Forbes Library
Joseph Hawley I, II, III Collection
Detail from:
Joseph Hawley III account book
A collection of Account Books belonging to Joseph Hawley I, II, and III. The Account Book of Joseph Hawley I also contains records kept by David Wilton and is continued by Joseph Hawley II after his father's death.
Captain Joseph Hawley (Joseph Hawley I, 1654-1711) was born in Roxbury MA in 1654. Hawley came to Northampton in 1674, after graduating from Harvard in a class of only three students. In 1675, he was employed by Northampton as their schoolteacher. He was also a preacher of the Gospel and became a Representative to the Massachusetts Bay Colony from Northampton as well as Justice of the Peace. Joseph I married Lydia Marshall and their first-born son, Joseph Hawley II, was born in Northampton in 1682.
David Wilton (1608-1678) was the son of Robert Wilton of Beaminster, Dorset, England. He emigrated to Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1630 and was involved in the beaver trade of the Bay Colony. By 1640, he had removed to Windsor, Connecticut. In 1660, he removed once more to Northampton, where he operated a milling enterprise. On October 31, 1667, Wilton was a member of a committee appointed to establish relations with local tribes by establishing who could speak as their chief.
Lieutenant Joseph Hawley (Joseph Hawley II, 1682-1735) was born in Northampton to Joseph Hawley I and Lydia Marshall (the granddaughter of David Wilton). Hawley II became a prominent figure in Northampton and married Rebecca Stoddard, the daughter of Reverend Solomon Stoddard, in 1722. He served as town selectman and town clerk, was a principal trader in town, and drove Cattle between Hampshire County and Boston. He sold dry goods at his store, including silk handkerchiefs, powder and lead, pipes, knives, and forks. He also managed a farm and held interests in a sawmill. His father-in-law, Solomon Stoddard, was a popular minister who held the pulpit of the First Congregational Church for sixty years before being succeeded by his grandson, Reverend Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), a noted American theologian and first cousin to Joseph and Elisha. Through his sermons and ministry, Edwards led his congregation in an early manifestation of the First Great Awakening in 1734-1735. Joseph Hawley II, in great distress over the perceived depth of his own sinfulness, committed suicide in 1735, which Edwards publicly attributed to the work of Satan and the Hawley family's history of mental illness, described as melancholy.
Major Joseph Hawley (Joseph Hawley III, 1723-1788) was an ardent patriot, staunch abolitionist, and fierce advocate of liberty. One of the foremost leaders of the American independence movement, he greatly inspired his fellow Revolutionaries and helped found the nation. He was a member of the General Court in 1766 and became a leading figure of the radical group that included James Otis, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and John Adams. Samuel Adams called him, "the only man I can confide in." While encouraging John Adams to carry on the Revolutionary cause, he wrote, "Fight we must finally, unless Britain retreats." When Adams showed these words to Patrick Henry, the Virginian exclaimed, "By God, I am of that man's mind!" He was chosen with Samuel Adams as a delegate to the Continental Congress, but when he was unable to attend, John Adams was chosen in his place.
Captain Joseph Hawley (Joseph Hawley I, 1654-1711) was born in Roxbury MA in 1654. Hawley came to Northampton in 1674, after graduating from Harvard in a class of only three students. In 1675, he was employed by Northampton as their schoolteacher. He was also a preacher of the Gospel and became a Representative to the Massachusetts Bay Colony from Northampton as well as Justice of the Peace. Joseph I married Lydia Marshall and their first-born son, Joseph Hawley II, was born in Northampton in 1682.
David Wilton (1608-1678) was the son of Robert Wilton of Beaminster, Dorset, England. He emigrated to Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1630 and was involved in the beaver trade of the Bay Colony. By 1640, he had removed to Windsor, Connecticut. In 1660, he removed once more to Northampton, where he operated a milling enterprise. On October 31, 1667, Wilton was a member of a committee appointed to establish relations with local tribes by establishing who could speak as their chief.
Lieutenant Joseph Hawley (Joseph Hawley II, 1682-1735) was born in Northampton to Joseph Hawley I and Lydia Marshall (the granddaughter of David Wilton). Hawley II became a prominent figure in Northampton and married Rebecca Stoddard, the daughter of Reverend Solomon Stoddard, in 1722. He served as town selectman and town clerk, was a principal trader in town, and drove Cattle between Hampshire County and Boston. He sold dry goods at his store, including silk handkerchiefs, powder and lead, pipes, knives, and forks. He also managed a farm and held interests in a sawmill. His father-in-law, Solomon Stoddard, was a popular minister who held the pulpit of the First Congregational Church for sixty years before being succeeded by his grandson, Reverend Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), a noted American theologian and first cousin to Joseph and Elisha. Through his sermons and ministry, Edwards led his congregation in an early manifestation of the First Great Awakening in 1734-1735. Joseph Hawley II, in great distress over the perceived depth of his own sinfulness, committed suicide in 1735, which Edwards publicly attributed to the work of Satan and the Hawley family's history of mental illness, described as melancholy.
Major Joseph Hawley (Joseph Hawley III, 1723-1788) was an ardent patriot, staunch abolitionist, and fierce advocate of liberty. One of the foremost leaders of the American independence movement, he greatly inspired his fellow Revolutionaries and helped found the nation. He was a member of the General Court in 1766 and became a leading figure of the radical group that included James Otis, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and John Adams. Samuel Adams called him, "the only man I can confide in." While encouraging John Adams to carry on the Revolutionary cause, he wrote, "Fight we must finally, unless Britain retreats." When Adams showed these words to Patrick Henry, the Virginian exclaimed, "By God, I am of that man's mind!" He was chosen with Samuel Adams as a delegate to the Continental Congress, but when he was unable to attend, John Adams was chosen in his place.