James Joy (1778-1857)
of Groton, Massachusetts
He was born at Durham, New Hampshire, and was a blacksmith and shipbuilder by trade. He established a promising shipbuilding enterprise at Durham which was ruined by the Embargo Act of 1808 and the War of 1812. Instead, he turned to agriculture and in 1837 acquired 1,000-acres in Illinois before retiring to Groton.
