Joseph West

Son of Minerva’s First Settlers Ebenezer and Waite Carr West, Revolutionary War Veteran, and Early Minerva Resident
Born in Newport, Rhode Island in 1766, Joseph West’s childhood was shaped by the Revolutionary War and the effects that war had on his community and family.
He was just 8 years old when the war began in 1775 and he watched his father Ebenezer and then his brother William head off to serve.  He witnessed his mother Waite shoulder the burden of raising a family and keeping house in British Occupied, Newport while worrying about her husband and son who were off to war. 
Ebenezer and William did not return home until 1778 when Joseph was about 11 years old.  The joy of having his family all together was most probably overshadowed by the damage done to their home town during the British Occupation.  When the British withdrew from Newport, they burned anything military on their way out, including ships in the harbor.  Families were struggling to survive.  The news that his parents had made the decision to move to Litchfield, Connecticut in 1782 when he was 16 was most likely met with mixed emotions on his part.  He would have been leaving his home and friends but at the same time moving to a more positive environment. 
Joseph made the move with his family to Litchfield but not long after he enlisted and substituted for Noah Bishop and William Graves in the Connecticut line under Captain Theodore Catlin and Captain Judson. He later received a pension for accumulating more than six months of service. 
He returned to Litchfield and his family only to discover that they had decided to relocate to Vershire, Vermont.  Joseph was 18 at this point and opted to stay in Litchfield where he married his first wife Ruth Munson. They were both 18 years of age.  Joseph and Ruth made their home in Litchfield until 1795 when they moved to Hartford, NY.  While in Litchfield, Ruth gave birth to five children, Ithamar, Huldah, John, Lydia, and Joseph Jr.  After the move to Hartford, three more children arrived, Calvin, Spencer and Lyman.  Sadly, Ruth passed away ten years after the move to Hartford at forty years of age, leaving Joseph with five children under the age of 15.  Lyman, the youngest was less than a year old.
Joseph remarried within a year after Ruth died.  His new wife Sally Felch gave him another three children, Chester, Sidney and Samuel.  Sally was from Granville where Joseph’s granddaughter Joann Jaquish recalled that he had a cheese factory. 
While Joseph was busy building his life, Ebenezer and Waite had decided to leave Vershire for the Adirondack Mountains.  In 1800 they and three of their sons made the move to what would later become Minerva, NY.  Ebenezer is credited with being the first settler in the area. 
Joseph made the move to Minerva in 1825 at the age of 59, very close to the age his father Ebenezer was when he came to Minerva.   He bought property on what is now Ridge Road and built a log cabin there for his family.  Joseph, like his father before him seems to have led a very quiet life in Minerva.  There is not much information to be found about him in the archives.  We know that he and his family joined the Baptist Church and that his son Ithamar moved to Minerva before his father and his son Chester was in the War of 1812.  Ithamar came to Minerva in 1808 before Joseph and lived in a log cabin behind what is now known as Minerva Hill Lodge and served as town supervisor in 1820, 1821 and 1840.
Joseph passed away in 1847 at the age of 81, Sally followed him in 1861 at the age of 83.  Both are buried in the Minerva Baptist Cemetery. 

​Joseph West at a Glance

  • 1766 - Born in Newport, Rhode Island
  • 1782 - Moved with his family to Litchfield, Connecticut
  • c. 1782 - Enlisted in the Revolutionary War; served as a substitute
  • c. 1784 - Married Ruth Munson
  • 1795 - Moved to Hartford, New York
  • 1805 - Ruth died at age 40
  • c. 1805–1806 - Married Sally Felch
  • 1808 - Son Ithamar moved to Minerva
  • 1825 - Moved to Minerva at age 59
  • 1825 - Purchased land on Ridge Road and built a log cabin
  • 1847 - Died at age 81
  • 1861 - Sally died at age 83
Sources for the Joseph West and Joseph West Property Projects
Books and Family Histories
  • Jones, Mabel Merryfield. Some Other Joneses: Descendants of Increase Jones, 1752–1825, of Minerva, N.Y. (Elijah J., Cornelius J.). Compiled and written by Mabel Merryfield Jones; contents arranged and manuscript typed by Dorothy Jones Mary. Minerva, NY, May 1967.
    Joseph West: pp. 207, 227–229. Samuel F. West: p. 229.
  • Minerva Historical Society. Minerva 1817–1967: A History of a Town in Essex Co., NY. Fourth Printing. Glens Falls, NY: Conaco Laser Graphics, Inc. pp. 4–5, 7, 28.
Minerva Historical Society Quarterly
  • Minerva Historical Society. “Epidemics: Diphtheria.” Minerva Historical Society Quarterly, Vol. II, No. 4, January 1973, p. 4.
  • Minerva Historical Society. “Joseph West.” Minerva Historical Society Quarterly, Vol. VI, No. 2, July 1976, p. 6.
  • Minerva Historical Society. “Gladys E. Miesten, 1922–2002.” Minerva Historical Society Quarterly, Vol. XXXIII, No. 2, July 2002, p. 12.
  • Minerva Historical Society. “Samuel West – Rodney West – The Middletons.” Minerva Historical Society Quarterly, Vol. XLIX, No. 5, October 2017, p. 5.
Historic Resources
Genealogical Research
  • Stone, Sharon. “West Family Tree.” Ancestry.com. Personal family tree and genealogical research used to trace the West, Morse, Middleton, Miesten and related family lines. West Family Tree on Ancestry.com
Property and Contemporary Research
  • Town of Minerva property and tax records. Ridge Road property records, including Gwen E. Davidson's ownership/taxpayer information through 2026.
  • Stone, Sharon. Interview and site visit with John Felcher, 182 Ridge Road, Minerva, NY, August 15, 2026. Information concerning the property's recent sale and renovation; surviving architectural features; pre-1878 dwelling; possible cave/cellar location; artifacts and photographs discovered in the house; and provenance of the Adirondack pack basket donated to the Minerva Historical Society Museum.