Achsah Clapp Dewey

I have read every book I could find on the Clapp and Dewey families during my research into the family of my mother.  They were both huge early New England families so there were many written. Of all the many people written about in these family genealogies, I have only noticed one person with no date of death - my 4th great grandmother, Achsah Clap(p) Dewey.  I always found this so sad, as if she had been forgotten and lost. As if no one cared enough to look. It always bothered me, probably more than it should have. I tried to find something on her death every way I could think of and always came up with nothing. The wills and probates of Lewis County, New York never mentioned her.
What is known about Achsah is she was born on 31 January 1758 to Aaron Clap(p) and his wife Jemima (Bartlett) Clap(p) in Southampton, Massachusetts. Their grave is pictured left - I visited and photographed it 5 months ago. John Dewey was born and raised in Westfield, Massachusetts. He left Westfield to serve in the war of the revolution and his service took him though New York among other places and he kept a diary during his service.  He fought major battles of the revolution which included crossing the Delaware with General Washington's troops to fight in the Battle of Trenton.
On 16 September 1780 Achsah Clapp married John Dewey.  They had 8 children together, all born in Westfield between 1781 and 1798.  In the spring of 1802 John brought 2 of his sons, John and Chester to Lewis County, New York to begin clearing land to build a new home for the family.  They returned for the rest of the family and left Westfield permanently later that year. 
John Dewey died on 31 December 1821. 

Fast forward 190 years to 2009.  While looking for Achsah's date of death I came across a website that listed residents of cemeteries in New York State. It listed my John Dewey's grave in the same cemetery as a few of his children. The cemetery list seemed complete. Achsah's name was not there. This deepened the mystery for me - where was Achsah buried?  Did she remarry? Perhaps she returned to Westfield or Southampton for a visit and died there? Why was she not buried with her husband? What happened to Achsah? I looked for each of her siblings and children to see where they were buried in an attempt to find her final resting  place.  Each time I came up with nothing for her.
During my many visits to Find A Grave about a year later, I found a new entry for the son of John and Achsah Dewey, Chester Dewey who was my 3rd great grandfather.  Also there was his wife Phebe (Wetmore) Dewey.  I contacted the man who created the memorial which included pictures of their headstones and asked him to link Chester to his father.  He had many Dewey graves he wanted to add to Find A Grave so we began corresponding and I helped him identify the parents and children so he could link them correctly. Last week he went to Leyden Hill Cemetery and found and photographed the headstone of John Dewey and his daughter Sally.  I was thrilled.  I explained to him the wife of John was a mystery and no one knew her date of death or burial place. I mentioned I knew his daughter Sally Dewey Lord was buried there with her husband Gurdon. After further correspondance he realized that grave, located next to John, was not Sally, it was Achsah!  The grave was in very poor condition and had fallen down flat. It was covered with moss and aged.  He went back to the cemetery, cleaned up the stone a bit which revealed Achsah's date of death. I am so happy to announce Ashsah Capp Dewey died on July 28, 1833 at the age of 75.  She had outlived her husband by 12 years as well as 2 of her children.  Her grave is located next to her husband (on the ground) in Leyden Hill Cemetery located in Port Leyden, Lewis County, New York. She is no longer lost and forgotten.

