Background
Joseph Palmer was born on March 31, 1716 in Shaugh Prior, Devon, England. He was the son of John and Joan (Pearse) Palmer. His mother came from Fardle Mill in the Parish of Cornwood, Devon.
Joseph Palmer was born on March 31, 1716 in Shaugh Prior, Devon, England. He was the son of John and Joan (Pearse) Palmer. His mother came from Fardle Mill in the Parish of Cornwood, Devon.
Joseph Palmer was educated in his native county and spent a few years near Liverpool, where it is believed he learned the technique of salt manufacture.
In 1746 Joseph Palmer emigrated to America in company with his brother-in-law, Richard Cranch, later a judge on the Massachusetts bench. They first engaged in business in Boston as card-makers for wool-carding. In 1752 they erected a glass manufactory in Germantown (now a part of Quincy, Massachussets) where there were settled some Germans skilled in the craft. Fragments of glass bottles made at their works have been found, and they are thick, rough, and of a greenish hue. The two also erected chocolate mills and spermaceti and salt factories at Germantown. Palmer was successful in some of his business pursuits and bought large tracts of land at Pomfret, Connecticut. In 1770 he made a trip to England for his health and the next year he returned to Quincy.
On September 6, 1774, a delegation from nineteen towns and districts on the south shore of Massachusetts Bay met at Milton to discuss the impending crisis between the colony and the mother country. Of this delegation "Deacon Joseph Palmer-of Germantown" was chosen moderator. He was present at the battle of Lexington, and though not wounded, was so exhausted that it took him some days to recover. He served in the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts during 1774 - 1775 and was made a member of the Committee of Safety at Cambridge. On February 7, 1776, he was commissioned colonel in the 5th Suffolk County Regiment in the Massachusetts militia for the defense of Boston. Three months later he was chosen brigadier for Suffolk County.
On August 21, 1777, he and John Taylor were granted the sum of one hundred pounds sterling, "to repair to Bennington in the Grants Vermont to obtain the most authentic Intelligence of the Cercumstances of the American Forces".
On September 19, 1777, he was appointed brigadier-general to replace General Timothy Danielson, to command the forces on a "secret expedition" to Rhode Island to attack the enemy at Newport. He proceeded to Tiverton on the 22nd, arriving there in about ten days. He took over the command of two regiments from Plymouth and Bristol counties, but the expedition proved to be a failure and Palmer and Brigadier - General Solomon Lovell were notified to attend a court of inquiry at Providence on November 12, 1777, to give information regarding the failure.
In 1783 Palmer returned to his factories at Germantown, but his health was shattered and he was in financial straits brought about by the depreciation of Continental money. He was greatly indebted to John Hancock for reasons not made clear; and after a disastrous quarrel with Hancock, he was forced to quit Germantown in 1784. He started a salt factory at Boston Neck and moved his family to Dorchester. Although his new factories were fairly successful, they failed to bring the old General health and peace. He died on Christmas day in 1788 at his own home.
Joseph Palmer married Mary Cranch of Brood in the parish of Ermington, Devon. They had three children. One of his grandchildren was Elizabeth Palmer Peabody.
