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11. Elkanah HEWITT I (Benjamin
, Thomas
) was born Mar 1699/1700 in Stonington, New London Co., Connecticut and was christened 7 May 1699 in Road Church, Stonington, New London Co., Connecticut. He died after 1776 in Stonington, New London Co., Connecticut.
THE CONNECTICUT NUTMEGGER, Vol. 24, #2 Sept. 1991
ELKANAH HEWITT, SR. AND FAMILY OF STONINGTON CONNECTICUT, CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS. by Walter R. Buss, CSG #9363.
For many years we had been searching for additional information on the wife of Elkanah Hewitt, Sr. who was born March 1999/1700 in Stonington, New London County, Connecticut, the son of Benjamin and Marie (or Mary) Fanning Hewitt. Until three or four years ago, the only record we had was in Richard Anson Wheeler's HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF STONINGTON, NEW LONDON COUNTY, CONNECTICUT where on page 419 Elkanah is called Elkana and his wife is identified as Temperance Kenney, and on page 421 where, when listed with eight children, she is called Temperance Keeney, married 1722. (Notice the difference in the spelling of her surname.) Wheeler gives no sources for his information, but there are at least three glaring errors in this data. One is an actual error and two are errors of omission.
1. Elkanah's wife and mother of the children is not Temperance Keeney, but Hannah, maiden name unknown, as shown by the christening of the children in the North Stonington First Congregational Church (LDS FHL #005081). Here, except for Elkanah, Thankful, and Sarah, and either Jonas or Simeon, they are identified by name and as "son or daughter of Elkanah Hewitt and his wife Hannah." Also, a Mrs. Hannah Hewitt was baptized in this church about two months before the christenings of the three oldest, Elkanah, Thankful, and Sarah.
2. Silas, six child of this couple, is not listed in Wheeler, though his birth is recorded in the Stonington Town Records (LDS FHL #1309872).
3. There are three still younger children in the family whose christenings appear in the records of the North Stonington First Congregational Church - Hannah, Samuel, and Rogger. Samuel and Rogger do not appear in any other record found to date, but Hannah is named in her father's will dated 14 February 1776 (LDS FHL #1032097).
There is still another problem with this family, which has been cleared up with recent research. In his will, dated 14 February 1776, Elkanah names his wife as Temperance. At first glance is might appear that his wife was Temperance at home and Hannah at church. Actually, however, his wife at the time of the will was Temperance Grant of Norwich, whom he married in the Lisbon (New London Co.) Congregational Church. 16 September 1773 (LDS FHL #0004706). This marriage was reported in the New London Gazette 1 Oct 1773 where he is stated to be "of Stonington" and "age 70" (three years too young), but it adds that he was attended by his older brother, Israel, thus identifying him definitely as the son of Benjamin and Marie Fanning Hewitt.
The marriage is listed also in the Charles R. Hale Collection of Marriages in Connecticut Newspapers (LDS FHL #0003402), though the names are not in the general index.
Two other errors concerning the marriage of Elkanah Hewitt and Temperance Grant occur in Frederick W. Bailey's EARLY CONNECTICUT MARRIAGES PRIOR TO 1800 (LDS FHL #974.6 V25b). On page 87 of his "5th Book", (1) Elkanah is called Elkanah Hunt and (2) the date is given as 16 September 1773-75. In the original record in the Lisbon Congressional Church, it is clearly Elkanah Hewitt and the date is 1773, not 1775, which is further proved by the date of the newspaper item in the New London Gazette cited above.
DESCENDANTS OF CAPTAIN THOMAS HEWITT OF STONINGTON, CONN.. Compiled by Virginia Hewitt Watterson, 1996. Found in the Joseph Smith Library, Salt Lake City, Ut. Page 10 & 11.
