Joseph Sheffield
Joseph Sheffield | |
|---|---|
| 27th Attorney General of Rhode Island | |
| In office 1704–1706 | |
| Governor | Samuel Cranston |
| Preceded by | Nathaniel Dyre |
| Succeeded by | Simon Smith |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 22 August 1661 Portsmouth, Rhode Island |
| Died | February 1706 Portsmouth, Rhode Island |
| Spouse | Mary Sheriff |
| Children | Joseph, Mary, Elizabeth, Benjamin, Edmund, William, Elizabeth |
| Parent(s) | Ichabod Sheffield and Mary Parker |
| Education | considerable, based on his committee positions and selection as Attorney General |
| Occupation | Deputy, Assistant, Attorney General |
Joseph Sheffield (1661–1706) was an inhabitant of
Life
Born in Portsmouth, Rhode Island on 22 August 1661, Joseph Sheffield was the son of Ichabod Sheffield and Mary Parker.[1] His father had been baptized 23 December 1630 in St. Peter's in Sudbury, Suffolk, England, the son of Edmund and Thomazin Sheffield.[2] After living in Portsmouth, his father moved to Dover, New Hampshire, but returned to Newport, Rhode Island, and was buried in the Clifton Burying Ground there.
Joseph Sheffield is first found in the public record in 1684 when he was made a
In February 1700, Rhode Island's agent in England, Jaleel Brenton, was likely becoming overwhelmed with his responsibilities, and Sheffield was appointed as a second colonial agent. Three months later, however, the General Assembly decided that one agent in England was sufficient, so Sheffield remained in Rhode Island.[1] Again in February 1703, with Brenton no longer in England, Sheffield was appointed as the colony's sole agent to England, and again, two months later, the Assembly saw no need for an agent there, and the appointment was delayed until the May meeting, at which time it was dropped from consideration.[1]
Another irregularity that concerned The Board of Trade in London was the extraordinary militia power of the Rhode Island colony, though this power had been conferred by the colony's
Using his experience of transcribing the laws of the colony, Sheffield and two others were appointed to draw up the methods and proceedings of the Court of Common Pleas in June 1703, and two years later he was on a committee to transcribe and print the laws of the colony.[1] In 1704 he was chosen as the Attorney General for the colony, and held this position for two years, until his untimely death in February 1706.[1] His will, written on 3 February and proved 15 days later, named his wife Mary as executrix, and named his children, who were all minors at the time.[1]
Family
Joseph Sheffield's wife was Mary Sheriff, the daughter of Thomas and Martha Sheriff of Portsmouth.
See also
- List of early settlers of Rhode Island
- Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
- For his ancestry, see Joseph Arnold
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Austin 1887, p. 175.
- ^ Moriarty 1943, p. 114.
- ^ a b Arnold 1859, p. 547.
- ^ Arnold 1859, p. 552.
- ^ Arnold 1859, p. 544.
- ^ a b Bicknell 1920, p. 1049.
- ^ a b Austin 1887, p. 177.
- ^ Waterman 1953, pp. 75–78.
- ^ Arnold 1935, p. 274.
Bibliography
- Arnold, Elisha Stephen (1935). The Arnold Memorial: William Arnold of Providence and Pawtuxet, 1587–1675, and a genealogy of his descendants. Rutland, VT: Tuttle Publishing Company. OCLC 6882845.
- OCLC 712634101.
- ISBN 978-0-8063-0006-1.
- OCLC 1953313.
- Moriarty, G. Andrews (October 1943). "Additions and Corrections to Austin's Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island". The American Genealogist. 20: 114.
- Waterman, K. U. (1953). "A Lost Woman Digged Out of Oblivion". Rhode Island History. 12: 75–81.
External links
- Rhode Island History from the State of Rhode Island General Assembly website. See Chapter 2, Colonial Era.