General Joseph Dwight (17031765) was a military and civil leader and judge in the British American

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in New England which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of Eng ...

Life

Joseph Dwight was born in

Hatfield, Massachusetts Hatfield is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,352 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The census-designated place of Hatfield consists o ...

on October 16, 1703. He graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

in 1722Life and times of Judge Joseph Dwight and his children
/ref> and was admitted to the bar in Worcester in 1733. He was the first member of the Worcester Country Bar.book about History of the Judiciary of Massachusetts
/ref> He was eleven times a member of the Massachusetts Colonial Council between 1731 and 1751, and its speaker from 1748 to 1749. During this time, he had become a colonel of the militia. He became the brigadier general on 20 February 1745, and was second in command at the attack on Louisburg in that year, where he led, in person, the "Ancient and honorable company of artillery of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

," General William Pepperrell commended Joseph Dwight for his courage and skill. In 1756, he commanded a brigade of

Massachusetts militia This is a list of militia units of the Colony and later Commonwealth of Massachusetts. * Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts (1638) * Cogswell's Regiment of Militia (April 19, 1775) * Woodbridge's Regiment of Militia (April ...

, at

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, in the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

. In 1752, he moved to

Stockbridge, Massachusetts Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,018 at the 2020 census. A year-round resort area, Stockbridg ...

, to act as Trustee of "the Indian Schools," a position he held when

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was also at work there as a missionary (1751-8) to that settlement of whites and Christianized Ingenious. Joseph Dwight remained on the bench as Chief Justice of the Berkshire County Court of Common Pleas until his death. He married Mary Pynchon and they had nine children. Their daughter Dorothy Dwight married Jedediah Foster (1726–1779). Joseph Dwight built a house at Great Barrington which still stands, and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. He was one of the leading men when it came to the management of town business, and in giving direction to inhabitants. He died on June 9, 1765. By the time of his death, he was patriarch of a large branch of the New England Dwight family.

References

External links

Foster Family Autograph Collection
*List of children and details Joseph Dwight: {{DEFAULTSORT:Dwight, Joseph 1703 births 1765 deaths People from Hatfield, Massachusetts People of Massachusetts in the French and Indian War Military personnel from colonial Massachusetts Harvard College alumni People from Stockbridge, Massachusetts Speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (colonial period)