Born in Stonington, Conn in March 1699 (VR), son of Benjamin Hewitt and Marie Fanning, and baptized at the 1st Congregational Church of Stonington, 7 May 1699; died at Stonington in 1776, between 14 Feb. and 16 May of that year. Elkanah married 1st, HANNAH STERRY, about 1722, Hannah was born in Stonington, 22 Feb. 1704 (VR), daughter of Samuel Sterry and Hannah Rose; she died before 1773. Elkanah married 2nd, Temperance (Lanthrop) Bishop Grant, widow of John Bishop and Capt. James Grant, 16 Sept 1773 at Lisbon, Conn (Lisbon CR). Temperance was born in Norwich, Conn., 6 Oct. 1704 (VR), daughter of Joseph Lathrop and Elizabeth Watrous; no date of death has been found for her but she was known to be living in Feb. 1776.
Elkanah owned and operated a sawmill on the east side of Cossaduck Creek near Stonington. He wrote his will on 14 Feb. 1776, and probated 11 June 1776 (Stonington Probate Records, docket #1623). An inventory of his estate was taken 16 May 1776. The will bequeathed a 54-acre parcel of land to his sons, Elkanah, Henry, Silas, Jonas and Simeon. That land was divided by consent of the 5 sons in April 1777. Temperance, the widow, and Elkanah's daughters, Thankful Kinne, Sarah Coye and Hannah Kinne were mentioned in the will. Sons Henry and Jonas were named executors of the estate. Not mentioned, because they had apparently died before Elkanah wrote his will, were his children, Arthur, Tabitha, Samuel and Rogger. Although it is assumed that Elkanah and his two wives were buried in the Stonington area, no grave markers have been found for them.
Wheeler, in the HISTORY OF STONINGTON, CONN., omitted Elkanah's 1st wife, Hannah, who was the matter of all his children. Mrs. Hannah Hewitt was baptized as an adult at the 1st Congregational Church of Stonington on 28 Nov. 1729, a few months before the baptism of their first 3 children at the same church. By 1733, Elkanah and Hannah had transferred their membership to the 2nd Church of Christ in North Stonington, which was organized under Rev. Joseph Fish. Hannah was listed as the mother of their last 9 children baptized 1733 to 1751 by Rev. Fish.
Walter Burges Smith, in THE STERRY FAMILY OF AMERICA, identified Elkanah's 1st wife as Hannah Sterry. It is to be noted that Elkanah and Hannah named their 10th child Sterry to honor Hannah's father, Samuel Sterry. In anticipation of an early death and too weak to be brought to the church, this child was baptized by Rev. Fish at the parent's home (CR). Elkanah and Hannah's son Henry also carried on the name of his maternal grandfather by naming one of Henry's sons Sterry.
Charles Allen Converse, in his book on descendants of Samuel Converse, identified Temperance Lathrop as first marrying John Bishop as his 2nd wife, 22 Aug. 1727. After his death, Temperance married Capt. James Grant, 14 Dec. 1763 and thirdly, Elkanah Hewitt, 16 Sept. 1773.
References:
Vital Records of Stonington, North Stonington, Norwich and Preston, Conn. Stonington Probate Records, LDS film #1,032,097.
Records of 1st Congregational Church of Stonington, Conn., LDS film #5615. Records of 2nd Church of Christ, North Stonington, Conn., LDS film #5081. Records of Lisbon, Conn. Congregational Church, LDS film #4706.
Stonington Town Records, LDS film #1,209,872.
Wheeler, HISTORY OF STONINGTON, CONN., pp. 419 & 421.
Walter Burges Smith, THE STERRY FAMILY IN AMERICA (private printing in Isreal:1973) pp. 8 & 9.
Joan S. Gilford, ANCESTORY OF DR. J.P. GILFORD Franklin, N.C. 1990, p. 477. Charles Allen Converse, SOME ANCESTORS AND DESCENDANTS OF SAMUEL CONVERSE, Boston: 1905, p. 828.
Cemetery Records of Gilford, Chenango Co., NY.
Charles R. Hale, Collection of Cemeteries in Conn., LDS film #3139.
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