Joseph BASSETT Jr. (1709 – 1803) was Alex’s 7th Great Grandfather; one of 256 in this generation of the Shaw line.

Joseph Bassett Jr. was born in 15 Jun 1709 in Yarmouth, Barnstable, Mass. His parents were Joseph BASSETT Sr. and Susannah HOWES. He married Mary WHELDON  25 Feb 1737 or 29 Mar 1738 in Yarmouth, Barnstable, Mass.  According to Genealogical Notes of Barnstable Families Joseph died 5 Sep 1833 in Barnstable, Mass at the age of 93. The date is probably a misprint for 1803.

Mary Wheldon was born in 1713 in Yarmouth, Barnstable, Mass. Her parents were Jonathan WHELDON and Mercy TAYLOR. Mary died 15 Jan 1804 in Yarmouth, Barnstable, Mass.

Children of Joseph and Mary:

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Children

1. Joseph Bassett

Joseph’s first wife Thankful Bearse was born in 1736. Her parents were James Bearse (1692 – 1758) and Thankful Linnell (1696 – 1774). Thankful died 22 Dec 1774 in Yarmouth, Barnstable, Mass. Burial: Ancient Cemetery Yarmouth Port

Joseph’s second wife Marcy Hall was born 27 May 1750 in Barnstable, Mass. Marcy died 25 May 1797 in Yarmouth, Barnstable, Mass.

Marcy Bassett Headstone Ancient Cemetery
Yarmouth Port — Find A Grave Memorial# 28562328

Joseph inherited the paternal estate ; married three times. One of his wives was a daughter of Capt. John Bearse, who came over as a revenue officer before the Revolution. He bought the Rev. Mr. Smith’s house, in Yarmouth, where Joseph Basset and Elisha Doane afterwards kept a public house. He had two children who lived to mature age, Susannah, who married the late Elisha Doane, Esq., and Joseph, now [1861] living, unmarried, on the Basset farm.

Children of Joseph and Thankful

i. John Beare Bassett b. 20 Dec 1762 in Yarmouth, Barnstable, Mass.; d. 9 Jun 1780 Burial: Ancient Cemetery Yarmouth Port

ii. Susannah Bassett b. 30 Jun 1764 in Yarmouth, Barnstable, Mass.; d. 2 Jan 1766 Yarmouth,

iii. Sarah Bassett b. 29 Jul 1768 in Yarmouth, Barnstable, Mass.; d. Aug 1768 Yarmouth

iv. Susannah Bassett, b. 14 Aug 1769, d. Deceased

Child of Joseph and Marcy:

v. Joseph Bassett b. 19 Sep 1785 Yarmouth, Barnstable, Mass.; d. 17 Nov 1785 Yarmouth, Barnstable, Mass.

vi. Joseph Bassett, b. 18 Sep 1785, d. 17 Nov 1785

vii. Joseph Bassett b. 23 Aug 1787; d. 8 Feb 1788

viii. Mercy Bassett, d. Deceased

2. Mary Bassett (See Edward STURGIS V‘s page)

3. Jonathan Bassett

Jonathan and Elizabeth moved to Vassalboro, Maine in 1799.

Jonathan’s first wife Elizabeth Hallett was born 21 May 1754. Her parents were Moses Hallett (1729 – 1809) and Phebe Hamblin (1731 – 1769). Elizabeth died 12 Nov 1802 in Kennebec, Maine.

Jonathan removed with his brother Samuel to Hallowell, Maine.

Children of Jonathan and Elizabeth

i. Phebe Bassett b. 13 Jul 1775 in Yarmouth, Barnstable, Mass.; d. 1 Sep 1864; m. 29 Oct 1797 China, Kennebec, Maine to Randall Clark (b. 1 Sep 1772 Nova Scotia, Canada d. 15 Sep 1862 China, Kennebec, Maine; Burial:  Clark Cemetery, Kennebec)  Randall’s parents were  Edmund Clark (1743 – 1822) and   Rachel J. Coffin  (1749 – 1829).  Phebe and Randall had four children born between 1798 and 1817.

ii. Jonathan Bassett b. 20 Sep 1777 Yarmouth, Mass.; 1793 Virginia

Jonathan died while on a Virginia voyage with Captain John Bassett.

Jonathan’s estate was divided between his brothers & sisters

iii. Mary “Polly: Bassett b. 7 Aug 1779 in Yarmouth, Barnstable, Mass.; m. 24 Jul 1799 Vassalboro, Maine to Edmund Thacher

iv. Moses Bassett b. 19 Mar 1782 Yarmouth, Mass; d. 5 May 1867 in China, Kennebec, Maine; m. Abagail Clark ( b. ~ 1783 in Maine – d. 27 Dec 1863 China, Kennebec, Maine) Abigail’s father was Andrew Clark.

Moses went to China, Maine in 1799. The farm Moses and Abigail settled is still known as the Bassett place, It is located on the Pond Road midway between East Vassalboro and South China.

