A Native Massachusettsan

Willard G. Bixby

Next week James and I are going to Ipswich, MA, for a couple of days.  I've wanted to visit the town because my mother's first American ancestor, Joseph Bixby, settled there in the 1600s after immigrating from England.  I Googled "Ipswich cemetery" today to see where I might find some Bixby gravestones and found a fascinatingly thorough geneaology of the Bixbys in America written in 1914 by Willard G. Bixby. 

Below are a few passages that particularly struck me from the first couple of chapters (it's 804 pages long, so I've only made it through the first couple of chapters so far—in fact, I got so engrossed in it, I forgot I was hardboiling eggs, and one of them just exploded!):

…all the Bixbys in America were descended from a common ancestor, Joseph Bixby of Ipswich, Mass., with the exception of a few small groups of families, whom we feel positive were so descended, and of four families, three of whom settled in Canada and one in Detroit, Mich., who are known to have emigrated from England during the last century, and a few instances of assumption of the name by negroes [sic—remember, this was written in 1914] and Hebrews [sic].

…it is not doubted that the Bixbys in England, like the Bixbys in America, are descended from one man, Walter Bekesby, who is first heard of purchasing land in Thorpe Morieux in 1427. One fact, quite different from what was expected, has been learned, and that is that Joseph Bixby who came to America was not descended from the landless peasantry as was at first supposed, but that his father, grandfather, and ancestors for many generations were land owners, which in England has always meant more than has been the case in America.

…There is one fact that has impressed me while engaged in this work and has also impressed Mr. Putnam in his review of the manuscript, and that is the substantial and honorable character of the family. The early American Bixbys are nearly always found connected with the church, frequently as officers. They were good citizens, taking a lively interest in civil and military affairs, and frequently holding positions of honor and trust both in public and private life. They kept out of the courts so completely that it has been a disappointment (in one sense) to the compiler, for frequently most valuable information regarding family history is found in certain court records. If, in addition to preserving the history of the family, any of the readers of this genealogy should be impressed with the worthy, honest and God-fearing character of our ancestors, and with the fact that it will take the best efforts of the present generation to keep up the standard already set, and so be spurred on in this regard, I shall feel that my labors in compiling this book, and the money expended on it, have not been in vain.

…Joseph Bixby, the only member of the first generation, lived first at Ipswich, Mass., on the coast and later moved up the Ipswich River (which is too small to be shown on the map) to Boxford. The second generation, his children, did not go far, and spent their lives in Boxford and in the adjoining towns of Topsfield and Andover. The third generation, however, his grandchildren, went a considerable distance from their birthplaces to find homes, in some instances over 200 miles.

…Joseph [Jr.], born 5 March, 1695-6; married Experience Frost.

"Experience Frost" is just one of many great old names in my family history:

• Dr. Armentus B. Bixby

• Mephibosheth
  

• Moses
  

• Jemima

• Kezia

• Gideon

• Bethia

• Dorcas

• Hezekiah

• Phebe

• Peletiah

• and my favorite—Salmon (who wouldn't want to be named after a fish?)

Even if you're not a Bixby, you can find all sorts of great American history in this book.  The entry for a daughter of Hannah (Bixby) Towne includes references to the Revolutionary War, and to the witchcraft trials of 1692:

…Hannah Towne, born 8 Dec, 1739; died "26 or 28 Feb., 1802, aged sixty two years;" married Daniel Esty, born 4 May, 1739, died 22 July, 1830, son of Aaron and Esther (Richards) Esty. He was of Topsfield and responded, 19 April, 1775, to the Lexington Alarm, being in a company commanded by Capt. Joseph Gould. His will is dated 10 Jan., 1827. Daniel Esty was a grandson of Isaac Esty, whose mother, Mary (Towne), wife of Isaac Esty, Sr., was twice tried for witchcraft in 1692 and being convicted in the second trial was hung, 23 Sept., 1692. She has been called "the self-forgetful" because of the character she showed during this trying time. Her sister, Rebecca Nurse, also suffered death for the same imaginary crime. Esther (Richards) Esty, the mother of Daniel Esty, died 23 July, 1805, at the age of one hundred years and sixteen days.

One hundred years and sixteen days? You go, Esther!  May I live so long…