Joseph Hills Sr. (1602-1688) and Rose Cleerke (abt 1603-1651)

{immigrant ancestors on the Hills line.}

Written by Carol Walters

Joseph Hills Sr. and his wife, Rose Cleerke, are Julia's immigrant ancestors on the Hills line.

Most of the information in the following history comes from Hills Family in America by William Sanford Hills The dates shown in this source may not take into account the shift from the Julian Calendar to the Gregoria Calendar, and may not, therefore, be accurate.

When I lived in Cambridge, Massachussetts, for a year, I made a friend named Charlie Sullivan who had grown up in that area. When I mentioned that I was trying to do research about my ancestor, Joseph Hills, he got quite excited and asked, "The Joseph Hills? The founder of Malden?" I didn’t know, but Charlie told me that he had grown up in Malden, and that all the children there learn about Joseph Hills in school. He took us to Malden and showed us the monument that had been erected in honor of Joseph Hills in front of the Baptist Church.

C:\Users\carol\Pictures\From Carol's HTC Trophy\Camera roll\WP_000121.jpg Picture 25

The History of Malden Massachusetts, 1633-1735 has a whole chapter about Joseph Hills, Sr. and his son-in-law, John Wayte. This chapter starts out: "Of the early settlers of Maiden, two men, above all others, filled prominent positions in the local affairs of the town and took no mean part in the civil and religious concerns of the Colony."1

Joseph Hills Sr. is considered to be one of the founders of Malden, Massachusetts, and is credited with choosing its name.

Joseph was the son of George and Mary Hilles who were married 13 October 1596 in Billericay, Essex, England.2 Joseph was christened in Great Burstead, Billericay, Essex, England, 3 March 1601/22. He was still living in Great Burstead at age 22, when he married Rose Clarke on 22 July 1624.2 Their first four children were christened there: Mary (1625/26),2, 3, 4 Elizabeth (1627),2 Julia's ancestor Joseph Jr. (1629),2 and James (1632) who probably died young. 2 By 1632, their family had moved to Maldon, Essex, England, and they had four more children christened there, John (1632), Rebecca (1634), Steven (1636), and Sarah (1637). The last two children died as babies. Joseph was well educated apparently had legal training. "A woolen draper, he held a share in the Massachusetts Bay Company."5

In 1638, at about age 35, Joseph and Rose immigrated to New England with their five surviving children. Hills Family in America, says that Joseph Hills was the "undertaker" [sponser and organizer] of the voyage of the ship "Susan and Ellen," which landed her passengers and cargo at Boston, in New England, on July 17 of that year. They were soon residents of that part of the town north of the Mystic river, establishing their home at "Mystic Side" on a farm of considerable size."2 The town records say, "(July 30, 1638) "Mr. Joseph Hills was admitted a Townsman, & granted 25 Acres of Land on mistickside by Mr. Coitmores Lott, and 50 more after the great Lotts are finished." In New England, two more children, Gershom (1639) and Mehitable (1640), were born to the Hills. Mehitable died when she was 13.

"Joseph soon became active in public affairs, was selectman [member of the city council] of the town in 1644, and in 1646 represented Charlestown in the General Court as the colonial assembly was named. Re-elected in 1647, he was chosen speaker of the House of Deputies. When "Mystic Side" was set off as a separate town about 1649, it was doubtless named "Malden" by Joseph Hills for the place where he last dwelt in Old England.2

"While a resident of Mystic Side and Malden Joseph was captain of its training band [the militia which protected the town]. He was Malden's first deputy [representative to the legislature of the Massachusetts Bay Colony], and the town had no other representative until after 1664.2 His greatest public service was that of the leading member of the committee that in 1648 reported to the General Court the codification of the laws of the Colony. Joseph Hills was the actual compiler of the laws. He prepared the copy for the press and supervised the printing. The colony recognized the great value of his work not only by a money payment but by a grant of five hundred acres of land on the Nashua river, now a part of Southern New Hampshire, and the remission of his taxes in his old age. He continued to update the Code as new laws were enacted and old ones changed. This code of laws. became the foundation for all the laws of New England, and later, of the United States.

