The Legacy of Josiah and Mary Polly Richards Talbot: A Family's Journey Through 19th Century New England

Josiah Talbot II (1785-1873)

Mary Polly Richards Talbot (1789-1878)

Josiah Talbot II was born on February 24, 1785. He was the son of Josiah Talbot I and Susanna Morse. On March 7, 1811, Talbot married Mary Polly Richards. Polly, as she was often called, was born in Maine in 1789 to Jeremiah and Hannah Richards.

Josiah and Polly had eleven children: George, Josiah Warren, Ebenezer Fisher, Nathaniel, Mary Ann, Susan, Nathaniel II, Nancy, Harriet, Israel, and Sarah.

Nathaniel, called Nat, was born on December 31, 1815 and died a few months later on May 2, 1816. The second Nathaniel was born on April 30, 1823. He passed away on July 3, 1838 at the age of 15.

Josiah Talbot II and his wife Polly were farmers in South Dedham. Several of the children were successful: Josiah Warren Talbot became a minister, Ebenezer became a well-known manufacturer in South Dedham, Nancy became a physician, as did Israel.

Josiah Talbot II died on July 26, 1873 of old age. Five years later, his widow, Mary Polly Richards Talbot passed away in Walpole. She was 89.

Josiah and Mary, along with their two sons, Nat and Nathaniel, are interred in Old Parish Cemetery lot 67 along with their son Ebenezer Fisher Talbot and his family.

In 2024, Old Parish Preservation Volunteers replaced an ornamental decoration to the top of the gravestone.

Finial replacement 2024 by OPPV

Talbot monument before finial replacement.