BORN: 16 Apr 1757 Exeter, Washington Cty, RI
MARRIED: Aft 1783, NB, Canada
DIED: 16 Dec 1837 Prince William, York Cty, NB
BURIED: Joslin Family Cemetery, Prince William
SPOUSE: Priscilla Cook b 1764; d 22 Jun 1845, Hogdon, Arookstook Cty, ME; buried Hogdon Cemetery, Hodgon
FATHER: John Joslin b 9 Sep 1734 E Greenwich, Kent Cty, RI; m 18 Dec 1754 W Greenwich, Kent Cty; d 25 Oct 1811 Franklin, Herkimer Cty, NY
MOTHER: Johanna Andrew b 17 Jan 1733 E Greewich, Kent Cty; d 4 Jan 1787 Exeter, Washington Cty, RI
PERSONAL DATA: The Joslin surname, also spelled Jocelyn, Josselin, etc., goes back to Normandy and Brittany in France, and one or more of the Jocelyn's came to England at the time of William the Conqueror (1066). After that this wealthy line settled in Herts and established a great estate at Hide Hall outside the village of Sawbridgeworth. Several Jocelyn artifacts can be found in the church there. Several descendants moved to adjacent Essex and lived in several villages there.
The John Joslin family in Exeter, RI, USA was strongly Loyalist in a town with loyalist leanings. When the Patriots took control of the town in 1777 Andrew escaped to Newport, then in British hands, and enlisted in the Loyal New Englanders. In the muster roll of 1780 he is listed as a Sergeant with the former occupation of 'labourer', a term referring to farmer. His younger brother Rufus also served in the regiment with Andrew. After the war in 1783 Andrew emigrated to New Brunswick. Rufus returned home and went to Frankfort, NY with the rest of the family.
Andrew moved from Waterborough to Prince William in York County and obtained land on the St. John River, eventually owning 21 lots encompassing 1832 acres of land and naming Joslin Creek which ran through the center of his holdings. It was on this creek that he built a grist mill and probably a sawmill. He built a two story home on his Prince William property before 1800. This was later enlarged by his son William Cook. When the land where the house stood was to be flooded by the 1965 Macnaquac Dam, the house and farm buildings were moved to Kings Landing. They can be seen there today as a prominent part of that historical site.
Andrew and Priscilla had five children. Upon his death all five children and his seven grandchildren received substantial bequests which included 14 of his lots and 1260 acres of land in the Prince William area.
It was his second child and first daughter Juanna Andrew Joslin, who married Simon Hammond in 1803. Simon's granddaughter married John Kilburn in 1850.
REFERENCES:
1. See Ch 9 of the author's book Fathers and Mothers, 2002, 328pp which goes into detail on all of Andrew's ancestors and is available from the author at 6695 Terry Court, Arvada, 80007 and email: [email protected]. Much of this chapter is based on the genealogy compiled by Edith Wessler, 1962, entitled The Jocelyn-Joslin-Joslyn-Josselyn Family.
2. See the two books by F P Simister 1978, A Short History of Exeter, Rhode Island, and The Fire's Center. Both detail the loyalist leanings of parts of Rhode Island.
3. See E C Wright, 1955, The Loyalists of New Brunswick, which provides information on Andrew and other Joslins.
4. D N Butler, 1990, "The Joslins" from a King's Landing periodical.
5. E R Ingraham, undated, "Extracts from a History of Prince William" unpublished paper in the Provincial Archives of New Bruswick (PANB).
6. The Public Archives of NB in Fredericton have Andrew's will, land records, cemetery discription and many other pertinent records.