Tombstone Tuesday: Thankful Williams

Tombstone Tuesday; Thankfull Williams, wife of Avery Denison

Thankfull , wife of Avery Denison, photo by Fred Burdick, used with permission

Tombstone Tuesday: Be Thankful

As you can see, Thankful's stone is brownstone (also called sandstone) and it is eroded and lichen have invaded it, making it hard to read. This kind of problem is common and you can only be sure what it reads by standing in front of it and transcribing it. I can faintly see the letters when I use a "zoom in" with my software program.  Fortunately, Fred Burdick, who photographed this, did so using a mirror and he hand transcribed it while standing in front of it. This is his transcription. The breaks in the lines of carving on the stone (indicated by the forward slash are mine.)

"In Memory of Mrs. / Thankfull wife of Mr. Avery Denison/ who died May [unreadable or missing] /1767/ in the 49th year/ of her age." 

Thankful was a daughter of Col. John Williams and Desire Denison, making her second cousin to her husband. Her parents are buried in Whitehall Burying Ground in Mystic. Her date of death is listed as May 3rd in the Denison genealogy.

The Hale Cemetery index doesn't list her at all probably because they could not read the stone. Be cautious when using this index without other sources. Avery's will is printed in the earlier Denison genealogy but not in the new one. I am going to transcribe it because grandchildren are also listed.

Thankful and Avery had 11 children and were my 5th great grandparents. Their daughter, Prudence is my ancestor. She was the mother of Rebecca, wife of Edward Stewart whose handwritten marriage record I found in my family Bible.