Josiah Taft - Marriage and Adulthood

Marriage and Adulthood

Josiah Taft married Lydia Chapin of Mendon., on December 28, 1731, (as recorded in Mendon vital records of Taft marriages), and she became known as Lydia Chapin Taft. They were married at the Congregational Church in Mendon. Lydia and Josiah then settled in Uxbridge. It is possible that when they settled in Uxbridge that they then joined the only Uxbridge church, a Congregational church, gathered in 1727, and mentioned first in a list of new Congregational parishes in the Great Awakening of 1731. Josiah was a prominent landowner. The famous Taft family in America had ts origins in Uxbridge and Mendon, starting with Josiah's grandfather, an English immigrant, Robert Taft, Sr who settled here in 1680. Josiah and Lydia went on to have a family of 8 children between 1732 and 1753. Josiah was a farmer, and soldier, and Lydia was a colonial mother and homemaker. Josiah became a prominent citizen in early Uxbridge. He was a farmer, local official, and Massachusetts legislator. Josiah went on to serve a number of terms as a member of the Board of Selectmen, as town clerk, and as town moderator. Josiah served in the Massachusetts General Court. HR, 1753. Lydia and Josiah were among the wealthiest families in Uxbridge.