Joseph Wilson Dinsmoor was born on Monday, September 9, 1833 to parents John and Clarissa Wilson. Tragically, one-year-old Joseph was left fatherless following the death of John on November 2, 1834. On that Sunday morning, Captain John Dinsmoor, along with Reverend Jacob Abbot, and the Reverend's son, Ebenezer, had crossed Cobbett's Pond in a rowboat in order to attend church at the town center. Later on that afternoon, when they were making their return trip following the Sunday service, the old, leaky boat began to fill with water and sank. While Ebenezer, an able swimmer, was able to reach the shore, John Dinsmoor and Jacob Abbot both drowned. Joseph Dinsmoor grew up on the family farm, and later married Cordelia Bean. The couple had five children: Clara-Belle, Katie-Ardelle, John-Walter, Joseph-Wilson Jr., and John Lynford.
Joseph and Cordelia raised their children on the Dinsmoor farm on the Range, which Joseph built into a thriving fruit farm. Leonard A. Morrison recorded that in the 1850s, "his farm had little or no grafted fruit, nor a cultivated grape-vine." However, by the early 1880s, "thirteen acres [were] covered by orchards, including a grapery and small fruits. A portion of [which] yield[ed] double crops, such as strawberry, raspberry, currant, and blackberry, among his orchards and grapery. The grapery cover[ed] two acres, and produced eight tons of choice varieties in 1880. An apple orchard of four and a half acres produced five hundred barrels of apples the same year. Two acres are covered with peach trees, and the same area with pears." Morrison also noted that Dinsmoor devoted "his entire attention to fruit culture."
In 1867, Joseph Wilson Dinsmoor served as the town tax collector, a position he would hold for two years. In 1869, Dinsmoor was appointed as one of the two constables in town; he would remain a constable until 1873. Cordelia Bean Dinsmoor passed away on July 13, 1879. Joseph Wilson Dinsmoor died circa 1895.
Joseph and Cordelia raised their children on the Dinsmoor farm on the Range, which Joseph built into a thriving fruit farm. Leonard A. Morrison recorded that in the 1850s, "his farm had little or no grafted fruit, nor a cultivated grape-vine." However, by the early 1880s, "thirteen acres [were] covered by orchards, including a grapery and small fruits. A portion of [which] yield[ed] double crops, such as strawberry, raspberry, currant, and blackberry, among his orchards and grapery. The grapery cover[ed] two acres, and produced eight tons of choice varieties in 1880. An apple orchard of four and a half acres produced five hundred barrels of apples the same year. Two acres are covered with peach trees, and the same area with pears." Morrison also noted that Dinsmoor devoted "his entire attention to fruit culture."
In 1867, Joseph Wilson Dinsmoor served as the town tax collector, a position he would hold for two years. In 1869, Dinsmoor was appointed as one of the two constables in town; he would remain a constable until 1873. Cordelia Bean Dinsmoor passed away on July 13, 1879. Joseph Wilson Dinsmoor died circa 1895.
