Phineas & Jerusha Dean Early Colonists & Patriots

Phineas Ellis Dean (1762-1834)

Jerusha White Dean (1758-1832)

Phineas Ellis Dean was born on August 18, 1762. He was the son of Nathanial Dean (1721-1794) and Abigail Ellis Dean (1737-1824). Nathaniel Dean had served in the Revolutionary War.

On November 29, 1785, Phineas Dean married Jerusha White. Jerusha was born on January 30, 1758.

The couple, who worked a farm in South Dedham, had two children: Betsey (1787-1870) and Abigail (1789-1889).

Approximate site of Phineas & Jerusha's Family Farm

Site of the same Dean Family Farm 2023

Jerusha White Dean died on February 2, 1832. Her death was attributed to a “spasmodic affection,” a malady characterized by seizures.

Two years later, Phineas Dean died on April 10, 1834 of erysipelas, a bacterial infection that often began with a skin lesion. He was 72.

Their slate gravestones stand side-by-side in lot 39. It is likely that they were originally interred on the hill of the burial ground which was damaged in the weather event of the 1850s. The salvaged stones were then reset in this lot which belonged to their grandson, Caleb Ellis.