Genealogy of ]1Enjamin (]Leveland
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A GENEALOGY OF ]1ENJAMIN (]LEVELAND, A (;RE.IT-<;H_\XD~llX OF MOSES CLEVELAND, of "\Yo1111rn, Mass., .IX]) .\ X.\TJYE 01-· C.\XTEHill.RL \\TKDJLL\1 ('OLKTY, cox~. WITH AN APPENDIX. CO:\IPJLEn Jl'Y 111:-:. GREAT-GlL\~Jl!--OX~ () HORACE GILLETTE CLEVELAND. u Cultus -n1,ojo1•,un, ne1wt11tn pr<f'&iditon." CHJC'.-\t;o: PHI:STED Fon THE (;O'.\tPJLEJL 1 8,9, OREN CU.HI.AND. TO MY VENERATED PATBER, OREN CLEVELAND, WHO THIS DAY (MAY 8, 1879,) ENTERS UPON T1:i:E NINETY-FIFTH YEAR OF HIS EARTHLY PILGRIMAGE, AND TO WHOSE EXPRESSED WISH THESE PAGES ARE DUE, THIS HUJOILE ENDEAVOR, PROllPTED BY PILIAL LOVE AND A DEBIBE TO REALIZE TBA'l' WISH, IS XOBT REVERENTLY AND Al'FECTIONATELY INSCRmED. &ud. llclhJJy & Co., Printen. E.nrraTen uu1 S1ec,rot7pera. Cb.loa,'o. PREF.A.CE. THE inscription on the page opposite must be accepted as the apology, if any is needed, for this publication. The compiler had his attention directed to the subject as set forth, in the spring of the Centennial year of the Nation, and up to the year 1871, his knowledge of Benjamin and Rachel Cleveland and their decendants, was confined to the posterity of their son Rufus Cleveland, his paternal grandfather. Nor .could he have accurately told, if his life had depended upon the telling, who either the brother or the sisters of his grandfather married. The letter of " Benjamin and Raebel Cleveland," as given on page 10, containing certain references to" Zenas," and" Hovey," and" Ham blin," and "Ephraim Pearson," was all that he bad as a foundation to build upon, and the access, of course, to early township or other public records in the New England States. The result of the researches made in leisure hours, while engaged in exacting business pursuits, is nnw presented. That these records are free from errors it would be folly to pretend, and it is earnestly desired that any found should be pointed out, and made known, so that they may not appear in any future edition. No merit as a literary performance is claimed or deserved, but as evidence of earnest, persevering research, beset and opposed by every discouraging obstacle imaginable, it bears its own testimony, and will at least be appreciated by those who have had any experience in such labor. The abbreviations used are so few and so_ apparent in their meaning, as to need no explanation. The small figures attached to various names, and most likely to puzzle the reader if unused to such publications, are employed to desig- 4 Prefuc1". nate the different or successive generations. The starting point is the common ancestor, Moses Cleveland, of Woburn, and he is designated as MosEs CLE,ELAXD.1 His children are the second generation, and his grandchildren are of the third generation, and so on. The Index is elaborate enough to enable the reader to find any particular, family readily, and will probably prove sufficient for all practical purposes. The fact that comparatively few of the descendants of Benjamin and Rachel Cleveland have either sought or acquired public distin?tion, does not militate against the publication of these records. It will be noted that generally their descendants were devoted to agricultural . pursuits, and belonged especially to the pmduci11g cla~,.,:.~-the "bone and sinew" of the country-the honest, frugal and industrious citizens of the cmnmonwealth. All honor to them, then, for such as these the nation can not do without. And, in conclusion, it ma.y be appropriately said of them, as a whole, iu the language of the poet Gray- 1 '' Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife, Their sober wishes never learned to stray; Along the cool, sequestered vale 01' life They kept the noiseless tenor of their way." ANCESTRY OF BEN.JAMIN CLEVELAND. MosEs CLEVELAND,1 of Woburn, Mass., 1641, appears to be the common ancestor of all the '' Clevelands '' of New Eng land. Family tradition says he emigrated to this country in 1635, from Ipswich, Suffolk, Eng., an indentured apprentice to a housewright or master builder. From the Woburn town records it appears Moses Cleveland was made a freeman in 1643, no doubt upon attaining the age of 21. Sept. 26, 1648, he married Miss Ann Winn, daughter of Edward and Joanna Winn, of Woburn. She was also a native of England. The date and place of her birth not learned, nor does the date of her death appear on the town records, but the death of Moses Cleveland occurred on the9thJan., 1701-2. (SeeAppendixA.) They had a family of eleven children-seven sons and four daughters, (one child only, the first Joanna, dying in childhood), as follows, all born in Woburn : · Q 1. Moses,' b. Sept. 1, 1651; m. Ruth Norton. t 2. Hannah/ b. Aug. 4, 1653; m. Thomas Henshaw. -j 3. Aaron,' b. Jan. 10, 1655; m. Dorcas Wilson. J 1• fl I . ~ 'i 4.' Samuel/ b. June 9, 1657; m. Jane Keyes.1'11,,t~ <?.,t/\AJ.4 ~ •1· 5. Miriam,' b. July 10, 1659; m. Thos. Foskett. 