Tombstone Tuesday: Charles H. Fish and Ethel L. Hitchcock

Elm Grove Cemetery, Mystic, New London, CT 2009. Photo by Midge Frazel

Bumping into my Tree

In August of 2009 while walking down to the water's edge after a long hot few hours in the cemetery, this gravestone caught my eye. I stopped and took this photo and fixed the plant so it rested against the stone. Obviously this is someone who has living family. I looked past this stone in the distance to see how far away the rest of the Fish gravestone are from here. It was a long way. There was nothing carved on the reverse side. I wondered how this gravestone fit into my extended Fish family

Recently, a fellow genealogist and Facebook friend, Pam,  told me that while researching an autograph book, she "bumped into my tree" at Ancestry.com. The names she gave me did not seem to connect until she mentioned the surnames Gilpin and Hitchcock. Then, I went into my tree and looked at this gravestone. The maiden name of the woman named on this gravestone was Hitchcock. Yes, this woman was in the same family as the one she was researching.

Milton R. Hallady's wife was Blanche Hitchcock who was sister to the woman, Ethel, on this gravestone. Thanks for bumping into me, Pam! 

Charles Herman Fish (1879-1962) [Fish genealogy, p. 303] and his wife Ethel Louise Hitchcock (1879-1965) had two daughters, Prudence Dean Fish (1907-2000) and Alden Brown Fish (1911-1985). These children carry the classic Fish family names of Dean, Alden and Brown. Prudence and Alden are my 4th cousins, 1 time removed. 

Tombstone Tuesday: Capt. George W. GATES

Capt. George W. GATES, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Tombstone Tuesday:

 Capt. George Washington Gates and his wife Julia Ann Fish

Buried at the Lower Mystic Cemetery in the section on the far right, is this large granite monument, marked Gates. I stood in front of it and wondered if this man was named George Washington Gates and if the wife was related to the Fish family members on the other side of the cemetery. 

Unlike the "Capt.", reference on Horatio N. Fish's gravestone, this one has no anchor on it to tell us if he was a man of the sea or if it is a military title. The monument is typical of the mid-to-late 1800s, as it has a lovely vine and flower motif. I so like it when you get birth and death dates on gravestones, don't you?

After some research, I discover that Julia was indeed one of the daughters of Horatio N. FISH and his wife Lydia Morgan. 

As I guessed, her husband was named George Washington Gates and he was the son of the woman that I ventured to this cemetery to find her gravestone. She was Mercy DENISON and she was married to Zebediah GATES. 

Capt. Gates's life is outlined in the manuscript collection at the Mystic Seaport's archives. It tells me the name of his brother plus a lot about his life as a sailor. It is a different way for me to connect family members together. 

I have identified 5 children born to this couple.

Update: by Jean Evans, a friend from Mystic. Capt. Gates House

Horatio N. FISH, Jr.

Horatio N. FISH, Jr., a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

"Christ First, Then My Country"

Placed next to his father, this headstone is not one that is military issued even though he died in the service to his country. Horatio Nelson Fish, Jr. was the only boy in his family.  This tells me his family could afford a special headstone. There were three surviving sisters. A close-up of the verse is here.

Fold3 holds his Civil War Record of service which shows that the information on his gravestone is correct. 

Mustered in 5 Sept, 1862, Horatio was a member of the 21st Connecticut Regiment, Company C Infantry Volunteers. He died 8 July 1864 in Hampton Hospital in Fort Monroe, Virginia at the age of 21 years. Listed on the document below is his gunshot fracture and exhaustion as cause of death. 

I located a Web site called Civil War Manuscripts with information about Connecticut men who served. 

From Civil War manuscripts is this information:

"an unmarried farmer, enlisted on 25 July 1862 and was mustered-in on 5 September 1862. He was wounded at Drewry’s Bluff, VA, on 16 May 1864 and again at Petersburg, VA, on 18 July 1864. He died on 8 August 1864 from the wound received at Petersburg." 

This valuable piece of information tells us where he was wounded prior to Petersburg and and that he died of the second wound which was the one at Petersburg. I couldn't reconcile the dates until I found the information specific for Connecticut.

His mother collected his pension as he was single when he died. His pension card is at Fold3.

