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Facts and Events
About Joslyn Boyer
- She was married, first, to a man named John Marshall by whom she had a number of children; he had died prior to 1675. Josine was married, second, to William Sample; they were the parents of one child, Margaret Sample. With William Sample's death in 1681, Josine again became a widow. Sometime prior to 1686 she was married, third, to William Hamilton. She died prior to March 1696. The Court records revealing her marriage and other events in her life are discussed below.
- Josine was doubtless of Dutch origin; she was probably born prior to 1650. Our most important clue that her maiden name was Boyer (or Boeyar or Boeyer) is contained in a curious entry in the minutes of the New Castle Court of Novem ber 5, 1678:
- Josyn Boeyer, the wyfe of Mr William Semple, for hur unhandsome & ill behavior being heretofore bound over to the Court, The Court, (in hopes of hur better behavior) did Continue the prsentment till next Court day.
- One of Josine's children by her first marriage to John Marshall; this was Cataline, wife of Jonas Wright. It was at about the time that Josine was married to her third husband, William Hamilton, former close associate of William Sample, that her children petitioned the New Castle Court for their inheritance to be protected. It was Jonas Wright, son-in-law of Josine (though he called himself a son), who presented the petition on behalf of "himself and the rest of the orphans." By definition at the time, an orphan was one whose father was deceased, and it was not unusual for a son-in-law to identify himself as a son of his wife's mother. The following New Castle Court action was dated January 17, 1688/9
References
- Craig, Peter Stebbins. 1671 census of the Delaware. (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, c1999)
Page 41.
West of Christina, on the north side of Christina Creek, extending westward to Anders the Finn's Creek was a tract of land patented 1 October 1669 to four English soldiers, Robert Scott, John Marshall, John Cousins and Jan Boyer. (Citing New York Patents, 3:152) By 1671 nothing had been done to develop the property. All four owners were bachelors, living at the fort in New Castle or nearby. Jan Boyer was the son of Alexander (Sander) Boyer, one of the original residents of Fort Casimir (New Castle), and his Swedish wife. (Citing Rising's Journal, 161,167.) Jan Boyer later acquired a lot on the Strand in New Castle, which was sold by his three daughters, Elizabeth, Catharina and Helena and their husbands on 20 June 1708 (Citing New Castle County Deeds, G-1:265) John Marshall soon married Jan Boyer's sister, Josyn, but had died by 1675 when Josyn, the widow of John Marshall, and the other three men sold the tract to Justa Andersson (see #83) (Citing NCR< 1:398. Josyn was later identified as Jan Boyer's sister when married to William Semple, the third of her four husbands. NCR 1:247)
The Soldiers’ Tract
West of Christina, on the north side of Christina Creek, extending westward to Anders the Finn’s Creek was a tract of land patented 1 Oct 1669 to four English soldiers, Robert Scott, John Marshall, John Cousins and Jan Boyer. By 1671 nothing had been done to develop the property. All four owners were bachelors, living at the fort in New Castle or nearby. Jan Boyer was the son of Alexander (Sander) Boyer, one of the original residents of Fort Casimir (New Castle), and his Swedish wife. Jan Boyer later acquired a lot on the Strand in New Castle, which was sold by his three daughters, Elisabeth, Catharina and Helena and their husbands on 20 Jun 1708. John Marshall soon married Jan Boyer’s sister Josyn, but had died by 1675 when Josyn, the widow of John Marshall, and the other three men sold the tract to Justa Andersson (see #83). Robert Scott left Delaware with John Carr and was a resident of Calvert County when granted head rights in 1673. John Cousins also went to Maryland with Captain John Carr in 1673.
- Bidlack, Russell E. Sparks Family Association and Quarterly, Whole No. 192, p. 5450, Dec 2000. (The Sparks Family Association published The Sparks Quarterly for fifty years, with Dr. Russell E. Bidlack as editor. Dr. Bidlack passed away in September 2003, and the last issue (volume 50, whole number 200) was published in December 2003. The Sparks Quarterly is the best family quarterly I have ever seen. It is available in many libraries.).
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