is now 581 Boston Road until 1987.

References

1. Hazen, History of Billerica (1883), Genealogical Register p. 31, CROSBY 33: Josiah, son of Oliver, b. 1777, m. Betsey Hartwell 1803, d. 1829; children
2. Hazen, Genealogical Register p. 30, CROSBY 24 and 25: his father Deacon Oliver Crosby and his uncle Josiah (1746-1819)
3. Hazen, p. 305: list of representatives, "Josiah Crosby Jr. 1810-17, '20"
4. Hazen, p. 307: list of selectmen, "Josiah Crosby Jr. 1806, '08-09" (and his uncle Josiah Crosby, 1798)
5. Hazen, p. 257: trustees of the Billerica Academy, 1820, Josiah Crosby, Esq., first named
6. Vital Records of Billerica (1908), births p. 49: Josiah, son of Oliver and Rachel, Feb. 8, 1777, and children of Josiah Jr. and Betsy
7. Vital Records of Billerica, marriages p. 239: Josiah Jr. and Betsey Hartwell of Littleton, Oct. 16, 1803
8. Vital Records of Billerica, deaths p. 352: Josiah Esq., July 27, 1829, aged 52
9. Middlesex probate case 5353 (1829): will of Josiah Crosby, Esq., to his wife Betsy
10. Middlesex probate case 5354 (1833): guardianship of his son; auction bill for the mansion house "lately owned and occupied by Josiah Crosby, Esq."