His cause of death was recorded in a database that I had not used before since my serving Civil War vets did not die in service:

Ancestry.com Clip of  Register of Deaths

Rest in Peace, Horatio N. Fish, Jr.

Ancestry.com. U.S., Registers of Deaths of Volunteers, 1861-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

Original data:

Registers of Deaths of Volunteers, compiled 1861–1865. ARC: 656639. Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780's–1917. Record Group 94. The National Archives at Washington, D.C.

From Linda Woody, here's what he looked like!

Lydia MORGAN

Lydia MORGAN, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Sea Captain's Wife: Lydia Morgan

Buried next to her husband. this plain headstone tells us very little about her life as a sea captain's wife. It does tells us her full date of birth and death and that Morgan is her maiden name and she was Capt. Horatio N. Fish's wife. 

Groton, CT Barbour Index, Ancestry.com

I searched The Barbour Index for Groton, CT and found Horatio and Lydia's marriage and Horatio's full date of birth and his parents first names as well as another piece of evidence verifying his middle name of Nelson. It doesn't tell us who Lydia's parents were, but this is only an index. 

I have sent for vital records for other ancestors from the town of Groton, CT but they don't send an image of the record just a plain certified vital record so I am not going to send any other  records at this time.

After some snooping through another Ancestry.com's public tree, I found a lead about Lydia's parents. 

Using the online database for the Groton Avery Clan, I found her marriage to Horatio and her parent's listed. Lydia's mother was an Avery and this book is familiar to me because I have several lines of Avery's and I am a life member of the Avery Association. 

The Groton Avery Clan, p. 350-351

Ancestry.com. The Groton Avery clan [database on-line]. Provo, UT: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005. Original data: Avery, Elroy McKendree,. The Groton Avery clan. Cleveland: unknown, 1912. [Database at Ancestry.com]

Ancestry.com. Connecticut, Town Marriage Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection) [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.Original data: White, Lorraine Cook, ed. The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records.Vol. 1-55. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994-2002. (also births and deaths)

Tombstone Tuesday; Capt. Horatio N. FISH

Photo by Midge Frazel, 2009

Capt. Horatio Nelson FISH
"Christ is the anchor of my Hope"

1800-1863

What better surname could we have for the first gravestone for the Summer of the Sea Captain (and their families) than this one? 

Anyone who sees this knows that this is a man of the sea as the anchor is prominent and his title of captain is carved on the stone. Douglas Keister's book, Stories in Stone mentions that the anchor symbol represents hope and that this type of anchor is the crux dissimulata (cross in disguise) and sometimes symbolizes religious belief. [p. 111]

Close up of the anchor symbol, photo by Midge Frazel, 2009

So, this anchor-cross, the words about his christian life and the title of Capt. are three separate pieces of evidence in this case.

Capt./ Horatio N. Fish/died/ April 25, 1863./Aged 63 Years./ A loving, kind and exemplary husband/ An indulgent and truly beloved parent./ A worthy and a christian man,/ For many years an officer in the Church of Christ./

We learn from this gravestone his full date of death, that he was 63 years old when he died, that he was a captain of a vessel, that he was married and she outlived him, that he was a parent and that he was a christian and officer in his church. Can you find all these clues on this stone?

The Fish genealogy lists him in the Connecticut Line #1764, p. 285. From this source we learn his middle name of Nelson, his birth date (June 18, 1800) his parents names George and Sarah, including her maiden surname of Hinchley), that he was brought up on the family farm in Groton, the maiden name of his wife (Morgan), and his date of marriage (Aug. 29, 1824). We also learn he was a deacon in the Groton Baptist Church. Listed for children is his only son's name and that he had several daughters but their names are not given. His death date is not given.

His lineage is listed as Horatio 8, (George 7, Jonathan 6, Moses 5, Samuel 4, John 3, Alice 2, John 1)

Fish, Lester Warren, A.B. M.D. The Fish Family in England and America, Genealogical and Biographical Sketches. The Tuttle Publishing Co. Rutland, VT. 1948. (purchased from the Higginson Book Company, softcover $71.00)

Keister, Douglas. Stories in Stone: A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography. Gibbs Smith Publisher, Salt Lake City. 2004. (available in hardcover and Kindle and nook electronic formats)

Lower Mystic Cemetery (also known as Fishtown Cemetery) is located in West Mystic, New London, CT [Find a Grave]

Visual Look at Third Great Grandparents

Isacc_Levina Collage, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Third Great Grandparents:
What Can Be Known?

