Stephen Avery, Justice of the Peace
The Problem
The trouble with being a blogger is that my blog posts written months or years ago do not surface in a search unless they bear the name of the people or person that is part of the research. People usually perform a quick search for an ancestor based on their first, middle and last name [with perhaps a location]. Those of us who write blogs try to be creative and interesting and title our posts to encourage readers. So, I am naming this blog post with the name of the person I am researching today instead of marriage certificate [the name given to the scanned image here]. Do you see the problem? To fully enjoy this story, you will need, dear reader, to click on each and every link to the photographs I am using to tell the story!
The Background
Such as this is with the original handwritten marriage certificate found in a tiny envelope in the family Bible that belonged to my 2th great grandparents, Dudley Wheeler Stewart and his wife Eliza Fish Denison. [blog post dated 14 May 2008 titled Family Bible] [gravestone]
Upon carefully opening the certificate, I realized that this document needed to be preserved. I photocopied it and the envelope until I could clearly read what was written on it. I took photos of it with my digital camera and scanned only the photocopied certificate. I transcribed both the certificate and the envelope and went on my first gravestone adventure to find the graves of Rebecca NOYES and her husband Edward STEWART. As you can see, I discovered very quickly the joys and heartbreaks of small family cemeteries.
The Discovery
This morning, I pulled out my copy of Richard Anson Wheeler's, History of Stonington and began to continue researching his family as yesterday I discovered that one of his daughters, Grace Dension Wheeler was not only a historian and writer but also a genealogist!
Judge Wheeler, like many prominent men of his day, married well, not once, but twice. Both of his wives were daughters of families that are big names to this day in this section of Connecticut. He married first, Frances Mary AVERY, and had two daughters. When she died in 1855 at age 33, he needed a new wife, to care for his young daughters and his household, so he married again in 1856 Lucy Ann NOYES and added another daughter, Grace Denison WHEELER.
Now, if you've been paying attention to surnames, you have been seeing, Wheeler, Avery, Denison and Noyes, so you can see why linking all these families in my genealogy software is quite a time consuming task!
The Man
Frances Mary AVERY's father was Stephen AVERY [1756-1828] Where have I see that name before, I thought? Oh, yes, he's the man who married the people on the marriage certificate. Bingo!
Wheeler's History of Stonington, states [p. 208] that Stephen Avery "was a prominent man in Stonington, and held various offices of trust, particularly town clerk, which he held for a number of years before and at the time when the town was divided and the town of North Stonington was established, 1807, again being elected town clerk of North Stonington, which he held until his death. He served in the Revolutionary war..."
So, there you have it! The story of the Justice of the Peace. Oh, wait. I guess I should look him up at Footnote.com and find out what he did in the Revolutionary War. Sigh, more research.....
Update!
Stephen AVERY was a son of Rev. Nathan AVERY who has an excellent gravestone! I just looked it up and Stephen is buried in the same cemetery as his parents, Great Plain Cemetery in North Stonington!
I have removed his middle name from this blog post because Stephen's birth record in the Vital Records of Stonington in the Barbour Index (1:178) simply says Stephen Avery
Showing posts with label Grace Denison Wheeler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grace Denison Wheeler. Show all posts
Monday, June 15, 2009
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
The Danger of Historical Books
So much is written about the value of reading and citing the information in historical books and print genealogies as opposed to finding data on your ancestors through the Internet. Certainly, the information in print is more reliable, especially if it is cited correctly so others can find it. The Internet with its Web pages, discussion boards, mailing lists, blogs, social networks and online photo sharing and of course, email bring those who crave information about their ancestors closer together to share, reflect upon and discuss the past. Today's genealogist must be capable of using all resources possible.
