PULSIFER Joseph

Notes:

Ship Captain; died 1711; Judge Samuel Sewall
mentions his death in his diary on 4 Apr. 1711.
His will dated 19 Dec. 1710 leaves to his wife
Mary, and on her death, to his sister, Margaret;
to his mother Susanna, the interest on 100 ponds
and on her death to go the his brother Richard
and Richard's son Benjamin, but "in case I
have a child, the whole estate to him when of
age.

Joseph married TUCK Mary on 02 May 1702 in Boston, Suffolk Co., MA. Mary (daughter of TUCK Thomas Capt.) was born in Boston, Suffolk Co., MA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. PULSIFER Joseph
2. PULSIFER Joseph was born on 06 Jun 1703.
3. PULSIFER Joseph was born on 19 Jun 1710.
4. PULSIFER Abiel was born on 15 Sep 1711 in Boston, Suffolk Co., MA; died before 05 Sep 1738 in Boston, Suffolk Co., MA.

Notes:

Benedict was born in England about 1635. We know he was in America by
1659; but possibly could have arrived a few years before. Around the
year 1661, he married his first wife. Unfortunately her name has been
lost to history.
In 1663 we have a record of Benedict buying a home and a son born to
him. He bought a residence with outhouse, orchards, etc. from Moses
Pengry of Ipswich, one of the town deacons; who had obtained the land
in 1652 from Richard Schofield, leather dresser for 17 pounds. The
home was situated on the intersection of East Street and Hovey Lane.
Across from his lot lay what had been the home of John Winthrop Jr.;
son of the founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Ownership of
this property entitled Benedict to the right of pasturage in the
domain beyond the "common fence", but the felling of timber or
cultivation of the common land was prohibited.
In the mid 1600's these lands were held by all householders in
common. This system was a vestigial relic of the ancient system of
land holding in England and Germany and was naturally reverted to in
the necessities of primitive colonial life. By 1664, the idea of
permanent individual ownership had gained enough acceptance that the
town voted that Plum Island, Hogg Island and Castle Neck be divided
among those who had rights of commonage, based upon the amount of
personal and property tax paid by each individual determined by lot.
This right belonged to 203 individuals including Benedict.
Benedict's first wife died at Ipswich, Jul. 16, 1673. It was a common
English practice to name the first born daughter after the wife. If
this being the case here, then it is likely his first wife's name was
Elizabeth. No way of proving this however.
Benedict marries 2nd to Susanna Waters 1674.
His children gave him a good deal of frustration and embarrassment.
He had to defend them in court and even took one son to court for
some wrong committed to him by his son.
During the 1690's the notorious Salem witch trials occurred. We can
only guess how Benedict reacted to such goings-on. His wife, Susanna,
was from Salem, so certainly they were aware of the trials.
In 1700 Benedict was assigned a place on "one of ye short seats"
among the elderly in the Ipswich Meeting House and referred to as
"Goodman". On Aug. 1, 1709, Benedict conveyed his property to his
son, Capt. Joseph Pulcifer, of Boston. Benedict died the following
year.

Birth:
BET 1635 AND 1640

Benedict married WATERS Susanna about Feb 1673 in Ipswich, Essex Co., MA. Susanna (daughter of WATERS Richard and PLASSE Joyce (Rejoice)) was born on 01 Feb 1648 in Salem, Essex Co., MA; died on 21 Dec 1726 in Ipswich, Essex Co., MA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

A quaint Ipswich law punished "commoners" for overstepping the bounds
of propriety by daring to wear fine garments which were beyond their
proper rank in life. As early as 1651, the General court of Ipswich
had expressed its "griefe...that intollerable excesse and bravery
hath crept in upon us and especially amongst people of mean
condition, to the dishonor of God, the scandal of its professors, the
consumption of estates and altogether unsuitable to our poverty." It
was later ordered that no person whose visible estate did not exceed
L200, should wear gold or silver lace, or any bone lace above 2s. per
yard, or silk hoods or scarfs. Penalty for each such offense was 10
shillings.
In the year 1675, Ipswich was in a general state of terror over the
string of Indian attacks that became known as King Phillips' War. The
Ipswich General Court saw in such attacks evidence of rebukes from
God Almighty himself, and promptly issued fresh edicts some of the
more flagrant abuses of wearing "finery" and displaying the sin of
pride.
Susanna, the newly wed wife of Benedict, appeared one Sabbath morning
in 1675 meeting house proudly displaying such a silk scarf and hood,
along with a number of other wives of the town. Benedict was duly
fined for the violation of social decorum. The incident implies that
Benedict's estate must have been valued less than L200.

Birth:
1 FEB 1648/1649

Notes:

Married:
FEB 1673/1674

Notes:

Birth:
3 MAR 1603/1604

Richard married PLASSE Joyce (Rejoice) in 1624. Joyce (daughter of PLAISE William and SMITH Margery) was born on 25 Dec 1603 in St. Botolph Aldgate, London, Eng.; died about 1687 in Salem, Essex Co., MA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Rejoice /Plasse/

Notes:

Died:
2 FEB 1616/1617

James married MANNING Pheobe in 1592 in St. Botolph Aldgate, London, Eng.. Pheobe (daughter of MANNING George and WALLYS Joanna) was born in 1571; died in 1642 in Salem, Essex Co., MA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

William married SMITH Margery on 19 Jul 1596 in England. Margery was born in 1585; died about 1623. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Died:
BET 1616 AND 1630