I created this collage to demonstrate what can be shown visually about third great grandparents. The photos in the lower part of the collage were found in a copy of the oldest Denison genealogy authored by Baldwin and Clift which can be found at Google Books. Apparently, Isaac and Levina were pleased to have their photos taken and were big supporters of genealogy research.

The house is their last home together on Willow St. in Mystic. The photo with the Denison crest is  their names and dates which is on the large monument in Elm Grove Cemetery because the headstones do not always provide the right vital information. Isaac's headstone simply says I.D. but his wife Levina has information about her on the reverse side (plus her initials on the top). It took me a while to get his headstone to read clearly I.D.

Genealogists that follow us may be inspired when they look at a collage like this one instead of the "boring" pedigree chart and family group sheet. I'd be interested in your opinion.

Home of Our Ancestors page 99

Home of Our Ancestors page 99, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Mention of Home of
Isaac Denison, Jr. and wife Levina Fish

Teaching other genealogists where to look for information about their ancestors can be a monumental undertaking! The first thing is telling them that if they want to know about ancestors who lived in the four generations before them, they will likely have to PAY for the information. That does not sit well with those who can't afford it or think everything should be free. 

I can't fix this attitude, I can only go on teaching and learning. 

When I found out that a book existed called The Homes of Our Ancestors in Mystic, CT, authored in 1903 by Grace Denison Wheeler (a genealogist, teacher and town historian in my family), I knew I had to have it. As it turns out, I bought the wrong edition. The bookseller chose not to have the last huge section of the book bound into it. That section had the cemetery records. I won't buy another book from this company. I borrowed a copy from a relative and photocopied all of the rest of the pages. I am now careful where I buy books.

Miss Wheeler, reported on this page (99), that Isaac and Levina lived in the home built by his ancestor (and mine), John Denison, first born son of Capt. George Denison. I was excited about this because I thought it might be the last time I would find out about them. It wasn't. 

Miss Wheeler tells us that the old house, where I was assuming the Thanksgiving dinners were held, was torn down in 1883. Levina did not die until 1890. That means the house on Willow St. is where those dinners were held. This is significant because it confirms a newspaper clipping (Nov 1874) I found in a family journal.

Now, what I know is that, according to records (see below) about the house on Willow St. created for a house tour (kindly provided by Dorothy Hanna of the Mystic River Historical Society) is that this house was built for them adjacent to the original house in 1839.

Mystic River Historical Society records

My second great grandmother, Eliza was most likely born in the ancient farm house because she was born in 1833. The information in Wheeler's book doesn't clarify the dates Isaac and Levina lived there and in fact is misleading to make readers think they lived here their whole married lives.

Thanks to my research buddies, Brian and Dorothy, Thanksgiving's location means so much more now. 

House Plaque

Photo by Brian Zoldak, used with permission, 2013

Sign, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

House at 6 Willow St. in Mystic, CT

No matter how long I do genealogy research, I am always amazed at what can be found out about my parents, grandparents, and great grandparents beyond what I knew in the early 1990s when the Internet began to explode with genealogical information. But, what I am NEVER expecting is to find out is information about my 2nd and 3rd great grandparents and yet, that is exactly what I have been learning on both sides of my family. 

I heard at RootsTech, there was a statement made that you will be forgotten when four generations have passed after your death. Of course, this means that people will not have actually known you but I feel that I can speak for genealogists everywhere that we are unlikely to not leave behind traces of remembrance of ourselves and four generations before us.

Recently, I got a big surprise when my photographer friend, Brain Zoldak, went out with his camera and photographed scenes of where my ancestors walked in Mystic, CT. This plaque is on a house at 6 Willow St. in downtown Mystic (not on Denison Ave. but nearby) where my 3rd great grandparents lived their last years together as husband and wife. 

Levina Fish Denison, whose name is frequently misspelled as Levinia (which oddly was the name of one of her granddaughters) was born in 1790 and died, probably at the home of her son, the Rev. Frederic Denison, in Providence, RI in 1890. That was 123 years ago. She was my third great grandmother. I have copies of not one but two photographs of her.