Upon the recommendation of a friend, I purchased a copy of Grace Denison Wheeler's 1903 book, "Old Homes of Stonington". What I didn't know is that the reprinting of this book has eliminated three chapters and a whole section with graveyard inscriptions! My copy purchased in 2006, from the bookseller, Alibris, a reputable, reliable and speedy delivery company does not contain the entire contents of the original volume. It is, however, cleanly and sturdily bound and can be carried easily on my travels from home to Stonington, CT with no problems. It cost $52.44 and was worth every penny. (or so I thought...)
It is a wonderful book, filled with photographs of homes of my ancestors and stories and is a great companion to fleshing out lives of the people. Grace was the town historian and daughter of Richard Wheeler whose book "History of Stonington" is an amazing work of its time. My copy is in use daily in my work for my own ancestors and in my work as assistant genealogist to the Denison Society.
Grace's work is vastly different from her father's approach and reflects the perspective of a female historian. Imagine my delight at finding her gravestone at Elm Grove Cemetery in Mystic, CT. I have printed it and use it as a bookmark in my book.
Last weekend, I was offered the opportunity to borrow an original edition from the Denison Society's library as long as I took good care of it and sent it back promptly (which I have done). It is fragile, yellowing and easily damaged just by reading never mind scanning or photocopying.
As I opened it, I discovered that there is a photograph of Grace on the first page! I gasped aloud; how could they leave that out? I carefully photocopied that page for my personal collection. Grace was single, so she has no direct descendants for me to contact.
Chapters eleven, twelve and thirteen are missing from my reprinted copy and both are of high interest to me. One is about Denisons, the second is written by a Chesebrough and the third is about the Rev. James Noyes. All of these surnames are prominent in my charts!
Most annoying is the many missing pages of gravestone transcriptions. Without this important information, many gravestones will be impossible to identify in the future. Some are hard to locate and read today.
The moral to this story is that even information in print can be deceptive. If I had investigated more closely in 2006, I would have found the correct edition available for purchase via The Stonington Historical Society. The cost is $35 with shipping. Notice it says "with missing chapters and gravestone inscriptions".
Upon the recommendation of a friend, I purchased a copy of Grace Denison Wheeler's 1903 book, "Old Homes of Stonington". What I didn't know is that the reprinting of this book has eliminated three chapters and a whole section with graveyard inscriptions! My copy purchased in 2006, from the bookseller, Alibris, a reputable, reliable and speedy delivery company does not contain the entire contents of the original volume. It is, however, cleanly and sturdily bound and can be carried easily on my travels from home to Stonington, CT with no problems. It cost $52.44 and was worth every penny. (or so I thought...)
It is a wonderful book, filled with photographs of homes of my ancestors and stories and is a great companion to fleshing out lives of the people. Grace was the town historian and daughter of Richard Wheeler whose book "History of Stonington" is an amazing work of its time. My copy is in use daily in my work for my own ancestors and in my work as assistant genealogist to the Denison Society.
Grace's work is vastly different from her father's approach and reflects the perspective of a female historian. Imagine my delight at finding her gravestone at Elm Grove Cemetery in Mystic, CT. I have printed it and use it as a bookmark in my book.
Last weekend, I was offered the opportunity to borrow an original edition from the Denison Society's library as long as I took good care of it and sent it back promptly (which I have done). It is fragile, yellowing and easily damaged just by reading never mind scanning or photocopying.
As I opened it, I discovered that there is a photograph of Grace on the first page! I gasped aloud; how could they leave that out? I carefully photocopied that page for my personal collection. Grace was single, so she has no direct descendants for me to contact.
Chapters eleven, twelve and thirteen are missing from my reprinted copy and both are of high interest to me. One is about Denisons, the second is written by a Chesebrough and the third is about the Rev. James Noyes. All of these surnames are prominent in my charts!
Most annoying is the many missing pages of gravestone transcriptions. Without this important information, many gravestones will be impossible to identify in the future. Some are hard to locate and read today.
The moral to this story is that even information in print can be deceptive. If I had investigated more closely in 2006, I would have found the correct edition available for purchase via The Stonington Historical Society. The cost is $35 with shipping. Notice it says "with missing chapters and gravestone inscriptions".
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