Joseph and Elizabeth Mercer Woodward of Chester County Pa
Advertisement


Joseph & Elizabeth Mercer Woodward
-------------------------------------------------------

Woodward Home Page
Return to Richard Woodward Sr. Page

Joseph Woodward was the ninth child and fifth son of Richard and Jane Woodward of England and Chester County, Pennsylvania. He was also the youngest of the family.

Elizabeth Mercer was daughter of Thomas and Mary Greenway Mercer of Thornbury, Chester County, Pennsylvania. (More at the bottom of this page on her second marriage)

Thomas Mercer of Thornbury wrote his will March 17, 1715. It left the bulk of his land "which lieth next to Nathaniel Newlin's land," to his three sons. He left twenty pounds each to his three daughters, including Elizabeth. To his sons-in-law, including Joseph Woodward, he left one pistole each. Witnesses to his will included Thomas & Rose Pierson.

(Information on this family is from The Woodward Family of Chester County, Pennsylvania by J. Gary Woodward, with additions and corrections.)



Joseph Woodward
born Chester Co, Pa
died 9/28/1715 Chester Co, Pa
Elizabeth Mercer
born 1692 England
died aft 1751 NC
m (2) Wm. Vestal
  Married:Between 9/23/1712 and 10/8/1712 at Concord Monthly Meeting, Chester Co, Pa

Children: Joseph Woodward, Jr., born bet 1713-1716, Chester County, Pennsylvania; married cousin Rachel Woodward (more below)

Land and Quaker Records

Although Joseph & Elizabeth were married at Concord Meeting House they likely attended Goshen Meeting as Joseph's death is recorded there and they lived near it. A deed in 1736 refers to land in Goshen bounded by the meetinghouse land and by land late of Joseph Woodward. Thomas Mercer, Elizabeth's father lived near Richard Woodward so Concord was probably their meeting before marriage.

On March 10, 1712 Jane Woodward of Middletown, widow of Richard Woodward, & Joseph Woodward, youngest son of said Richard & Jane Woodward sold the 250 acre tract of land left to them in Richard's will for 150 pounds to Daniel Cookson. We do not find a deed for Joseph's land in Goshen, only the reference in the above paragraph.

Will of Joseph Woodward

Joseph Woodward of Goshen wrote his will 11/28/1715 and it was probated 12/28/1715 (Book A3, p. 420). Since he wrote his will the day he died he probably became suddenly ill or had an accident. Goshen Meeting recorded his death date in the Quaker fashion as 9/28/1715 (see About Dates).
"All real and personal estate to be sold. To mother Jane Woodward 40 pounds. Remainder to wife and child or children if she be with child�.
Executors brothers Thomas and Edward Woodward.
Witnesses, William Penil, Joseph Lewis, and Mary Butterfield
(from Abstracts of Wills and Administrations in Chester County, Pennsylvania).

The will is a little confusing as it does not give the name of the wife or of the child and it is not clear whether he means he has a child and mentions "children" in case his wife is pregnant or if there are no children and he mentions the possibility of pregnancy. In any event he died so soon after their marriage that Joseph, Jr. would have been born between 1713 and 1716 at least.

Joseph Woodward, Jr.

Joseph Woodward, Jr. married, in 1735, his first cousin Rachel Woodward, daughter of Thomas & Rachel Martin Woodward. They evidently made their amends with the Quakers as they were granted a certificate to Kennett Monthly Meeting 7/5/1747.

Dr. Lewis Woodward researched the Woodwards of Chester County, Pennsylvania, at an early date and wrote the following about Joseph, Jr.: "He appears as a taxable in Goshen in 1735, and toward the close of the year he and his cousin Rachel Woodward, daughter of Thomas, were disowned by Goshen Meeting 12 month 15th day, 1741 for their marriage by a priest. They offerred an acknowledgment, which was accepted. Having removed perhaps to the neighborhood of Wilmington, Delaware, they requested and received from Goshen Monthly Meeting a certificate of recommendation to Newark Monthly Meeting dated 4th month 15th day, 1747. They were said to be of orderly lives and conversation, and 'have settled their affairs here-a-ways, we believe, to satisfaction. Rachel having sometimes appeared in our meetings by way of public testimony, with which we have unity, although she is not yet recommended to the meeting of ministers and elders, so we recommend them as Friends, well respected (together with their children, being young) to your Christian care, desiring their preservation and growth in very good work,' &c. This is signed by twenty-one men and twenty-five women. Their children's names not ascertained." This is a little confusing as it looks as though the marriage occurred on 12th month 15th day 1741 when that is likely the date they offered an acknoledgement as earlier in the sentence he says they were married "later that year" after mentioning the year 1735.

Newark Monthly Meeting later became Kennett Monthly Meeting and we checked Gilbert Cope's records of Kennett Monthly Meeting and found nothing. There is unproven data in The Mendenhall Family by Thomas Valentine (private printing 1994) and Kennett Monthly Meeting Births and Burial of a Rachel Woodward born 7 July 1768 at Kennett. She married a William Buffington and she was supposedly daughter of Joseph and Ann Woodward, who might have been a son of Joseph and Rachel Woodward Woodward, Jr. We stress this is quite unproven but might give someone a lead for further research.

Elizabeth Mercer Woodward Vestal

We have the following notes:
William VESTAL Jr. b-abt 1692 Birmingham twp, Chester Co., Pa.; d-bef. 3 Mar 1745 Frederick Co, Va.; son of William VESTAL and Alice GLOVER (widow of John Brunsden), daughter of George Glover and Alice Lamboll.

Married 1716 Westtown, Chester Co., PA, Elizabeth MERCER b-ca 1694 probably Northhampton England; daughter of Thomas MERCER and Mary GREENAWAY (widow of Joseph Woodward).

Issue:
1. John Vestal, b-ca 1718, m-Ann Polls
2. William Vestal, b-ca 1721
3. Mary Vestal, b-ca 1723, m-William Jay
4. Thomas Vestal, b-8 Sept. 1727, d-12 June 1813 m-Elizabeth DAVIS, dau. of Charles DAVIS and Hannah MATTISON.
5. James Vestal, b-ca 1730, m-Mary ?
6. David Vestal, b-16 June 1736, m-Sarah Chamness
7. Jemima Vestal, m-Miles Chapman (son of Giles and Sarah).

Ref: Our Family Heritage by Minnie Speer Boone
A Quaker Family by Eleanor M. Davis Cane Creek MM records of births, deaths and marriages, Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy Vol. I, by Hinshaw.
Land records; Disposition of the estate if William Vestal Jr. who died without a will; Concord MM records.



Advertisement