Tags
"brick walls", ancestors, Baltimore, Battle of Northpoint, Cole's Harbor, Delaware, descendants, Eastern Shore, Fells Point, great-grandfather, immigrant, Inner Harbor, Leonard Joynes, Methodist Episcopal Church, Old Defenders, sailmaker, Sarah Barkes, War of 1812
Once upon a time, in a galaxy, far, far away…oops, wrong story! Well, this story is just as interesting, in my opinion. As a matter of fact, long ago, in the early 1600’s, my ancestors helped to settle the Maryland colony. One of my great-great-great plus grandfathers owned a plantation called Cole’s Harbor. Now, sit down and take a deep breath, because what I want to tell you is that Cole’s Harbor is still around today. Only now it’s called Inner Harbor!
Well, I’m not going back to the 1600’s in this post! Since this is Maritime Monday, I’ll tell you how our family was involved in Baltimore’s seaport. 
Leonard Joynes is the first of the Joynes family that I’ve found. (I haven’t been able to find his parents yet. He’s one of my “brick walls!”) He was born about 1777, maybe on Eastern Shore of Maryland or possibly Delaware. He came to Baltimore prior to his marriage to Sarah Barkes/Burkes there in 1802, and the records show he lived in the Fells Point section. If you have ever been to Fells Point, you will understand that it was the perfect place for Leonard and his family to live because Leonard was a sailmaker. Maryland led the nation in shipbuilding at the time. You can just imagine the hustle and bustle of Baltimore back then…tall clipper ships carrying cargo and foreign passengers, the markets, the Arabbers (hucksters) each with his own unique holler, the clip-clop of the horses hooves on the cobblestone streets.
Leonard and Sarah were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and had at least 3 sons – John, Daniel and Joseph. Joseph died young in 1829. From the New York, NY Spectator – On board the brig United States, on her passage from New Orleans to Norfolk, on the 20th July, Mr. JOSEPH JOYNES. Mr. J. informed Capt. Bell that his father was sail-maker, and resided in Baltimore.
Son, John, born about 1803, was a sailmaker, also. He married Elizabeth Weaver, a German immigrant, and had 4 known children – Sarah, Joseph, Matilda “Tillie” and Jane “Jennie.” I’ll post more on the descendants of Leonard in a later post.
Son, Daniel, my 4th great-grandfather, was also a sailmaker.
Leonard joined the Maryland militia and fought against the British in the Battle of Northpoint in 1814, during the War of 1812. He was a private in the 6th Regiment. The battle was fought in September during two days of damp, rainy weather. Leonard eventually spent many years petitioning the government to issue him a military pension due to “a weak and debilitated state of health ever since the exposure.” To my knowledge, poor Leonard never received any money from the government.
Nothing more is known about Leonard’s wife, Sarah. She died before 1824 and Leonard married Mrs. Ann Maria Holland in that year. From this union, at least one child, a daughter, Julia, was born.
Leonard, one of the “Old Defenders” of Baltimore died on April 24, 1843. An issue was put in the Baltimore Sun, requesting the attendance of “all those who participated in the Defense of Baltimore in 1814, are respectfully requested to unite with the Association in paying the last sad tribute of respect to a worthy citizen.”
You can view Leonard’s family group sheet below, along with many notes, including the transcription of his requests to the House of Representatives concerning his pension.
A Few Nuts From The Tree 
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