Wedding Gift

Cherry Sewing Table 1
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

 Blog Post #1 "Wrote in their Drawers" [continued]

"This table originally came from the house of Simeon FISH in Mystic [Connecticut] and was given to Eliza Denison Stewart in 1856 at the time of her marriage"

Obviously, this writing was put inside the drawer a long time ago. I don't know whose handwriting this is but it might belong to Levina FISH, who was Eliza Fish DENISON's mother. It matches nothing else in the family bible or in other pieces of furniture I own.

Levina FISH (one of my third great grandmothers) was a driving force in this family. She was a strong willed woman who assumed the matriarchal role quite easily. She was the wife of Isaac DENISON, Jr. and blended right into the DENISON family before they knew what hit them.They married in 1856 just as it states in the drawer.

Simeon FISH (1797-1863) was the brother of Levina. He was the son of Deacon Sands FISH (1762-1838) and his wife Bridget GALLUP (1768-1842). Simeon is buried in the Old Fish Burying Ground in Mystic on the Groton line with his wife Eliza Roe RANDALL.

This cemetery is on private land and I was given permission to photograph all of the graves there and the family shared a plot map and dates. I purchased, last year, the Fish genealogy compiled by Lester Warren Fish, A.B. M.D. in 1948 which is more interesting than the usual genealogical works because it is not only well researched, it is full of information about the people whose graves I have been photographing.

Simeon8 #1987 page 307 [and his sister Levina] (Sands7, Nathan6, Nathan5, Samuel4, John3, Alice2, John1) Simeon was a" farm boy, became a shoemaker, merchant, ship owner and farmer. He accumulated a large property, spoke plainly and abhorred dishonestly."

To be continued....