Alonzo Josselyn

(23 January 1818 - 29 October 1897)
Pedigree - three generations
Date this page was last edited=5 Feb 2016
Appears on chart or charts:
Ancestors of Martha Josselyn (1909 - 2007)
Descendants of Thomas Josselyn (1591 - 1661)
Alonzo Josselyn, from his photo album
Alonzo Josselyn was born on 23 January 1818 in Hanson, Massachusetts.1,2,3,4,5,6 He was the son of Charles Josselyn and Lucy Dwelley.

Alonzo Josselyn was very tall.7

From Carol Kroeger's Josselyn genealogy: He operated the Josselyn Hotel at the Hanover Four Corners. It was part of a house owned by Robert Dwelley. People traveling from Plymouth to Boston knew it well.8

Alonzo Josselyn married first Caroline Augusta Morse, daughter of Harford Morse and Lucy Gay, on 24 December 1846 at Roxbury, Massachusetts.9,10,11,6 The marriage was performed by the Reverend Cyrus Hyde Fay, who at the time was pastor of the Universalist Society at Roxbury.10,12 Alonzo Josselyn was a "moulder" at the time of his marriage.11

Alonzo Josselyn appeared on the census of 13 September 1850 in Ward 11, Boston, Massachusetts, where his last name was shown as Joslin and his occupation as iron founder.13 He was an iron founder in 1853.3 He wrote in his copy of Barry's history of Hanover, next to Nathan Dwelley's name: My Uncle [Uncles?], and thought a great deal of me (they were actually first cousins.)14 On 16 November 1859, Alonzo Josselyn purchased a plot at Forest Hills Cemetery in Jamaica Plain (then Roxbury), Massachusetts: Lot 1356, Spruce Avenue at Pink Path.15,16

Alonzo Josselyn appeared on the census of 20 July 1860 in Ward 3, City of Roxbury, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in which his occupation was given as iron founder; the value of his real estate was recorded as 27,000, and of his personal estate as 15,000; there were two domestics born in Ireland.17

Alonzo Josselyn was married secondly to Ruth Spooner Ellis by Rev. Charles I. Bowen on 13 June 1866 in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.9,6,18

An 1866 directory shows that Alonzo Josselyn had an iron foundry at Ruggles corner of Orange Street, Roxbury, Massachusetts.19 He lived at 40 Vernon Street, Roxbury, Massachusetts, according to this directory.20 An advertisement in an 1867 Boston directory has an engraving of the foundry. Another view is shown on a business card.21 In an 1884 atlas of Roxbury, the foundry is shown on the south side of Ruggles Street between Tremont Street and Hampshire Street (formerly Orange Street), across from the Ruggles Street Baptist Church.22

Alonzo Josselyn appeared on the census of 29 July 1870 at West Roxbury, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in which he was shown as an iron founder. The census recorded the value of his real estate as 80,000, and of his personal estate as 10,000. The household included two domestic servants born in Ireland.23

Alonzo Josselyn appeared on the census of 15 June 1880 at Sharon, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in which he is recorded as an iron founder; his household had two servants from Maine listed as farm laborers.24 Boston directories of 1885 and 1886 show his foundry address as 164 Ruggles Street and his home at Sharon.25,26 The 1885 directory includes a small advertisement for the foundry.27

Alonzo Josselyn died on 29 October 1897 in Roxbury, Massachusetts, at age 79.28,5,6,29 He was buried on 1 November 1897 in Forest Hills Cemetery, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.5,30,31

Children of Alonzo Josselyn and Caroline Augusta Morse

Citations

  1. [S19] Alonzo Josselyn silhouette; in possession of Howard DeVoe.
  2. [S87] Josselyn family records: Births.
  3. [S2] Barry, A Historical Sketch of the Town of Hanover, Mass., 344.
  4. [S408] Pembroke Vital Records, 119.
  5. [S431] Gravestone inscriptions, Lot 1356, Forest Hills Cemetery, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, original proprietor Alonzo Josselyn.
  6. [S442] Pencilled notes titled "Family record of Alonzo Josselyn," undated, probably sent by Alice (Josselyn) Bliss to Edgar or Ella Josselyn.
  7. [S23] Interview, Martha (Josselyn) DeVoe, December 1977.
  8. [S82] Kroeger, Josselyn Family History, 79.
  9. [S89] Josselyn family records: Marriages.
  10. [S413] Charles Ernest Fay, "Rev. Cyrus Hyde Fay's Record of Marriages", 149.
  11. [S418] Roxbury Marriages and Deaths, 226, 287.
  12. [S414] Fay, Fay Genealogy, 157.
  13. [S78] Alonzo Joslin household, 1850 U.S. census, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Boston Ward 11.
  14. [S388] Note written in pencil by Alonzo Josselyn in his copy of "A Historical Sketch of the Town of Hanover, Mass." by John S. Barry, now (2004) in the possession of Howard DeVoe; 299.
  15. [S436] Deed, Forest Hills Cemetery, Lot 1356.
  16. [S438] Information obtained from Forest Hills Cemetery office by H. DeVoe, 28 July 1986.
  17. [S80] Alonzo Josselyn household, 1860 U.S. census, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Roxbury Ward 3.
  18. [S508] Spooner, Records of William Spooner, 488.
  19. [S464] Sampson Davenport & Co., Roxbury Directory, 1866.
  20. [S464] Sampson Davenport & Co., Roxbury Directory, 1866, 103.
  21. [S465] Business card once in possession of Edgar A. Josselyn. Note the steeple of the Ruggles Street Church. The foundry is gone, but the church is still there (conversation with Martha DeVoe, 24 April 2003).
  22. [S467] Atlas of the City of Boston (Roxbury), Volume Two, Plate C.
  23. [S81] Alonzo Josselyn household, 1870 U.S. census, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, West Roxbury.
  24. [S79] Alonzo Josselyn household, 1880 U.S. census, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Sharon.
  25. [S945] The Boston Directory, 1885, 598.
  26. [S991] The Boston Directory 1886, 634.
  27. [S945] The Boston Directory, 1885, 1645.
  28. [S90] Josselyn family records: Deaths.
  29. [S727] Boston Daily Advertiser, 30 October 1897.
  30. [S433] Records of the Alonzo Josselyn plot, Forest Hills Cemetery, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.
  31. [S860] Find A Grave memorial page for Alonzo Josselyn (1818 - 1897).

This family history is a work in progress. If you know of any errors or omissions, please contact me through the e-mail link at the bottom of the page.