Tombstone Tuesday: Charles Henry Barber

Tombstone Tuesday: Charles Henry Barber 

Photo by Brian Zoldak, 2014, used with permission

For quite some time, I have been gathering gravestones for the children of my 3rd great grandfather, Matthew Stillman Barber and his two wives, my ancestor Phebe Eliza Hall and the second wife Rhoda Babcock. Today, I am happy to report that my friend Brian Zoldak has visited the Noank Valley Cemetery #22 in Noank, New London, Connecticut and he was able to get a lovely clear shot of this gravestone with full dates on it.

Charles Henry Barber, fourth son of Matthew and Rhoda was born in Westerly on the farm, when my ancestor, James Albert Barber was nine years old. His mother died when he was very little so James knew no other mother but Rhoda and mentioned her with fondness in his Civil War field diaries. I hope someday to find the gravestone on Block Island, Rhode Island of the youngest child, Mathew Stillman Barber, Jr. who according to his obituary, died and is buried in Island Cemetery. 

Charles had two wives as you can see by this gravestone. Many resources say his first wife was named Lydia but it clearly says Lydie. His second wife is also listed as Linda or Evelina. You can see that these could have been misconstrued as the same person. 

The 1880 census lists him as single and still living with his parents but in 1900 he is married and living with the second wife having married her in 1896. I was still not sure they were separate marriages until I saw this stone. Lydie and Charles could not have been married very long when she died and despite having no children for a new wife to care for Charles married again the next year. You can see why I wondered about these women.

Photo by Brian Zoldak, used with permission

Brian tells me that there are many Ashbey gravestones here so that may be why Charles is buried here and not in Westerly's River Bend Cemetery. If the first wife died suddenly, he buried her near her parents as was the  custom in New England. Notice that the second wife was a little younger than the first and outlived him.

The Hale Cemetery transcription taken in the 1930s doesn't list the second wife and that make sense because she died in 1938.

Charles Henry Barber was a fisherman. His second wife is listed in 1930 with an Ashbey family. Close knit and confusing family for a Tombstone Tuesday!