Joy, Thomas
colonist, was born in 1610 in Norfolk county, England. He came to America in 1635 and settled in Boston, where he owned much land on which historic edifices have been built, such as the mansions of Governor Hutchinson and Sir Charles Henry Frankland, the home of Paul Revere and Faneuil Hall. He purchased large tracts from Indians in Maine and the interior of Massachusetts, and possessed many acres in Hingham and Lynn. He was an architect and builder, and constructed residences, wharves, bridges and warehouses in Boston, Charlestown and Brookline.
He was a signer of the remonstrance and petition of 1646, which was a prayer for the extension of the right of suffrage among the colonists of Massachusetts bay. In 1657 he was entrusted with the construction of the town house of Boston, the most important public work up to that time undertaken in New England. He became a freeman in 1665; was held for trial in 1676 for reproaching the authorities of the country during King Philip's war; and in 1658 was a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery company. He died Oct. 21, 1678.