Barbary PALMER

Barbary PALMER, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

The Stewart Family of North Stonington

Barbary5 (Barbara) PALMER (William4, William3, Gershom2, Walter1) was born 27 Jan 1750 in Stonington, New London, CT. She was a daughter of William PALMER, Jr. (1704-1781) and his wife Abigail WYATT (-1784).

She and Nathan were married 1 May 1768 in Stonington and were the parents of the following ten children: (red text indicates my ancestor)

1. Nathan, 1769-1850, m (1) Honor BROWN, m (2) Anna BROWN
2. Barbary , 1771-?, m Capt. Nehemiah BROWN
3. Edward, 1774-1837, m. Rebecca NOYES
4. Priscilla, 1778-?, m. Noyes WHEELER
5. Betsey, 1780-1861, m Col. Dension RANDALL
6. Russell W., 1783-?, m. Caroline LORD
7. George Palmer, 1786-1851 m. Mary ("Polly") HEWITT
8. Phebe, 1789-?, m. Oliver SWAN
9. Cyrus, 1792-?, m. Sophia CROCKER
10. Apphia, 1795-?, died young

Nathan STEWARD

Nathan STEWARD
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

Nathan3 STEWARD (William2, Jr. William1, Sr.) was born 22 Jun 1745 in Stonington, CT. He married Barbary PALMER 1 May 1768 in Stonington, CT. He died 1 Nov 1813 in Stonington.

He is buried in Great Plain Cemetery #57 in North Stonington, CT on the top of the hill beside his wife.

His gravestone is sandstone and is flaking off but the footstone remains above ground.

"In memory of/ Mr. Nathan Steward/who died/Nov. 1, 1813/aged 69 years."

Nathan STEWARD [my 4th great grandfather] and his wife Barbary PALMER are the first gravestones I have been able to find in my STEWART/STEWARD line.

As Nathan and Barbary had ten children, I am hoping to meet other descendants researching them. [to date I know of only one person.] They are buried in the Great Plain Cemetery in North Stonington in the near center of the graveyard on a hill. Their gravestones are sandstone and they are flaking off BUT they both have intact footstones.

The links here will take you to my gravestone blog where I am posting gravestone photos and information.

Nathan3 STEWARD/STEWART (William2, William1) was born 22 June 1745 and died 1 Nov 1813 in Stonington, New London, CT. He married Barbary PALMER on 1 May 1768.

"He was a man of great resolution and his wife was a noble woman. He lived to see nearly all his children married." [Wheeler p. 605-606]

Barbary PALMER [footstone]

Barbary PALMER [footstone]
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

February Footstone Project; Blog Post #6

I have annotated this photo of Barbary PALMER, wife of Nathan STEWARD's, footstone so that you can see clearly the carved side of the footstone and it's position in relation to the person's remains and the back side (uncarved) headstone.

Gaylord Cooper's book, "Stories Told in Stone" lists the definition of a footstone as a "smaller gravestone set at the foot of a grave, most often in conjunction with a headstone; may be inscribed with only initials or names." [p. 112] I recommend this book if you are looking to get started with working with gravestone research.

Photo was taken at Great Plain Cemetery in North Stonington, New London, CT

This is the last footstone investigation in this blog post project. As I go out gravestone hunting, I will look for more footstones and report on them!

Headstone & Footstone

Headstone & Footstone
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

Tombstone Tuesday 18 Aug 2009

This is a view of Nathan and Barbary (Palmer) STEWARD, one set of my fourth great grandparents who are buried in the Great Plain Cemetery (#57) in North Stonington, CT.

Normally, we take photos of the headstones and only take photos of the footstones if the headstone is unreadable or missing.

I felt that I should turn away from the gravestone that I was photographing, to look at the stones from this angle. I am glad I did because it made me think about all of the things I have learned about gravestones since I started photographing graves.

Many ancient cemeteries in New England have lost this classic arrangement of headstones and footstones due to the footstones being broken when the grass is mowed. Sometimes, the footstone sinks into the ground, as it is usually smaller.

All too often the person mowing the grass has removed the footstones to make the job of mowing easier. Remember, the body of the person is between the headstone and footstone! As a child, I was told I should not walk on the dead. Were you told this?

Yes, this is supposed to look like a bed for sleeping. It was the intention for us to think our loved ones are sleeping until the day of reckoning when the souls of the dead are called to heaven.

As this idea changed with the time period, people stopped paying for the footstones to be placed and the name or initials of the dead put on them. Sometimes, the carving on the footstones is all I have had to be able to match a name to a list of people who are buried in the cemetery.

As I am working up ideas for a presentation on learning about graveyards, I have been thinking about all the things that people might not know about New England graveyards.

If you didn't know about this, could you please leave a comment. Should this photo be part of my presentation?

Barbary PALMER

Barbary PALMER
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

Barbary6 PALMER (William5 Jr., William4 Sr., Dea. Gershom3, Walter2 II, Walter1 I) was born 27 January 1749 in Stonington, CT daughter of William PALMER, Jr. and his wife Abigail WYATT.

She married Nathan STEWARD on 1 May 1768 in Stonington. The couple had 10 children. She died 15 Mar 1805 in Stonington.

She is buried beside her husband at Great Plain Cemetery #57 in North Stonington, CT with a matching sandstone gravestone with footstone intact and above ground.