414–415. Joseph Atherton was born in Harvard, Worcester County, Massachusetts, on Sunday, October 26, 1729, and died in Harvard on December 5, 1787. He was buried in Old Center Cemetery, Harvard, Massachusetts. Sarah Hutchins was born in 1728, and died in 1813. They were married in Harvard on Tuesday, December 19, 1752. She took the name Sarah Atherton. He is the son of Joseph and Hannah (Rogers) Atherton. They had two children:
| i. | Jonathan Atherton was born in 1759, and died in 1853. In 1782 he married Nancy Bridge (1757–1853). Per the D.A.R.: He served in the American Revolution as a private in Capt. John Prescott's company, which marched on the Lexington Alarm. He was born in Billerica, Massachusetts; died in Cavendish, Vermont. | |
| ii. | Hannah Atherton [#207]: She was born in Harvard on November 25, 1764, and died in Harvard in 1795. |
From the D.A.R. Lineage Books (#113515), Joseph Atherton responded to the Lexington Alarm as a private in Capt. Isaac Gates' company, Col. Asa Whitcomb's regiment, and, [in] 1776, served other enlistments under different commands.
Joseph's death date has been also reported as December 5, 1789.