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Joseph's signature as witness to a guardianship bond.

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Joseph grew up in Scituate, Province of Massachusetts Bay, on the family homestead on and around Mann Hill. This area is close to the Atlantic Ocean and bordered on the north by Musquashcut Pond. It was on that pond that Joseph's grandfather Richard broke through the ice and drowned in the Winter of 1656.
     Joseph married Mary Joy in Hingham on 24 March 1720. Surely in anticipation of starting his own family, his father gave him half an interest in the family house and homestead in Scituate a month earlier on 24 February 1719/20, 14:239 reserving the other half for himself. He also gave him half his salt and fresh meadow. On 12 June 1723, his father sold him all his real estate in the Cohasset area of Scituate, whatever shares he had remaining in the Town Cedar Swamp, and all his personal estate excepting what was in the house. 17:45 This would have primarily been his farming items. His father wrote his will on 13 February 1723/4. He had already given all his real estate to his sons except, presumably, his half of the homestead, and this likely went to Joseph as a part of the "remainder of his estate," out of which he was to pay the cash legacies given to his siblings as executor of the estate.
     Although he doesn't say so in the deed to Joseph in 1720, his father may have had a verbal agreement that Joseph would stay in the family house until Thomas died, Joseph's mother Sarah evidently already having died. She isn't mention in the will. Thomas's will and inventory were brought to court on 12 July 1732. Two weeks earlier, Joseph sold the cedar swamp and swamp meadow in Cohasset that was his father's and deeded to him in 1719/20. On the same day he sold to Jeremiah Peirce his house and homestead and upland and meadow at Cohasset that was also part of what his father sold him in 1719/20. There isn't a deed by which Joseph got other land that could have had a house and homestead, so what he sold to Peirce was surely his parents' house. Also on that day, Joseph sold the moiety he had in a piece of land given to him by his father (the other half to brother Ensign). 33:208 On 20 May 1726, Joseph sold his and his father's right to land divisions in Scituate. 33:207 26 July 1733 Joseph and Mary had five children and lived in Scituate until about 1732, when he sold the property. During this time he was a "yoeman," or farm owner.
The next time Joseph appears in records is as a laborer in Boston. Why he was there isn't apparent, and we only know this from a deed in which he bought land in Braintree, Massachusetts Bay. *Gideon Thayer of Braintree to Joseph Man of Boston, laborer, So. Precinct of Braintree, 80 acres, so. on River and Mill Pond, west on 18th lot, no. on Blue Hill river and Christopher Dyer, E on Dyer by a straight line from BH River to stake and stones, also 4 acres of meadow he bought from John Allen. 17 March 1736/37. 62:66 *Joseph Man of Braintree, yoeman, and Mary, to Samuel Miller of Milton, no acreage, east on CD 28 rods from the river, south on Joseph Man, west by David Holbrook north by Miller. 13 May 1740 61:172 Acknowledged 28 May 1741 This may have been the north part of the parcel he bought in 1737? Maybe the 5 acres in his inventory identified as being bought from JM *Joseph Man of Hanover, yeoman, to Benjamin Man of Hanover, yoeman, So. Parish, Braintree, 30 acres south on the river and Mill Pond, w on 18th lot, e on CD, north on JM, with buildings, etc. 27 June 1742 63:219 acknowledged 16 July 1742 This may be the southern part of the lot bought in 1737. This would account for 30 acres + of the 1737 land, but the next deed is also part of this property. It sounds like the lot sold to Samuel Miller in 1740 *Joseph Man, Ephraim Hunt, Jr. and Delight, Moses Littlefield and Mary of Braintree, children of Joseph Man late of Braintree to Ephraim and Seth Man, their brothers, their right to their father's real estate that was given to them in shares, so 4 of 6 shares of their father's homestead, abt. 60 acres, east by Christopher Dyer, west on David Holbrook, north on Col. Samuel Miller, south on Seth Man, also rights in swamp in Braintree (Pine Swamp) abt 4 acres. 26 March 1753 119:71 *Ephraim Man of Castle William, laborer, in service, to Seth Man of Braintree, yoeman, his rights in father's real estate, his homeplace and 4 acres of swamp 18 Aug 1767 173:65 74:200 1747 Suffolk deed, Joseph Man, Boston, baker

children of Joseph Man and Mary Joy:

Joseph, b. 10 October 1722
Seth, b. 1724 m. Elizabeth Dyer, Braintree church record, 18 Oct 1750
Ephraim, b. 1728 m. Sarah Glover
Mary, b. 1730 m. Moses Littlefield, same, 7 Aug 1751
Delight, b. 1732 m. Ephraim Hunt, Jr., same, 11 Oct 1750

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