1850 Federal Census of China, Kennebec County, Maine (6 Aug 1850)
Moses Bassett 67 M Massachusetts Farmer
Abigail 66 F Maine
Jonathan 44 M Maine Farmer 1600
George 47 M Maine

In the 1860 census, Moses and Abigail were living in in China, Kennebec, Maine

v. Capt. Joseph Bassett b. 17 Mar 1784 Yarmouth, Mass; d. 4 Oct 1821 Kennebec River, Solon, Maine; Burial: Bingham Village Cemetery, Bingham, Somerset, Maine; m. Phoebe Weeks (b. 24 Dec 1786 in Moscow, Somerset, Maine – d. 4 Sep 1863) After Joseph died, Pheobe married Asa Baker ( d. 28 Apr 1847 )

From Vassalboro, Maine, Joseph Bassett moved to China, Maine, and from there, shortly after his marriage to Pheobe Weeks, they moved to Moscow, Maine, where they lived on a farm overlooking Bingham Village, on the east shore of the Kennebec River.

The spring after she lost her husband (1822), Pheobe Weeks Bassett sheared 3 sheep with her house shears because she was not strong enough to use sheep shears; did up the fleeces; tied the bundle behind her saddle; mounted her horse with the baby, Joseph Bassett, in her arms, and followed the bridle path down the Kennebec to the nearest carding mill to get her wool carded into rolls for spinning. She stayed overnight and returned the next day.

In 1823 she married Asa Baker who was the son of Joseph Baker, said to be the first settler in Moscow, Maine. Joseph Baker was very religious and was in the habit of retiring to a small cave in the mountain near his home for a time with his Bible. Pheobe Weeks had a number of children by her 2nd husband, 1 baby being drowned in the Kennebec River. She and Mr. Baker had driven across the ice one spring day to visit a neighbor. Returning at night they were almost on their own interval when the sleigh broke through. The colt jumped for the bank, Mr. Baker clinging to the reins, but Pheobe, wearing a long quilted cape with a
hood, the baby in her arms, was swept out of the sleigh her hood falling back. Mr. Baker grabbed her hair and the colt dragged the couple to safety, but the baby was jerked from her arms and swept under the ice and away. Asa Baker died 28 Apr 1847, aged 69 years.

After Joseph’s death the children, except for the baby Joseph whom his mother took to the Baker farm, were left on the Bassett farm, their mother and Mr. Baker going there every so often to tell them what to do.

The older children refused to take orders from the stepfather, and on 8 Jul 1823, Charles Baker of Moscow, Maine was appointed their guardian, the two oldest children then being minors over 14, while the rest were minors under 14 according to Moscow town records.

vi. Benjamin Bassett b. 11 Oct 1789 Yarmouth, Mass; d. 4 Oct 1821 in Vassalboro, Kennebec, Maine; m. 1 Jan 1809 Vassalboro, Kennebec, Maine to Thankful Crowell (b. 26 Jan 1766 in Yarmouth, Barnstable, Massachusetts – aft. 1860)

4. Samuel Bassett

Samuel’s first wife Lucretia Crowell was born 11 Apr 1753 in Yarmouth, Mass. Her parents were Jabez Crowell (1721 – 1787) and Thankful Vincent (1722 – 1788). Lucretia died before 1774.

Samuel removed with his brother Jonathan to Hallowell, Maine.

1790 Federal Census of Vassalboro, Lincoln County, Maine
Bassett, Samuel 1-3-5

Children of Samuel and Lucretia:

i. Barnabas Bassett b. 10 Aug 1771 in Yarmouth, Barnstable, Mass.; d. 7 Mar 1854 in Preston City, New London, CT; m. 12 May 1795 Vassalboro, Kennebec, Maine to Drusilla “Peggy” Gaslin (b. 2 May 1777 in Vassalboro)

ii. Abigail Bassett b. 3 Oct 1773 in Vassalboro, Kennebec, Maine

iii. Samuel Bassett b. 27 Jun 1775 in Vassalboro, Kennebec, Maine

iv. Jabez Bassett b. bef. 1790 in Vassalboro, Kennebec, Maine; d. bef. 1859; m. Livonia Nichols (b. 1793 – d.  31 Dec 1859 in Boston, Mass.)   Jabez and Livonia had eight children born between 1831 and 1844.

Jabez Bassett 1812 Service

Livonia divorced Jabez Nov 1854 in Kennebec County Supreme Judicial Court

Sources:

http://trees.ancestry.com/owt/person.aspx?pid=22822835&st=1

Genealogical Notes of Barnstable Families by Amos Otis and revised by C.F.Swift published by The Patriot Press vol. I 1861

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~familyclan/pafg51.htm#1442

http://trees.ancestry.com/owt/person.aspx?pid=22824769

http://www.bassettbranches.org/tng/getperson.php?personID=I00208&tree=1A