It was news to me that she lived in this house. For the next two days, I will blog about my adventure with finding out about this house.

Making the Table

Cherry Sewing Table 2
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

 Blog Post #1 "Wrote in their Drawers"
Blog Post #2 "Wedding Gift"'
Blog Post #3 "Table and its Drawers"

"For Eliza Fish Denison, given by her to her son Charles E. Stewart"

 "Made by Daniel Edgecomb, Mystic, 1823"

If these notes had not be written in "their drawers", I would not have known the history of this table. It is confirming evidence that the writing in the family bible was done by Eliza Fish Dension Stewart. She lived with her son after her husband died, and lived a good long time with them. My grandfather was a teenager when she died and must have listened to her stories of the family history. Charles, my great grandfather, kept a scrapbook of newspaper clippings. Most of them were about the North Stonington area, so I donated it to the North Stonington Historical Society after photocopying several pages of articles and obituaries.

Because this lower inscription says "for", it confirms that this piece of furniture was given to her from the Fish household, passed to my great-grandfather, my grandfather, my mother and now to me.

But, what is most mysterious is the original notation about Daniel Edgecomb. Daniel Denison Edgecomb (1802-1887) was the grandson of Rachel Denison (1734-1815), wife of Joseph Copp. She was the great grandaughter of John Borodell Denison and his wife Phebe Lay who are in my direct line.

To be continued...

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....

Levina FISH

Levina FISH
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

Levina FISH [her photo] tops my list of favorite female ancestors. This is a photo at the right is of the back side of her headstone. The top of it simply has her initials. I am reasonably sure that she is responsible for the placement of the large Denison monument in the plot at Elm Grove Cemetery in Mystic, New London, CT. She was a commanding presence in the Dension family.

Levina was one of my 3rd great grandmothers and was widely known in Mystic for her Thanksgiving feasts. [1874 newspaper clipping from the Journal of Charles Stewart] One of the most interesting things about her is the creative way her name is spelled. On this headstone and on the monument her name is spelled Levina. But newspapers accounts, some compiled family genealogies say Levinia! [Mostly written as "Aunt Levinia"] She had nine children, one being the famous Rev. Frederic Denison, who adored her as evidenced by this poem he wrote for her birthday in 1869. He was a Baptist minister, Civil War Chaplain, author and genealogist.

Levina was the daughter of Deacon Sands FISH [1762-1838] and his wife Bridget GALLUP [1768-1842] and was herself, one of nine children. Levina married Isaac DENISON, Jr. [1790-1855] and lived in his great-grandfather's home in Mystic over looking the cove (where that 2nd great grandfather and grandmother are buried). It is my belief that Levina is responsible for moving many of the gravestones from that small cemetery to a more prominent position in the large and beautiful Elm Grove Cemetery.

That house of Capt. George DENISON's oldest son John DENISON was built about 1669 and was torn down about 1883. [source: Grace Denison Wheeler's Old Homes of Stonington p. 99]

Levina and Isaac, Jr. were prominent members of the Baptist Church in Mystic. [source: Denison genealogy]

Tombstone Tuesday: Capt. Moses FISH

Capt. Moses FISH
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

February Footstone Project; Blog Post #3

When is a footstone not a footstone? When it is a headstone! [of course]

I have no idea if this is a headstone for Cap't Moses FISH or if it is a footstone for a grave that is no longer there!

It has his name but no more information like a footstone but it is larger like a headstone. Are you getting a headache?

The information for the cemetery that was sent to me (I paid the photocopy fee) is from the Charles Hale 1930s WPA project and it simply says, "Fish, Cap't Moses (Can't read rest)" I wish it was more helpful.

So it is possible that this is the only marker for Capt. Moses making this a headstone

Capt. Moses Fish (#1627, p. 277 Fish genealogy) [Moses, Samuel, John, Alice, John] Colonial Veteran (captain) was the son of Moses and Martha (Williams) Fish and he was born 20 Oct 1714 at Groton, married Elizabeth Morgan on 7 Nov 1745 and died 20 June 1802 at 88 years. His wife outlived him and she died 16 Dec 1808 at 93. She is not buried here.

Prudence Dean Fish Obit

Prudence Dean Fish Obit
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

This is a clipping from the journal of Charles Edward Stewart, my great-grandfather. I have donated the journal to the North Stonington Historical Society as much of it is more of historical value than family material.

