Josiah Beers 1693–1763

Josiah Beers

(reposting from 2018)

Birth 8 AUG 1693 • Stratford, Fairfield, Connecticut

Death 10 MAY 1763 • Stratford, Fairfield, Conn.

Josiah Beers was an Ensign in the town Militia.  Of course Stratford, Fairfield County, Connecticut, had to have some defense.  The "Indians" were somewhat a threat, and the French as well. The French and Indian War 1754-63, was the American segment of the Seven Years War in Europe.

The other thing of mention is that Josiah served on jury duty in Stratford in 1730.
 
His actual military service was noted in 1737.

He and Elizabeth Uffort (1698-1783) (her post here) married in 1717.  They went on to have 11 children, all of whom lived to adulthood.  My great times six grandmother, Elizabeth Beers Booth was their eldest daughter, after 2 sons.  (Her blog post here.)

I like to think about where they lived, and how they must have lived...

Stratford Historical Society

Wikepedia tells us that...
"Stratford was founded in 1639 as "the plantation at Pequonnocke",^[2] by Puritan leader Reverend Adam Blakeman, William Beardsley, and either 16 families—according to legend—or approximately 35 families—suggested by later research—who had recently arrived in Connecticut from England seeking religious freedom. In 1640 the community was known as Cupheag Plantation. By April 13, 1643, the growing town was known as Stratford, changed to honor Stratford-upon-Avon in England.

"Like other Puritan or Pilgrim towns founded during this time, early Stratford was a place where church leadership and town leadership were united under the pastor of the church, in this case Reverend Blakeman. The goal of these communities was to create perfect outposts of religious idealism where the wilderness would separate them from the interference of kings, parliaments, or any other secular authority.

"Blakeman ruled Stratford until his death in 1665, but as the second generation of Stratford grew up, many of the children rejected what they perceived as the exceptional austerity of the town's founders. This and later generations sought to change the religious dictums of their elders, and the utopian nature of Stratford and similar communities was gradually replaced with more standard colonial administration. By the late 17th century, the Connecticut government had assumed political control over Stratford.

"Stratford was one of the two principal settlements in southwestern Connecticut, the other being Fairfield.

Stratford CT Historical Society