Joseph Hildreth

Biography

Joseph Hildreth's public work brought him into the difficult business of keeping Chelmsford, northwest of Boston in Massachusetts, functioning during the wars of the late seventeenth century. Born there on April 16, 1658, he married Abigail Wilson at Woburn, north of Boston, in February 1683/84. Their children were born over the next two decades, including Ephraim in 1700.

In October 1697 Joseph appeared as constable on a petition asking the Massachusetts government for relief. The petition described the burden of wartime taxation, the expense of repairing fortifications, dangerous conditions for farming, poor harvests, and hay lost to fire. It reported that at least ten families had left the town. Joseph's name places him within this specific effort to represent Chelmsford's difficulties to the provincial authorities.

The town's officer list subsequently records him as its representative in 1700. This was a further public responsibility, separate from his earlier constable's office. Joseph died on January 28, 1705/06, leaving Abigail and children who were still young. His career is therefore more than a pair of family dates: it includes an identifiable role in the town's appeal for help and service in its provincial government.