The slightly clipped obit is of Prudence Brown Dean, daughter of James Dean and wife of Hon. Asa Fish. Notice that Rev. William Clift officiated at the service.

I love reading things like this when I am researching those graves.

Bridget FISH

Bridget FISH
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

I stood before this grave and said, "Oh, look, this must be Bridget Fish, daughter of Dea. Sands Fish and his wife Bridget Gallup!"

The reason for the surprise is that this daughter is NOT listed in the Fish genealogy with her brothers and sisters and I would not know about her except that I noticed her birth record in the list of Fish births in Groton, CT. That sent me to the marriages to find her husband. I didn't know her date of death until I took this photo.

This completes finding all of the graves of the children of Dea. Sand Fish and his wife Bridget Gallup. [My direct line ancestor in these children is Levina Fish who married Isaac Denison, Jr.]

Bridget was the last of nine children born in her family. She died at 34 leaving two little girls. The 1840 census lists her (female 1, ages 20-30), her husband (male 1, ages 30-40 and females 2, ages under 5)

Capt. William CLIFT

Capt. William CLIFT
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

Capt. William Clift / Born / April 20, 1805 / Died / Oct. 21, 1822 / The Memory and Example of such a father is a pri/ celess [priceless] heritage/

William5 (Nathaniel4, Amos3, Samuel2, William1)
Wheeler's History of Stonington #38 p. 311 lists birth and first marriage date to Bridget Fish

William was born 20 April 1805 at Mystic Bridge and died 21 Oct 1882. He married Bridget FISH 18 June 1833 and had two daughters. The Burrows genealogy says that he taught school for two years, then clerked for three years at the store of Gilbert DENISON's store located at the head of Mystic River. He went to sea at 23 in a fishing smack to improve his health. He became a Captain and owner of vessels. He was an agent for his ships and others in New York City. After Bridget died in 1856 he married the next year Elizabeth A. BURROWS. They had no children together.

William's daughters were Mary H. Clift and Hannah.

Prudence B. DEAN (top of gravestone)

Prudence B. DEAN
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

This is the curved top of the gravestone for Prudence Brown Dean. She was the daughter of James Dean and Prudence Brown who are buried at the Whitehall Burying Ground in Mystic.

Asa FISH

Asa FISH
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

This is the front of the gravestone for Judge Asa Fish. I think it reads:

Died
April 20, 1861
Aged 70 Years
9 Months & 3 Days.

I used the "calculate dates" in my genealogy software to figure out if the time between his birth on July 1, 1790 and his death on 20 Apr 1861 matched what I thought I could see.

From the Fish genealogy:
"1984 HON. ASA8 FISH (Sands7, Nathan6, Nathan5, Samuel4, John3, Alice2, John1), eldest son of (1885) Dea. Sands and Bridget (Gallup) Fish, was b. at Groton, Conn., July 17, 1790, and d. at Stonington, Conn., Apr. 20, 1861, at 70. He settled at Mystic Bridge, Conn., in 1815. He was a man of superior talents and winning manners, a good scholar, an excellent school teacher, a successful merchant, called to fill nearly every public office; went to State Assembly in 1820-1821, 1833 and 1843; State Senator in 1838, 1840 and 1849; Judge of Probate from 1831 to 1860. He was an active member of the Congregational Church, and a director of Bank at Stonington and Insurance Company at New London, Conn. On Sept. 30, 1818, he m. Prudence B. Dean, dau. of James and Prudence (Brown) Dean, who was b. June 23, 1799, and d. at Mystic, Dec. 24, 1873, at 74. They are buried on Pequot Hill.

Children:
+1992 James Dean', b. Aug. 7, 1819; d. Mar. 24, 1912, at 92; m. Mary
Esther Blodgett; m. (2) Belle Rogers; m. (3) Sally Laing Reber.
+1993 Sands Helme, b. Sept. 19, 1821; d. Nov. 5, 1899; m. Emeline Beebe.
1994 Hannah, b. June 6, 1823; d. July 25, 1899; m. Elias Perkins Randall.
+1995 Silas, b. Oct. 23, 1825; d. Nov. 8, 1906; m. Mary Dorrance Stoddard.
+1996 Asa, b. Apr. 11, 1828; d. Apr. 1, 1909; m. Elenor Hoxie Peckham.
1997 Prudence, b. Aug. 1, 1830; d. Mar. 8, 1904; m. Uriah Hayden
Dudley.
1998 Benjamin b. Sept. 2, 1834; d. 1922.
1999 John Dean, b. Feb. 23, 1837; d. Aug. 29, 1838.
2000 Fanny Dean, b. Sept. 5, 1839; d. Sept. 24, 1928, m. Caleb Smith
Woodhull.

