Josiah Crosby

Josiah Crosby was a Billerica farmer, the youngest son of the innkeeper Simon Crosby and Rachel (Bracket) Crosby, born on November 11, 1677. On November 2, 1703 he married Mary Manning, daughter of Samuel Manning. Hazen places his homestead on the Woburn road between the village and Bare Hill, probably the place where his father had lived. Their children were Josiah (1704); Eliphalet (1705), who died as an infant; Elizabeth (1706), who died in 1709; Anna (1708), who married John Bowers of Dracut in 1733; the twins Isaac and Ephraim (1709), who died within days of their birth; Mary (1712), who married Roger Toothaker; Elizabeth (1713); Jane (1716); Joanna (1718), who married a Dutton; Jonathan (1719); and Esther (1721), who died the next year.

When he made his will on June 15, 1743, "being aged and weak in body," he had already sold his real estate and had money out on bonds. He left his wife Mary the interest of 350 pounds a year for life and all the household goods. His eldest son Josiah, "who is now deceased and hath left four children," had been provided for "largely" in his lifetime, so those grandchildren were to have one share between them. He gave legacies to his daughters Anna Bowers, Mary Toothaker and Joanna Dutton, allowed something more to Jonathan and Jane, "who are still with me," and divided the rest equally among his children. His executors were Benjamin Tompson and Simon Crosby, and the will was proved on October 7, 1745.

References

1. Hazen, History of Billerica (1883), Genealogical Register p. 28, CROSBY 5
2. Vital Records of Billerica (1908), births pp. 44-45: children of Josiah and Mary Crosby, 1704-1721
3. Vital Records of Billerica (1908), marriages p. 288: Mary Manning and Josiah Crosbey, Nov. 2, 1703
4. Middlesex Probate case 5348: will of Josiah Crosby of Billerica, June 15, 1743, proved Oct. 7, 1745