Where it Began

Rebecca NOYES, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

The Stewart Family of North Stonington, CT

Merging my Blogs 

This post was originally written to bring readers up to date on what this blog "is all about". 
I am re-posting it here once again today.

This is the gravestone that started it all. I went in search of this gravestone as this is my maternal line. I still love the simplicity of this gravestone of the mid 1800s. Rebecca was over 40 when she had her last child, my ancestor.


This is the gravestone of Rebecca NOYES, wife of Edward STEWART. Rebecca married Edward on Feb 15, 1801. She was the daughter of Joseph NOYES and his wife Prudence DENISON. I didn't even know that much when I stood in front of this stone and took the photo. She was born 16 Mar 1782 in Stonington.


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.


As you can see she died 30 Sept 1842 aged 61. This is the information I have been gathering about her:

In my family Bible is a very small envelope with faded writing on the outside. I very carefully opened it to find the most fragile handwritten marriage certificate.

Who was the bride listed in this certificate who married into my Stewart family? Her name and Edward’s, her husband, were written in the Bible but with their marriage and death dates.

I decided to find out who Edward and Rebecca were and got very lucky (on the first shot) in finding a lot of help from Gladys Chase at the North Stonington Historical Society. All it took was one email and about a fifteen minute wait.

Rebecca ⁵ NOYES one of my 3^rd great grandmothers, was the 2^nd great granddaughter of Thomas STANTON. (Joseph⁴ NOYES, Dea. John³ NOYES, Dorothy² STANTON, Thomas¹  STANTON) I call this NOYES line one of the easiest lines to trace since they were involved in the church, they left behind an easy trail of vital records.

She was the ninth of ten children of Joseph NOYES and his wife Prudence DENISON and my 3^rd great grandmother). She lived her whole life in North Stonington, CT. [Wheeler: Stewart family p. 607]

Rebecca was the wife of Edward STEWART, Edward4 (Nathan3, William2, Jr. William1 Sr.) who was great-grandson of the first STEWART who lived in North Stonington. Edward was a farmer and lived in the house owned by his father Nathan and later by his son Denison STEWART

But oddly, Edward’s great grandfather, William Steward, Sr. was baptized as an adult by Rebecca’s great grandfather, the Rev. James NOYES (husband of Thomas Stanton’s daughter Dorothy) on 13 Feb 1710.

If that wasn’t enough, three siblings of Rebecca married member of the STANTON family.[Thankful NOYES married Thomas STANTON, Polly NOYES married Samuel STANTON, and Denison NOYES married Hannah R. STANTON.]

[Wheeler: Noyes family p. 485]