1. JOSEPH ALLEN was born 14 November 1759 in Westport, MA to Daniel Allen (born 13 Oct. 1729 – d 1 June 1822 at 93 years in Wesport) and his wife, Elizabeth (Betty) Seabury (born 2 Feb. 1730 – d 31 Jan. 1815 at 85 years in Wesport.) Joseph, who served in the Revolutionary War, is listed in the DAR Patriot Index. Joseph married on 27 June 1784 PRUDENCE EARLE who was born 14 Jan. 1767 and died 27 Dec. 1843 in Jefferson County, NY. She was the daughter of Caleb and Elizabeth (Brightman) Earle. After the birth of their first four children, Joseph and Prudence moved eventually to Jefferson County and settled as the first residents of Bear Creek [now Pierrepont Manor in the Town of Ellisburg - NED] in 1805. Joseph died on 23 September 1838 and he and Prudence share a headstone in the Pierrepont Manor Cemetery in Jefferson County, NY.
In the History of Jefferson Co., by Oakes, additional information about Joseph Allen is provided. "Joseph Allen, son of Daniel and Elizabeth Seabury Allen, was born at Westport MA on 14 Nov. 1758. He was a descendant of George Allen, who was born in England about 1568 and came to MA from Weymouth, England in 1635, and from Lynn settled in Sandwich in 1636, where he lived until his death in 1648. He was a prominent official of Plymouth Colony, and a member of the Friends' Society. The line of descent is as follows: Ralph, son of George, married Esther Swift, died in 1698; Joseph born 1642; Joseph born 1667; Joseph born 1704; married Ruth Smith; Daniel, born 1729, married Elizabeth Seabury, 1751, died 1822. The names of the children born to Daniel and wife Elizabeth are: Humphrey; Gideon; Joseph; John; Mary (Mrs. Cornwell); Pardon, Weston, Rhoda (Mrs. Macomber), Ruth (Mrs. Shearman).
"Joseph Allen was apprenticed to a blacksmith for four years, and when a young man worked at vessel blacksmithing at Providence, RI. He was a minute-man two years and nine months during the Revolutionary War, was attached to a piece of artillery, and was called out on active duty several times.
...PRUDENCE EARLE...was an only daughter of Caleb and Elizabeth Brightman Earl, and a descendant of Ralph Earle, who came from England about 1634 and settled in Rhode Island...after marriage Joseph Allen lived in Dartmouth MA until 1793 when he removed to Galway, Saratoga Co., NY. He owned a farm there and also worked at his trade. Ten years later the tide of emigration was to the Black River county, and Mr. Allen went to the town of Ellisburg in the fall of 1804, purchasing three hundred and twenty acres of land at Bear Creek, and built the first house there on the site where the Allen blacksmith shop stood....
"The place was a wilderness and two miles from any habitation. At this time, Joel Brown, to whom the oldest daughter of Mr. Allen was married was living two miles north of Bear Creek, on what became the Adams Road. Mr. Allen moved to Bear Creek in March, 1805 in company with Arnold Earl and Pardon Earl. They came by the way of Redfield and Adams, and blazed trees served as a guide part of the distance. The first season, as late as July, Mr. Allen sowed oats, which ripened. Soon after he settled he built a frame addition to his house and opened an inn. He also built a small shop in which to work at his trade;...afterward he built a shop on Lorraine Street and carried on business there a number of years, when he was succeeded by his son, Elihu.
"A few years after he settled he gave to the public a lot for burying ground and also laid out the public square or "green", which was part of his original purchase. About 1818 he built the hotel and kept public house there until 1823, when he was succeeded by Joel Brown, and moved to the corner house bought of Oliver N. Snow, where he lived until his death in 1838...Joseph was...in religious faith a Restorationist, and somewhat in accord with the Society of Friends...
"A post office was established at Bear Creek about 1840 with the name of Pierrepont Manor, and since then the place has been known by that name."
Children of Joseph Allen and Prudence Earle:
4. BETSEY ALLEN was born 22 Dec. 1788 at Westport, MA; married 1809 HENRY KING who died in 1871 at 82 years. Henry came to Jefferson County from Southold, MA in 1806. Betsey died in 1871 at 82 years. They are buried in the Pierrepont Cemetery.
Children of Betsey Allen and Henry King:
9. RUTH ALLEN born 1 Jan. 1802 in Galway, NY; married on 16 August 1826 at the 1st Presbyterian Church in Adams to SOLOMON J. STEBBINS, who was born 25 Feb. 1800 in Massachusetts, and died 16 Jan. 1844. He was the son of Bethuel Stebbins and his third wife, Patience Hitchcock. Ruth died 4 Oct. 1838. Both are buried in the Pierrepont Cemetery. Solomon J. Stebbins married 2)Prudence King on 16 Jan. 1840.
Children of Solomon J. Stebbins and Ruth Allen:
Children of Solomon J. Stebbins and Prudence King:
Sources: Rev. War. Records, DAR Patriot Index, cemetery records NY, VIR MA, RI, NY; Stebbins Family Genealogy; Earle Family Genealogy; census records, church records, Oakes Hist. Of Jefferson Co.
Researched by: M Sapienza 6/2011
Copyright 2016 Jefferson County NYGenWeb — a member of the NYGenWeb Project
If you have any questions or comments about this page, please contact,
County Co-Coordinator Nancy Dixon or
Co-Coordinator Bruce Coyne.