Joseph Weld (Captain of Militia)

Joseph Weld, my 10th g-Grandfather, was born on April 7 1599 at Terling, Essex, England to Edmund Weld and his wife Amy Brewster Clark. On October 11 1620 in England Joseph took for his first wife an Elizebeth Shatswell. The marriage would result in the birth of six children, the first five being born in England and the last being born in Massachusetts.

In June of 1632, Joseph and his family arrived in The New World on the ship "The William and Francis" and took up residence in Roxbury Massachusetts. John and his family would be among the earliest members of the First Church of Roxbury, at which Joseph's brother Thomas would later become Pastor.

Joseph served as an aide to Governor Winthrop and as a Deputy to the Massachusetts General Court. As a Captain of the Roxbury Militia, Joseph would lead his troops in the "Pequot Indian Wars" of 1634-1637, and would be a witness to the surrender of the Indian Leaders.

Joseph was awarded 278 Acres of land in Roxbury in reward for his service in the "Pequot Wars" and became one of the wealthiest men in the colony. Joseph gave alot of his money toward education and was one of the original sponsers of Harvard College.

Joseph died on October 7 1646 in Roxbury Massachusetts and was buried three days later at the St. Eustice Burial Grounds of Roxbury.

For Further Reading See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pequot_War

For Genealogy See:
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=m-leblanc&id=I4567