Joseph Frost (1783-1857)

Joseph Frost was born on 04 Jul 1783 in Ashburnham, Worcester, Massachusetts, as the third child of John Frost and Mary Bacon. He had nine siblings, namely: Mary, John, Hannah, Moses, David, Mehitable, Rebecca, Lowell, and Moses.

The family only lived at Ashburnham until 1787 when Joseph was about four-years old. They moved to Natick, Middlesex, Massachusetts, where Joseph grew up. When he was 27, he married Caroline Mumford. They published their intention to marry on 03 Sep 1810 in Natick, Middlesex, Massachusetts.

There must have been no objections to the marriage, because a couple weeks later, on 16 Sep 1810, they married at nearby Boston, Middlesex, Massachusetts.

Joseph Frost and Caroline Mumford had the following children:

1. Thomas May Frost was born on 21 Sep 1818 in Essex, Middlesex, Massachusetts. He married Martha Cummings on 29 Dec 1843 at Charlestown, Suffolk, Massachusetts. He died on 09 Feb 1876 at Boston, Middlesex, Massachusetts.
2. George Frost was born on 11 Dec 1819 in Massachusetts.  He married Elizabeth A. Pearson on 04 Jun 1847 in Massachusetts. He died on 23 Mar 1876 in Boston, Middlesex, Massachusetts.
3. Sarah E. S. Frost was born about 1822 in Massachusetts.  She married Samuel Maxfield on 26 Apr 1846 in Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts. She died before 1870 in Massachusetts.
4. Mary Jane Frost was born on 05 Feb 1825 in Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts. She married Oliver Selam Boyce on 02 Jul 1857 in Massachusetts. She died on 01 Jul 1915 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois.
5. Charles Frost was born on 10 Mar 1827 in Massachusetts. He married Cora L. F. Sharp at Ashland, Middlesex, Massachusetts on 31 Dec 1863. Charles died at Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts on 29 Aug 1869.

“These were staunch New England people.” — Gertrude Boyce Phillips, granddaughter of Joseph Frost.

Joseph and Caroline raised their family at Dorchester, Norfolk, Massachusetts. Joseph was included in census records there in 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850 and 1855. In the earlier censuses, he was listed as involved in agriculture. In 1850, he was listed as a gardener. The town of Dorchester was a growing community. In 1820, the population was 3,684 and by 1850 it was 7,968.

Joseph Frost died of dropsy on 25 Nov 1857 in Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts at age 74. Dropsy was the old-fashioned word for edema, or a condition characterized by an excess of watery fluid collecting in the cavities or tissues of the body. Edema can be caused by congestive heart failure. Joseph was buried at Forest Hills Cemetary and Crematory, Jamaica Plain, Suffolk, Massachusetts.

Where is he in the tree?

Selected Sources:

Ancestry.com, Massachusetts, Death Records, 1841-1915 (Online publication – Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.Original data – Massachusetts Vital Records, 1840–1911. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.Massachusetts Vital Records, 1911–1915. New England Historic G), Ancestry.com, http://www.Ancestry.com, Record for Joseph Frost.

Ancestry.com, Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 (Online publication – Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.Original data – Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook).Original data: Town and C), Ancestry.com, http://www.Ancestry.com, Record for Joseph Frost.

Ebenezer Clapp, History of the town of Dorchester, Massachusetts (Dorchester Antiquarian and Historical Society: Boston, 1859), Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/towndorchester00bostrich : accessed 28 Jun 2018)