"Rose (Cleerke or Clarke) Hills, the first wife of Joseph Hills, died at Malden, March 24, 1650,6 and he married, June 24, 1651, Hannah (Smith)6 widow of Edward Mellows, of Charlestown. Hannah had 6 children by her previous marriage, and Joseph used his legal expertise to help her secure their inheritance. Joseph and Hannah had three more children, Samuel (1652), Nathaniel (1653) and Hannah (about 1655). 

Hannah, died about 1655 and in January 1656, Joseph Hills married Helen Atkinson. "In connection with this [3rd] marriage to Helen Atkinson, a noteworthy incident occurred. In the early days of the Colony all marriages were solomnized by magistrates, the clergy having no part in the ceremony. In 1641 Governor Bellingham, as magistrate, married himself to Penelope Pelham, and when called to come down from the bench and plead to a complaint against him for the act, refused to do so. Joseph Hills was a magistrate "for the trial of small causes," and followed the Governor's example in his marriage of January 1656, but unlike the Governor, did not escape public censure. The records of the Court of Middlesex County show that, April il 1, 1656, "Mr. Joseph Hills of Maldon being presented by the Grand Jury for marrying of himself, contrary to the law of this Collony page 38 in ye old Booke. He freely acknowledged his offence therein, and his misvnderstanding the grounds whereon he went which he now confessed to be vnwarrantable, and was admonished by the Court."7

Joseph and Helen had two daughters, Deborah and Abigail. Helen died on 6 January 1662,2 and both Deborah and Abigail died in October of that same year.6

Helen was the sister of Elizabeth Atkinson Dunster, the second wife of Henry Dunster, the first president of Harvard University. In his will, Dunster mentioned his "sister, the wife of Joseph Hills of Malden" meaning Helen, his siter-in-law. An early family historian noted this and thought he was referring to Joseph’s first wife, Rose, whose maiden name was not known at that time. Therefore, many family histories show her as "Rose Dunster." The marriage record of Joseph and Rose Cleerke was later found, establishing her correct name, but the error persists.1

On 8 October 1665, Joseph married, at Newbury, Anne the widow of Henry Lunt of that town, who had died in 1662.8 He moved from Malden, which sent no Deputy to the Court the following year, to her home in Newbury. In his will, he speaks of his "solitary sojourning under her roof."5 Newbury elected him their Deputy to the General Court in 1667 and 1669.

Over the years, Joseph had experienced the deaths of three wives and eight of his children. But 1774 was an especially hard year in the Hills Family as seven of Joseph Sr’s children and grandchildren died. It must have been a heatbreaking time for him.

"His petition to the General Court, dated May 24, 1682, recites that "in the latter part of his pilgrimage" he was "totally" bereaved of "the sight of his eyes for more than 4 years now past." He died February 5, 1688. [86 years old]"2 and was buried in Newbury.

Sources:

  1. The History of Malden Massachusetts, 1633-1735, published in 1899 by Deloraine Pendre Corey

  2. Hills Family in America by William Sanford Hills p 255

    The dates shown in this source may not take into account the shift from the Julian Calendar to the Gregoria Calendar, and may not, therefore, be accurate.

  3. England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975." Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 3 March 2017. Index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City.

  4. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/105954250/marie-wayte says Marie "Mary" HILLS was baptized 13d 11m 1625 in Great Burstead, Billerica, Essex, England. If this is an accurate quote of the parish records, this would probably be 13 January 1625/26.

  5. The Ancestry of Abel Lunt 1769-1806, of Newbury Massachusetts pp. 7-8

  6. Vital Records of Malden, Massachusetts

  7. Homes and Places and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Middlesex County, Massachusetts edited by William Richard Cutter

  8. Newbury Massachusetts Vital Records.