"There is no original record giving the birth of Joseph Beecher of the second generation, and I believe the date of 1647 which appears in some publications to be much too early. He may have been born as late as 1660 or later. Dr. Lyman Beecher in his "Autobiography” gave some information about his ancestry. He was great-grandson of this Joseph Beecher. Some of the later writers on this noted branch of the Beecher family assume that there were two Josephs, father and son. Then, in order to make each generation of proper length, it was necessary to assign to the first Joseph the early birth date of 1647. A study of the contemporary public records shows there was but one Joseph, hence it is not necessary to suppose that he was born as early as 1647. His eldest child was not born until 1695, and it is therefore more reasonable to suppose that he was Isaac’s youngest son. Joseph’s will, dated 18 June 1728, proved 4 Nov 1728, named his wife Lydia and children Joseph, Alice, Mary, Anna, Hezekiah, and Nathaniel. (New Haven Probate Records, Vol. 5, p. 468) With regards to the surname of Joseph’s wife, no positive record proof has been found that she was a Roberts, but there are several considerations of genealogical weight to indicate that she was. Dr. Beecher’s "Autobiography” states that his father’s maternal grandmother was a Roberts. The records prove absolutely that this was not the case, for the maternal grandmother of David Beecher was Abigail Dickerman, wife of Ebenezer Sperry. The paternal grandmother, however, was Joseph Beecher’s wife Lydia. It is probable that Dr. Beecher made a slight error and that Lydia was the Roberts. The will of William Roberts of Milford shows that he had a daughter Lydia, there was also a daughter Alice Roberts, and Lydia Beecher named her first child Alice, which would be after her sister. There is also further circumstantial evidence for identifying Joseph’s wife as a Roberts. The other genealogies of the family gave the line, Isaac (1) Joseph (2) 1647, Joseph (3) 1670, Joseph (4) 1698; but a most careful study of the probate and land records is convincing that there was only one Joseph between Isaac (1) and Joseph (b. 1698) Joseph (2) appears in several deeds, mentioning his father Isaac, brother John, etc., and there is not a single instance of the terms "Sr.” and "Jr.” This wife Lydia signs one or two deeds with him. The dates 1647 and 1670 were "guess” dates and are not found in the original records.” ®3300 They lived in New Haven, Connecticut and their first child was born in 1695. ®1441