Independence Day 2010 John Dewey

I know it is surname Saturday but this Independence Day I have to think about all the family ancestors that served on the side of the rebels in our war for independence. When you think of the birth of our nation, many believe we became an official nation on July 4, 1776. It is true that is the date we declared our independence, however, the war was far from over on that date. The American Revolution began in 1775 but did not end until 1783. Today I will tell the story of John Dewey, my 5th great grandfather. A great American Patriot whom I am very proud of.
According to his diary, John Dewey left his home in Westfield, Massachusetts to join the fight for independence on April 4, 1776. His journey began in the nearby town of Roxbury and from there he left for several place before ending up in New London, Connecticut. These men marched - there were no cars, trains or horses to ease their journey. From New London, John was lucky enough to have caught a ship to sail to New York. He was clearly impressed with New York City and the rest of the state. One day he would move his family and made his home there.
But during the war he was still unmarried. After marching hundreds of miles and surviving numerous battles, winter came early. His diary does mention cold and snow. What it does not mention is what history has. The towns in New York he was in suffered a early and severe winter. No less than 12 snowstorms 5 of which were severe blizzards occurred during December of 1776 in the exact towns where John Dewey was. Supplies and food were in severe shortage for the troops in New York and New Jersey. New York was lost to the British. The soldiers knew defeat after defeat. The revolution had barely begun and yet their total defeat seemed imminent. General Washington decided a bold move was necessary. In one of the Revolution's defining moments he decided they would cross the Delaware River under the cover of night and attack the British at Trenton. The soldiers were suffering tremendously. There were reports of soldiers eating shoes because of the lack of food. Many of the soldiers marched through the snow with only rags on their feet. Instead of spending Christmas Day warm in front of the hearth fire with the love of family and friends feasting on a Christmas meal, John Dewey and hundreds of other militia men and soldiers crossed the Delaware River during a brutally cold evening in a snowstorm. While his family were warm in their beds sleeping soundly, he was preparing for a huge battle in Trenton after marching for many miles in a snowstorm while his stomach grumbled from hunger and his body ached from lack of sleep and the many miles walked in deep snow. I cannot even imagine what was going through his mind. The surprise attack was the first major success of the Revolution and the battle lasted less than an hour. The morale boost it gave the Continental Army was priceless.
Thanks to John Dewey, and all the soldiers of the revolution and every war and conflict since, I will never have to know. I know this weekend we are celebrating our independence but don't forget to thank any soldiers you may know who keep us independent and free.

Surname Saturday Dewey

My mother's father, Dix Darius Dewey spent his entire life working on the Dewey family genealogy. He was a Certified Public Accountant whose work brought him to many different states and during these trips he would visit the local libraries and call everyone in the local phone book with his surnames. By the time of his death he had stacks of legal sized accounting books filled with names and dates from his children all the way back to the hundreds. Yes, the hundreds! When my grandfather died, my mother was given much of his work and the "Dewey photographs". I remember a large oval shaped photograph of a Dewey taken during the civil war and several tin type photographs. My hope is to one day source his life's work so it can be turned over to a genealogy library completely authenticated. It would make an amazing resource for anyone with New England ancestry. I no longer have access to his work - my mother gave it all to her brother, however, I have begun my own work into the Dewey family. It is like a who's who of the men and women who founded this country. Some of the surnames include Hawes, Noble, Clapp, Bartlett, Root, Stebbins, Spencer and Graves.
Pictured in the top left of this page is Charles Marion Dewey, the father of my grandfather. On the back of this photograph is a brief overview of the family tree typed onto paper that is taped on the back. It says Charles died in Ames, Iowa. Of all the Dewey information on the internet, there is nothing about Charles Marion Dewey. He is listed in many trees, but his wife's name and children are not found anywhere. So, I will write something about them here.
Charles Marion Dewey (pictured top left) was born on August 6, 1856 to Milton Dewey (1818-1897) and Pamelia Riggs (1818-1888) in Martinsburg, New York. He married Etta Kent on January 1, 1884. Charles and Etta had 3 children; Darius Dee (1884-1885), Don Duane (1886) and my grandfather, Dix Darius (1887). Charles and Etta must have moved around because they were married in New York, had their son Dix in Jersey City, New Jersey and Charles died in Newton, Iowa
My mother told me that her grandfather, Charles Marion Dewey, had committed suicide in Iowa. I do not know if this is true. I cannot find anything on his death yet, not even a date but I hope to find something soon.
My grandfather Dix married Myrtle Schmitt who was the daughter of Joseph Schmitt and Katherine "Kate" Bronter. The mother's of both my grandparents lived with them after their husbands died. In contrast to Dix's early American, New England roots on all sides of his family, Myrtle's father immigrated from the Alsace region of France. But that is the subject for a different post.
The Dewey ancestry of my mother
Dix Darius Dewey & Myrtle Schmitt
Charles Marion Dewey & Etta Kent
Milton Dewey & Pamelia Riggs
Chester Dewey & Phebe Wettmore
John Dewey & Achsah Clapp
Aaron Dewey & Sarah Noble
Israel Dewey & Sarah Root
Thomas Dewey & Constant Hawes
Thomas Dewey & Francis Randall