M. (1) 9 Apr 1678 in Newbury, Massachusetts
Wife: Hannah Burnap
M. (2) 29 Nov 1725 in Rowley, Massachusetts
Wife: Mary Syles
M. (3) 30 Oct 1728 in Haverhill, Massachusetts
Wife: Mary Williams
D. 12 Nov 1736 in Haverhill, Massachusetts
Joshua Boynton had a life that spanned from early colonial times to almost the middle of the 18th century. He was born in Rowley, Massachusetts on March 10, 1646 to William Boynton and Elizabeth Jackson, the middle child of seven. Rowley was still in its earliest years, and Joshua's father served as one of the town's first teachers; it's likely that Joshua attended his school.
When Joshua was in his early 20s, he was a witness to an attack on the wife of one of his friends. The incident happened on May 21, 1669. Joshua and two brothers named Nathaniel and Jonathan Gage were in the upstairs of Jonathan's house when they heard a man named James Murfee harass, then attack Jonathan's wife Hester downstairs. Joshua testified to this in court, and Murfee was sentenced to be "severely whipped" as well as pay Jonathan £5.
During the 1670s, war broke out between the New England settlers and the local indigenous people, a conflict known as King Philip's War. Joshua served under Major Appleton, participating in action at Quaboag, Springfield, Narrangansett and Marlboro. He was present at the battle where Captain Brocklebank was "slain by the Indians in April 1676." Joshua filed a petition after the war to be paid for his service, also mentioning that he "lost a coat" while he was a soldier.
Joshua served as a soldier at the Great Swamp Fight of King Philip's War.
On April 9, 1678, Joshua married a young woman named Hannah Burnap in the town of Newbury. Between 1679 and about 1696, Joshua and Hannah had five children. His father had given him a 100-acre farm in Newbury a few years before he got married, and it was said that he maintained this land for 50 years. Along with farming, Joshua was also said to make a living as a carpenter.
Joshua's wife Hannah died on January 12, 1722, and he remarried to a widow named Mary Syles on November 29, 1725. She passed away on July 28, 1728, and Joshua took a third wife, Mary Boynton (whose maiden name was Williams), the widow of his cousin. Their wedding was on October 30, 1728 in Haverhill, Massachusetts, where he seems to have spent his final years.
Joshua died in Haverhill on November 12, 1736, having reached the age of 90. Not long after his death, land in the township of Narrangansett was awarded for those who had served in King Philip's War, and Joshua's lot went to his son William.
Children by Hannah Barnet (or Burnet or Burnap):
1. Joshua Boynton — B. 4 May 1679, Newbury, Massachusetts; D. 29 Oct 1770, Newbury, Massachusetts; M. Mary Dole (1681-1777), 20 Apr 1708, Newbury, Massachusetts
2. John Boynton — B. 15 Jul 1682, Newbury, Massachusetts; M. Jemima Worchester, Nov 1717
3. Zachariah Boynton — B. before 1690, Newbury, Massachusetts; D. 30 Dec 1750, Coventry, Connecticut; M. Sarah Wicom (1688-?), 15 Nov 1715, Newbury, Massachusetts
4. William Boynton — B. 26 May 1690, Newbury, Massachusetts; D. about 1 Jun 1771, East Kingston, New Hampshire; M. Joanna Stephens (1692-1765), 24 Aug 1713, Salisbury, Massachusetts
5. Hannah Boynton — B. about 1696; D. 28 Nov 1774, Rowley, Massachusetts; M. John Dresser (1696-1782), 2 Apr 1724, Newbury, Massachusetts
Sources:
The Boynton Family: a genealogy of the descendants of William and John Boynton, John Farnham Boynton and Caroline Harriman Boynton, 1897
"The Burnap-Burnett Genealogy," Henry Wyckoff Belknap, Essex Institute Historical Collections, Vol. 57, 1921
Records of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts: 1667-1671, 1914
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