6. Joanna,' b. Sept. 19, 1661; d. July 2, 1667. 'i'. Edward,' b. May 20, 1663; m. Deliverance Palmer. 8. Josiah/ b. Feb. 26, 1666-'i'; m. Mary~ 9. Isaac,' b . .May 11, 1669; m. Elizabeth Curtice. 10. Joanna,' (again), b. April 5, 1670; m. Joseph Keyes. 11. Enoch,' b. Aug. 1, 1671; °:· Elizabeth Counts, of Charles town, Mass. Confining myself for the present to my direct line, I find that- SAMUEL CLEVELAND, 2 the third son and four th child of Moses1 and Ann (Winn) Clev~hmd, b. in Woburn, June 9, 2 (5) 6 Gem,alo,1/,t/ qf Benjamh1 Cleveland. 1657, m. first, in Chelmsford, Mass., May 17, 1680, Jane Keyes, a dau. of Solomon and Frances (Grant) Keyes. She was b. -in Newbury, Mass., Oct. 25, 1660, and d. without issue in Chelmsford, Mass., Nov. 4, 1681. He m. second, in Chelmsford, May 23, 1682, Persis Hildreth, dau. of Richard and Elizabeth Hildreth. She was b. in Cambridge, Mass., Feb. 8, 1660; .d. in Canterbury, Oonn., Feb. 22, 1698. Hem. third, wid. Margaret Fish, in Canterbury, Conn., July 25, 1699. He d. in Canterbury, Conn., March 12, 1736. The date and place of death of third wife not learned. (See Ap pendix B.) . Children, by wife Persis : 1. Persis,8 b. in Chelmsford, April 21, Hi8:3. 2 . ...P8;f}!el{8 b i~-Cheli1!sford, Jan _1 2,;_161'~):m. Sarah Boswell. 6 1 1 3. Jtseph, 'ti. in Chelmsford, Sufy 18, 1ts'9, m. Abigail Hyde. -1. Elizabeth,3 b. in Woburn, June 26, 1693; m. John Ensworth. 5. Mary,3 b. in Canterbury, June 14, 1696; m. Joseph Ensworth. by wife Margaret: 6. Abigail,8 b. in Canterbury, April -2:3, 1700; d. Feb. 23, 1718. 7. Timothy,8 b. in Canterbury, Aug. 25, 1702; m. Dorothy--. And perhaps there were other children not recorded, as the records were evidently very imperfectly kept during these years. Hinman, in his Catalogue of the Puritan Settlers of Con necticut, gives two more children, Ephraim, s and Margaret, s to wife Persis. So far as Ephraim8 is concerned, he may be correct, as there was an Ephraim Cleveland who d. in Can terbury, March 13, 1711. Margaret,S he says, m. Gideon Cable inlTI~ • . Samuel Cleveland2 was one of the earliest settlers in Plain field, (or Canterbury), Conn., probably about 1694, and was followed by his brother Josiah, 2 of Chelmsford, Mass., soon after, and subsequently by his brothers Ed ward, 2 of Kingston, R. I., and Isaac,2 of Woburn. Canterbury was not incorpo rated as a town until 1703, and was previously a part of Plainfield. Genealogy qf Benjamin Olevela,nd. 7 Jm,EPH CLEVELAND,3 second son and third child of Sam uel 2 and Persis (Hildreth) Cleveland, b. in Chelmsford, Mass., July 18, 1689, m. first, in Canterbury, Conn., Feb. 7, 1710-11, Abigail Hyde, dau. of Jonathan and Dorothy (Kidder) Hyde. She was b. in Cambridge, Mass., Aug. 8, 1688, and d. in Can terbury, Conn., Dec. 16, 1724. Hem. second, in Canterbury, Conn., (as I interpret the records), March 31, 1725, Sarah Ensworth, a dau. of Tyxhall and Lydia Ensworth. She was b. in Plainfield, Conn., June 12, 1699, and d. in Canterbury, Conn., June 21, 1761. He died in Canterbury, Conn., March 11, 1766. He was called " Sergeant " Joseph, to distinguish him from his cousin "Capt." Joseph, 8 son of Josiah~ and Mary Cleveland. (See Appendix C.) Children, by wife Abigail : 1. Ephraim,' b. Feb: 3, 1 712. 2. Jonathan,4 b. May 9, 1713; d. March 19, 1734-. 3. Benjamin,4 b. May 20, 171-!; m. Rachel --. 4. Dorothy,' b. March 31, 1716. 5. John,• b. (probably) in 1718; d. March 5, 1734. 6. Elijah,' b . .Tan. 5, 1721; m. Alice Lawrence. 7. Persis,• hap. April 7, 1723; probably m. Feb. 18, 1745, Henry Bacon, of Pomfret, Conn. by wife Sarah : 8. Ezra,' hap. April 17, 1726; ·m. Jerusha Newcomb. 9. Samuel,' b. June 7, 1730; m. Ruth Darbe. In regard to the marriage and settlement of some of the children of Joseph Cleveland, 8 the compiler of these records has not been able to determine fully. There was an Ephraim Cleveland who settled in Dedham, Mass., and m. there, first, Jan. 14, 1734-5, Abigail Curtis, who d. Aug. 30, 1738. He m. second, Nov. 21, 1738, Ruth Nichols, who also d. in Dedham, Oct. 14, 1744. Children were: Eph raim, Jacob, Sarah, Rebekah and .Abigail. There was also an Ephraim Cleveland who m.