Tombstone Tuesday: Chesebrough and Evans Gravestone

Photo by Wayne Howland, 2012, used with permission

 North Adams Family
Update!

Located about 104 miles away, is the Hillside Cemetery in North Adams, Massachusetts. Nestled in Berkshire County,  the towns of Adams and North Adams are where my great grandfather, Charles Edward Stewart went to work as an accountant in the North Adams Gas Light Company and United Zylonite Company and met and married Ada Ann Evans, a local girl.

They married on 15 December, 1885. 

If it wasn't for the tiny photographs of Ada's father and step-mother, in a closed case, I would not have found out that Charles Turner Evans, first married a woman whose name appeared to be Ann Janet, Angionette or Janette as it says on this gravestone. Her maiden surname was Chesebrough. They were from New York and that path sent me back to the Chesebrough family of Stonington, Connecticut. Larry Chesebro  and the compiled genealogy of the Cheseboroughs helped a lot.

Janette died when Ada was less than a year old of consumption. Charles, a Civil War veteran, was a publisher, whose parents died before he enlisted in the War. In 1860 he is living in Adrian, Lewawee, Michigan with his mother's brother, Robert Aylesworth and his family. That branch of my family were practicing Quakers.

Charles served in Company H, 27th Massachusetts infantry and was discharged in July of 1865. The next year, he married Janette and had Ada in 1867. My mother showed me the portraits and I was entranced by the idea that someone whose name was Martha (like mine) but called Mattie was a step-mother. Ada was an only child like me.

It took me a lot of work to find her death record and to find out her maiden name was Davis. Charles left her a widow, (he died of hepatitis) and her death record told me where she was buried. So, I put a request into that cemetery at Find a Grave which was filled this weekend by the kind Wayne Howland of North Adams. I don't know if there are any more of these families buried there.

I still don't have a clear path of Evans back more generations. I think the father was Silvester or Sylvester Evans and his father was John Evans. There was an article in my family Bible about families named Evans but I can't connect it together correctly.

But, the fact remains. I now have a photograph of each of my three 2nd great grandfathers (who served in the Civil War) and a photo of their gravestones. It was a goal that I have now met.

Thanks, Wayne.

1880 North Adams City Directory, Ancestry.com with Chas. T Evans listed with his occupation

I have learned more about this Chesebrough line and I am focusing on them instead of the Evans surname that I don't know as much about.

Tombstone Tuesday: William Chesebrough

Photo by Frederick E. Burdick, used with permission

Founder of Stonington, Connecticut:
William Chesebrough

I confess to being descended from all four men who founded Stonington, Connecticut. This photograph from Wequetequock Cemetery (pronounced Wickety-Quock) [1650] was taken by my cousin Fred Burdick in 2004. The cemetery on Find-a-Grave has some excellent photos of this ancient burying place. Fred took us there and we wandered around with him as tour guide. He gave me a CD of his photos and research and I didn't take even one photo. 

The compiled genealogy of William Chesebrough, published in 1903 shows how complex the descendants of this founder can be but I was able, early in my genealogy adventure, to start a path down from this 8th great grandfather to myself. I have read that he came in the company of those in the Winthrop fleet from Boston, Lincolnshire, England. 

One line of mine descended from William Chesebrough works down to my great grandmother, Ada Ann Evans, wife of Charles E. Stewart. But, I was never able to find records that I needed. Ada is a particular favorite ancestor of mine because my middle name is Ada and I have inherited her wedding ring. I gave it to my son-in-law to have the stones reset in my daughter's wedding band to keep the family jewels going....

Ada was a quiet woman who loved to read (as told to me by my grandmother) and judging from the size of her wedding band, quite heavy. She is the only great grandparent that I don't have a photograph of. It makes me even more curious about her family.

Her ancestor path is hard to prove because it involves geography. It wasn't until Wayne Howland took a photo of a gravestone in Hillside Cemetery in North Adams, MA that I began to understand how I was going to have a records nightmare despite the "correctness" of the compiled genealogy. 

Ada's boys are the inspiration for this complex investigation. I suspect that great uncle Dudley looked like his mother.

Tombstone Tuesday: Chesebro Monument

Chesebro Monument
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

This is one of the most beautiful monuments in the garden cemetery in Mystic, New London, CT named Elm Grove.

It is for the branch of the Chesebrough family that shortened the name to Chesebro. It is a statue of mother and son. I am fond of this very nicely carved (and must have been expensive) monument.

Around the perimeter of this plot are many headstones of family members. I am researching them this month.

This family is descended from William Chesebrough, one of the founders of Stonington, CT

Hannah WILLIAMS

Hannah WILLIAMS
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

In/ memory of/ Mrs. Hannah wife of/ Capt. Wm. Stanton/ who died/ Nov. 7, 1784/ in the 41 year/ of her age.

First wife [named Hannah] of Capt. William Stanton and mother of his only child Thankful.

Hannah was born 16 Jan 1744 and died 7 Nov 1784. She was the daughter of John Williams (1714-1799) and his wife Lydia Chesebrough (1710-1762)

Interesting fact was that both wives of Capt. William Stanton died in their 41st year. She married him on 10 Nov 1773. She was born, married and died in Stonington, New London, CT.

This is one of the few gravestones engraved in the italic style script that is able to be clearly read. It is not faded like her husband's gravestone.

Source:
Wheeler's History of Stonington #205 p. 670
Stanton genealogy p. 168

Rev. Elihu Chesebrough, IV and wives

Rev. Elihu Chesebrough, IV and wives
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

Elder Chesebrough has a very ornate gravestone which lists his accomplishments as a prominent pastor of the Baptist Church. BOTH of his wife had the maiden surname Chesebrough and they were cousins.

It is common for the local minister to have a wonderful gravestone.

Chesebro Lane Cemetery

Chesebro Lane Cemetery
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

On Chesbro Lane, this small family cemetery is not in very good shape. It is across from the old Velvet Mill.

Most of the people resting here are family and relatives of Rev. Elihu Chesebrough, IV, a Baptist minister who lived from 1769-1867.

Ray Brown has a partial listing of those buried here. I found it did not match the stones I can read. Larry Chesebro's excellent Chesbro Web site did list a set of my 8th great grandparents as buried here (which I came to visit!) but he and the Chesebrough Genealogy agree that this is not the case. They are buried somewhere in the Taugwonk area.