Friday, July 03, 2015

Revolutionary War: Stephen Avery


Stephen Avery, Town Clerk

Revolutionary War:  Stephen Avery
Previous Blog Post
History of Stonington, Connecticut by Richard A. Wheeler, p. 208

This Independence Day, I'd like to give special thanks for this man, Stephen Avery, Esq, patriot of the Revolutionary War, who lived a lifetime of service to Stonington and North Stonington, Connecticut. 

He was my 1st cousin, 7 times removed. Buried in Great Plain Cemetery in North Stonington, CT with both of his wives, he was easy to find on my trips to that cemetery. He is buried just behind my 4th great grandparents, Nathan Steward and his wife Barbary Palmer. Not everyone can find the gravestones of their 4th great grandparents, complete with footstones. Then, I noticed this gravestone. 

As town clerk and justice of the peace, Stephen Avery married Nathan and Barbary's son, Edward Stewart to Rebecca Noyes on 15 Feb 1801 and left behind for me to find in our family Bible, the handwritten marriage "certificate" written with a flourish and folded in a tiny envelope. If you are a genealogist, you know how important having a handwriting sample is! 


Does this handwritten certificate look like the same handwriting in this ledger page? I think so. Happy July 4th!

No comments: