Slavery and the Census

Slavery and the Census
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

Today, I began working on the last part of the last chapter in my Digital Storytelling book. I consulted with another family historian about the amazing story of discovery by a Rhode Island family. I am listening to the book on my iPod while I work on transcribing census records, eat strawberries (something I am not supposed to eat) and wonder if I can prove Isaac Dension's place in the Revolution (see his photo with me for inspiration?)

Isaac owned 2 slaves in this census. Is it not coincidence that this is what I chose to transcribe while I listen to a book about Slavery in Rhode Island?

Isaac in 1800 Census

Isaac in 1800 Census
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

Transcribing census records is the "not fun" part of family history work.

This is the 1800 census for my ancestor, Isaac Denison, Sr.

Note the red dot indicates the location of his name in the hand written record and the yellow dot indicates the last column, which is the number of slaves in his household.

I discover while working with this document that the household of Isaac and his wife Eunice has too many people. I check the marriage dates of some children and feel that one of their children married and did not move out of the household. As there are no names in this census, identifying which child this is could be hard. Isaac and Eunice had another child after 1800 but sadly this child died very young.

Joseph & Prudence NOYES

Joseph & Prudence NOYES
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

Rebecca's parents were Joseph NOYES (1730-1820) and Prudence DENISON (1743-1819). Rebecca was their 9th child, something few of us can hardly imagine today.

Joseph and Prudence are buried in Noyes Cemetery #11, Stonington, CT. This photo was kindly taken for me by Fred Burdick.

Prudence was the daughter of Avery DENISON and his wife Thankful WILLIAMS and Joseph was the son of Deacon John NOYES and his wife Mary GALLUP.

Rebecca NOYES

Rebecca NOYES
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

This is the gravestone of Rebecca NOYES, wife of Edward STEWART. Rebecca married Edward on Feb 15, 1801.

This gravestone stands tall in the Stewart Hill Cemetery in North Stonington. Edward's grave, which is next to hers, has fallen over and broken. But, both footstones remain.

Edward was a farmer and lived on the land inherited by his grandfather William Steward, Jr. William's father, William was probably the immigrant ancestor.

But, as this is Rebecca's stone, this story is about her...

As you can see she died 30 Sept 1842 aged 61.

Family Bible

Family Bible
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

Ask anyone interested in genealogy and family history and they will tell you to first look to the sources you have in your family before venturing out in the world to seek information about your ancestors.

This is the family Bible that belonged to my Stewart [2nd great] grandparents. It was passed down to their son, then to his son [my grandfather] and then to my mother. Now that they are all gone, it belongs to me. The title page reads 1859 and since that is the year their oldest child was born, I assume it was a celebration of his birth.

In the center are several pages of handwritten entries of births, marriages and deaths. On the pages for births there are two names, Edward Stewart and Rebecca Noyes with no dates after their names. Since the Bible belonged to this couple's son, I wondered why he did not know the dates of his own parent's birth! The handwriting on the page is that of his wife, so maybe he wasn't home when she began the process of filling in the vital records.

But, there was a very tiny envelope with a folded, fragile document which is the marriage certificate of Edward and Rebecca.

February 15, 1801, which was 207 years ago! I have researched every name on these pages and each one has been proven to be correct.

It was this tiny bit of information that send me on a search of Edward and Rebecca's resting places which is in North Stonington, CT.

Some journeys end in the cemetery and some begin....