Joslin

   Joslin is an English surname, derived from an Old French personal name imported into England by the Normans in the forms Goscelin, Gosselin, Joscelin. For the most part it is from the Germanic personal name Gauzelin, a diminutive from a short form of the various compound names having as their first element the tribal name Gaut (apparently the same word as Old English Geatas, the Scandinavian people to which Beowulf belonged, and also akin to the ethnic name Goth). However, the name also came to be considered as a pet form of Old French Josse (Joyce). Spelling variations include: Jocelyn, Gocelyn, Josselyn, Josselyne and others. The Coat of Arms: Blue with a wreath with four hawks bells. The Crest is a falcon's leg. The family motto, "Faire mon devoir," translates as "To do my duty."
   The family was first found in Lanarkshire, where they were seated from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.
   Our lineage to this family can be traced back to HENRY JOSLIN.¹ He was born @ 1653 and married MARY LAMBERT on the 9th of November, 1685, in Gloucester, Essex, Massachusetts. "Gloucester" was formally incorporated in 1642. The town took its name from the great Cathedral City in South-West England, a Parliamentarian stronghold that successfully defended with the aid of the Earl of Essex against the King in the Siege of Gloucester of 1643, and it's speculated that many of the residents of the new settlement were from that British town. Gloucester in Massachusetts was built in the Town Green area, an inlet in the marshes at a bend in the Annisquam River. This area is now the site of Grant Circle, a large traffic-rotary at which MA Route 128 mingles with a major city street (Washington Street/ Rt 127).
   Henry and Mary had the following children:

CHILDREN OF HENRY JOSLIN AND MARY LAMBERT

EBENEZER JOSSELYN b: 31 Jul 1686 in Gloucester, Essex, Massachusetts.

MARGARET JOSSELYN b: 4 Aug 1687 in Gloucester, Essex, Massachusetts.

MARY JOSSELYN b: 12 Aug 1689 in Gloucester, Essex, Massachusetts.

CONSTANTINE JOSSELYN b: 14 Feb 1690/91 in Gloucester, Essex, Massachusetts.

ISRAEL JOSLIN(JOSSELYN) b: 1693 in Gloucester, Essex, Massachusetts.

BENJAMIN JOSSELYN b: 5 Jul 1695 in Gloucester, Essex, Massachusetts.

MARCY JOSSELYN b: 3 Feb 1701/02 in Gloucester, Essex, Massachusetts.

A memorial at Israel Joslin's burial site in Thompson, Windham County, Connecticut.

   Their son, ISRAEL JOSLIN, was born in 1693. Thompson's First Families; pg 19, states: "This early settler removed to the northeast part of Killingly in 1721. A paper left by Joslin or one of his sons gives a remarkably clear and full account of his early life. It states that he was born in Devonshire, England, married and had one child, and losing his wife, came to Newfoundland on a fishing trip and thence to Salem, where he married Sarah Bayley/Bailey, who was born 12 Feb 1698. He tried living at Cape Porporse, then returned to Salem and finally settled in the north part of Killingly at about the same date with Edward Munyan and two other Salem Families, Moffatt (sic) and Utter. The original farm upon which Israel Joslin settled was north of what is known as the Little Pond. In spite of the long distance Mr. Joslin united with the Killingly Church and had his children baptized there."

   Israel married SARAH BAYLEY (BAILEY) on 29 Apr 1719 in Marlborough, Massachusetts. Sarah was born on the 13th of February, 1698, in Devonshire, England. She died in 1771 in Killingly, Windham, Connecticut—which was ten years later than Israel, who died in August of 1761 in Killingly. They're buried in Old East Cemetery, Thompson, Windham, Connecticut.² They had the following children:

CHILDREN OF SARAH BAYLEY AND ISRAEL JOSLIN

ISRAEL JOSLIN was born on 30 Sep 1719 in Killingly, Windham, Connecticut.

SARAH JOSLIN was born on 8 Feb 1722 in Killingly, Windham, Connecticut.

GIDEON JOSLIN was born on 3 May 1724 in Killingly, Windham, Connecticut.

JOSEPH JOSLIN was born on 14 May 1726 in Killingly, Windham, Connecticut. See a Genetic Match from Ancestry.com here.

BENJAMIN JOSLIN was born on 31 Jul 1728 in Killingly, Windham, Connecticut.

HANNAH JOSLIN was born on 31 Dec 1731 in Killingly, Windham, Connecticut.

EDWARD JOSLIN was born on 30 Jan 1734 in Killingly, Connecticut. He died on 22 Feb 1744 in Killingly, Connecticut.

JOHN JOSLIN was born on 6 May 1736 in Killingly, Connecticut. He died in 1756 in Lake George, New York.

   Their daughter, SARAH JOSLIN, married JOSEPH MUNYAN (b. in 1712 in Salem, Essex, Massachusetts).

TOP PHOTO: Gravestone at Old East Thompson Cemetery in Thompson, Windham County, Connecticut, where Israel Joslin and some of his family members are buried.

GENEALOGY HENRY JOSSELYN married MARY LAMBERT and begat.. ISRAEL JOSLIN (1693 - 1761), who married SARAH BAILEY and begat... SARAH JOSLIN (b. 1722), who married JOSEPH MUNYAN (1712 - 1797) and begat... JOSEPH MUNYAN (d. 1831), who married MARY MARSH (1750 - 1820) and begat... AMASA MUNYAN (b. 1800), who married SUSANNA HENNING (1802 - 1821) and begat... MARY ANN MUNYAN (1823 - 1899) married WILLIAM POTTER (1819 - 1894) and begat... LOUISA EDITH POTTER (1856 - 1891) who married ABRAHAM CANE WINTERS (1829 - 1893) and begat... NELLE WINTERS (1885 - 1974) who married WILLIAM PRITCHARD (1880 - 1958) and begat... DOROTHY PRITCHARD (b. 1918) who married ERWIN WENK (1910 - 1982) and begat... MARTHA WENK (b. 1940) who married CARLETON MARCHANT HAUSE, JR. (b. 1939) and begat... JEFF (who married LORI ANN DOTSON), KATHY (who married HAL LARSEN), ERIC (who married MARY MOONSAMMY), and MICHELE HAUSE (who married JOHN SCOTT HOUSTON).

SOURCES

¹—Savage, James. Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, Vol. II, p. 571: "HENRY, Gloucester; perhaps s. of the first Henry, m. 4 June 1678, Bridget Day, prob. d. of Anthony, had Henry, b. 28 June 1679; and Susanna, 25 Jan. 1682, d. in three days. His w. d. 7 Sept. 1684, and he m. 9 Nov. 1685, Mary Lambert, perhaps d. of John of Lynn, had Ebenezer, 30 July 1686, d. in few mos.; Margaret, 1687; Mary, 1689; Constantine, 1691; Benjamin, 1695; and Mercy, 1703; and he either d. or rem. bef. 1721."

²—Connecticut Cemetery Inscriptions; Hale Collection; pg 47; FHL film #3365
The Jocelyn-Joslin-Joslyn-Josselyn Family compiled by Edith S. Wheeler; pg 100 FHL 292.263 J582w
Also Commemorative and Biographical Record of Tolland and Windham Counties; Vol 2, pg 1292. Also Representative Men and Old Families of Rhode Island; Vol 1, pg 272; BYU FHL book F 78 .R42