Stewart Family Blog
Stewart Hill Cemetery on Wyssaup Road in North Stonington.
[photo by Midge Frazel]
If you are new to blogs, they are in reverse chronological order. Please read the oldest entry and work your way forward.
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)
- Nathan, 1769-1850, m (1) Honor BROWN, m (2) Anna BROWN
- Barbary , 1771-?, m Capt. Nehemiah BROWN
- Edward, 1774-1837, m. Rebecca NOYES
- Priscilla, 1778-?, m. Noyes WHEELER
- Betsey, 1780-1861, m Col. Dension RANDALL
- Russell W., 1783-?, m. Caroline LORD
- George Palmer, 1786-1851 m. Mary ("Polly") HEWITT
- Phebe, 1789-?, m. Oliver SWAN
- Cyrus, 1792-?, m. Sophia CROCKER
- Apphia, 1795-?, died young
Many families from the Stonington, CT area, migrated to areas in New York. Some settled down but some returned back to Connecticut.
Hal Miller, Webmaster of the Berne Historical Society in New York, wrote this article about those families. The Web page for the Berne Historical Project is of great interest to any of us with families that moved to New York. It is rich with census records, maps and gravestones.
Hal so loved the idea of this blog, that he started one for the sharing of ideas about these families called Berne, New York Blog. I hope you will visit it.
This is the side of the house as it appeared in 2004.
Photo of the house that I took in 2004. It seems to be in the same position as the old homestead but with a more modern front.
This is a scanned copy (one of two) of an undated photo of the Stewart/Steward family homestead. It was obtained from Gladys Chase of the North Stonington Historical Society from the archives stored at the Society.
This photo was probably taken the same day as the other photo as the windows in the house are open to the same level.
Look closely to the left side where the two men are standing. What are those poles? Do you see the Stewart Hill cemetery? Note the wooden gate on the side where the house is, which I don't think is there now.
This is a scanned copy (one of two) of an undated photo of the Stewart/Steward family homestead. It was obtained from Gladys Chase of the North Stonington Historical Society from the archives stored at the Society.
Maureen Taylor, world known "photo detective" examined it and sets the date, from the clothing, at about 1900.
There are many mysteries about this photo. What was the reason for the reunion? Who is the couple standing posed having their photo taken and are the people attending family, neighbors or friends. Note that some are Orthodox Jews.
When was the first Stewart home built on Stewart Hill [now Wyassup Rd.]?
Nathan Steward (1745-1813) "bought out the family rights in the old homestead and built a house, which was afterward occupied by his son Edward (1774-1837) and then by Denison Stewart (1807-1867)." [Wheeler: p. 605]
This is significant because it mentions that first of all, there was an old Stewart house, and secondly that this house remained in the family until Dension Stewart died in 1867. [I have found evidence of who owned the house after that through obituaries that mention the house next to the Stewart Hill cemetery.] This tells us that the house was owned by a Stewart from circa 1759 to 1867.
The notes of Mrs. A. Morgan Stewart indicate that the first house was being built by William Stewart, Jr. and his death [by family tradition] resulted from a broken neck after falling down the front stairs of the unfinished house. This puts the date of the old homestead in progress in abt. 1759.
I am not sure when the cemetery next to the homestead was first built. Upon my first visit, Gladys Chase told me that the house that was there at the time was being torn down. It was in great disrepair but I took photos anyway.
