Baptism: 12 OCT 1628 Colnbrook, Horton, Buckinghamshire, England
Name Var: Jenks
Note: Joseph Jenckes II is known as the founder of Pawtucket. A skilled ironworker, he had come to the New World to join his father, Joseph Jencks I, who had organized and operated the first American iron works in Saugus,Massachusetts.
Marriage: ABT 1652 to Esther Ballard in Lynn, Essex Co, Massachusetts
Birth of Son: 1656
Name: Joseph Jenckes
Birth of Daughter: 1658
Name: Elizabeth Jenckes
Birth of Daughter: 1660
Name: Sarah Jencks
Birth of Son: 1663
Name: Nathaniel Jencks
Birth of Son: 1669
Name: Ebenezer Jenckes
Moved: 1670
Details: Joseph left Massachusetts intending to build his own forge in Rhode Island.
Land Rec: 10 OCT 1671
Details: He purchased 60 acres of land on the west bank of the Blackstone River, marking the establishment of the first permanent settlement of Pawtucket. However, it was short-lived, as the Jenckes settlement was burned to the ground in 1675 during King Philip’s War.
Birth of Daughter: 1672
Name: Joanna Jencks
Birth of Son: 1675
Name: William Jenckes
Note: When the war ended, the Jenckes forge was rebuilt, and soon it became the center of a small village including the foundry, a gristmill, and sawmill. The commerce of the village was founded on the production of iron products essential to the survival of these early settlers.
Freeman: 1677
Office Held: BET 1679-1698
Details: He served several terms in the Rhode Island Assembly
Note: During 1685–1688, at the direction of King James II, Rhode Island became a county in the Dominion of New England, under Governor Sir Edmund Andros. After the Revolution of 1688, King William and Queen Mary ascended to the throne, and Joseph Jenckes was included in a small group selected to write a letter congratulating them on their ascension and informing them that Sir Edmund Andros had been arrested in Rhode Island.
Death: 04 JAN 1717 Pawtucket, Providence Co, Rhode Island
Burial: Governor Joseph Jencks Lot, Pawtucket, Providence Co, Rhode Island
Click here to see parents: Joseph Jencks and Joan Hearne
Esther Ballard
Birth: ABT 1632 England
Immigration: 1635 with her parents on the “James”
Note: There is different William Ballard who arrived in 1633 on the “Mary and John.” This is not Esther’s father.
Death: ABT 1717 Pawtucket, Providence Co, Rhode Island
Burial: Governor Joseph Jencks Lot, Pawtucket, Providence Co, Rhode Island
Click here to see parents: William Ballard and Elizabeth ?
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