Mary Holdredge HOXIE

Mary Holdredge HOXIE
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

Mary Holdrege HOXIE was a daughter of Benjamin Franklin Hoxie and his wife Harriet Elizabeth CLIFT. Her headstone is simple granite and lists her with her married surname and the year of her birth and death. Simple, right? Not at all.

She was born 27 Dec 1847 in Mystic, New London, CT according to the Denison Genealogy (p. 457). but the 1900 census lists her as being born in Dec 1848 which fits with this gravestone. She married Joseph W. Lambert on 7 Feb 1872 in Stonington and moved to Stamford, Fairfield, CT. Once again, the 1900 census indicates that they were married 27 years which makes the year of marriage 1873.

The Denison genealogy gives a reference code for who gave the information and this family is listed as Mrs. Franks Parcells [Elsie Post HOXIE] and Mrs. Frank Gilfillan [Harriet A. HOXIE]. 

Prior to her marriage, Mary is listed with her parents and siblings in the 1860 and 1870 census. I have not located this family in the 1880 census and that must be rectified as their daughter was born in 1880.
 
Finding conflicting data is quite distressing as it means that a "reasonably exhaustive search" is not complete. One small comfort is that this family has no descendants which gives us more time to find out about Mary, Joe and Nellie.

It is interesting how I begin to think of these long dead people, who are not part of my family, as people I once knew.

David Lambert

David Lambert
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

Last Saturday, 6 June 2009, David Allen Lambert gave a talk at the Plymouth County Genealogists Annual Luncheon. His talk was about researching your British ancestors.

He was so kind to let me take his photo and to provide a page of links for us on his personal Web site.

Slate & Sandstone: New England Books

Like many genealogists, I own a number of useful books to help me with my work but still, the majority of books on my bookshelf are about technology. Instead of buying two books I needed, I bought the CD of the Genealogical Dictionaries of New England & Rhode Island (Savage & Austin) instead and have searched Google Books for treasures like the Chesebrough genealogy too.

One of my ancestors, Thomas Minor, kept a journal [The Diary of Thomas Minor 1653-1684] of daily life in Connecticut and it is considered primary source material. I think that's very cool but it's hard to read due to the creative spelling and abbreviations of the era.

• How to Do Everything with your Genealogy by George G. Morgan is one of the best beginner genealogy books I have owned because it is not really for beginners. It's a must have...
• Preserving Your Family Photographs by Maureen Taylor (my friend) is something everyone who is lucky enough to have family photos to cherish should read.
• A Guide to Massachusetts Cemeteries by David Lambert (who tells me a new edition will be out soon)
• AGS (Association of Gravestone Studies) Field Guides are a series of pamphlets for those of us working with gravestones and cemeteries.
  
• A Graveyard Preservation Primer by Lynette Strangstad is a small book but the definitive reference for preservation and conservation of graveyards
• Researching your Colonial New England Ancestors by Patricia Law Hatcher
• Your Guide to Cemetery Research by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack
• Old Homes of Stonington by Grace Denison Wheeler (as discussed in this blog post)
• The Denison Genealogy (both versions) as I am assistant Denison genealogist and have five lines to Cap't George Denison of Connecticut. [Also, the genealogy of Thomas Stanton]
  
• The History of Stonington, Connecticut by Richard Anson Wheeler (the best $125 I ever spent as it may not be completely accurate but I don't know how any book like this was created before computers)

Of course, every genealogist should own Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills. And if you are traveling to meet me face-to-face you'll need James Baker's new book, A Guide to Historic Plymouth.