The resource of CT History Online is a wonderful place to see photographs of people who lived in this area. They are copyright restrictions on what you can take and use for yourself but it is interesting to see photos of the houses lived in and even sometimes photos of people. I found Asa Fish's house photograph (121 Main St. Mystic) and a photograph of him!

Asa FISH (top of gravestone)

Asa FISH
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

This is the top of the gravestone of the patriarch, the Honorable Asa FISH, who is buried with his descendants in this section of the Elm Grove Cemetery in Mystic, CT.

Mny of the gravestone purchased in this era have this curved top with the person's name carved in block letters. I think it is a good thing too since the face of this gravestone is very hard to read. Without the sources of the Fish and Chesebrough genealogies at my fingertips I would not be sure what this reads.

Family of Asa FISH Monument

Family of Asa FISH Monument
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

This is a monument for the Honorable Asa Fish and family. Asa was the son of Deacon Sands Fish and his wife Bridget Gallup. They are buried in the Old Fish Burying Ground in Groton.

Asa Fish was brother to my direct line ancestor, Levina Fish. This makes him my 3rd great grand uncle.

Levina was a "force" to be reckoned with in my family. I am thinking that she may have "moved" Asa and his wife Prudence to Elm Grove. The evidence for this is that I know she had other gravestones (and their remains) to this beautiful cemetery in Mystic and the fact that the Fish genealogy says Asa and Prudence are buried in the cemetery on Pequot Hill, which is the Old Fish Burying Ground.

In Levina's day, status in the community was everything. She wanted it and she got it. There is a newspaper account of her lavish Thanksgiving dinners, her son the Rev. Frederic Denison, a prominent Baptist minister and writer, openly adored her and also, she never missed an opportunity to remind her family how important they were. Now, this may sound pretentious, but because she did this, I have been able to find out more about my Denison, Fish and Gallup families, and the Mystic and Stonington area history.

Imagine how button-busting proud she would be to have me write about her and find all these gravestones. I can feel her cheering me on from heaven.

I took this photo last July, and in a few minutes snapped almost 20 photos of this families gravestones. JE Rowley, a fellow Fish descendant, gave me a list of his direct line "Fish folk" and guess what, most of them are right in this section. That makes taking their photographs worthwhile.

Eliza's Writing Desk

Writing Desk
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

This is a photograph of something that is very important to me. It is my 2nd great grandmother's writing desk. It is 147 years old. I was given this by my grandmother at an age when most children don't appreciate fragile and old things. I was about 11. She said my grandfather would have wanted me to have it. My grandparents were special people.

This is the open view to show the inkwell and compartment draw. I imagine the pen and nubs were kept in the drawer and the small compartment to the right was for sealing wax and the wax stamp or for postage stamps.

At one time, the writing surface was probably covered with felt or leather. The inscription on the underside of the upper compartment is written in her handwriting (just as in my family Bible) and states her name and the date July 1861 and the words "From Mother". The upper compartment held the paper and envelopes.

Eliza was a spinster when she married Dudley as she was twenty three. That's how old I was when I got married (but I didn't consider that old) but in this time period women were married earlier. Eliza was born into two prominent families of significant means: Fish and Denison. She bore three children, my great-grandfather Charles, my great-grand aunt Frances (my DAR ancestor) and "little Henry" who died as a baby.

I think this might have been an arranged marriage as Dudley was older and was in the same merchant business as Eliza's brother, Isaac Wheeler Denison. Eliza lived as an old lady in her son's household and told my grandfather, Evans, stories of his ancestors.

Perhaps it was obvious to my grandmother that I was going to be a writer and genealogist? Some of the money I inherited and spent on my Master's Degree was kept for me from this family. I think it is something to brag about and certainly fits the "school theme" of this carnival.