Tombstone Tuesday - Headstone Artisans of the 18th century

This tombstone Tuesday, I find it appropriate (since I just returned from a genealogy trip to New England) to talk about the craftsmen of many of the tombstones of my ancestors from the 1700's.
Pictured here is a tombstone from Suffield, Connecticut. This is a stone carved by the Stebbins workshops in nearby Longmeadow, Massachusetts. Since many of these headstones still exist, it is clear the craftmanship was amazing as was the artwork on the stones. Stebbins is one of my surnames which is how I came across this information during my research of that line. Ezra Stebbins was the first of the Stebbins master crafters. He would go to the Longmeadow sandstone quaries and choose sandstone large enough to carve his ornate headstones. The business was passed down to his son Ezra, Jr., presumably Ezra taught his son the trade. No one knows for sure if others were employed as artisians, however, there are several known styles so one can presume The Stebbins family employed apprentices to help keep up with their orders. The Stebbins were most known for their winged faces and elaborate ornamentation using nature - often vines on the headstones. The majority of eyes on the faces on the headstones were larger (and more realistic) than most. As I traversed the graveyards through the mud in the rain, it certainly made photographing my ancestors graves more interesting as I tried to guess which headstones could be Stebbins' creations. I still am not sure how Ezra was related, but his beautiful masterpieces are a sight to behold.
Besides the Stebbins worshop, Elijah Sikes, and 3 generations of Johnson's in Middletown, Connecticut were master craftsmen of 18th century headstones in The Connecticut Valley (which includes Southwest Massachusetts). Joseph Williston of Springfield and Nataniel Phelps of Northampton were also master crafters of beautiful headstones.
Nathaniel Phelps of Northampton still has many headstones that survive in Northampton, Deerfield and many other towns. I had photographed several of his headstones without realizing it at the time. Pictured here is the headstone of a relative of mine Mehetable Clap. Nathaniel's style is clearly more simple than the elaborate Stebbins graves but beautiful, nonetheless.
Thomas, Joseph and John Johnson of Middletown were 3 generations of headstone artisans. Thomas was of the first generation whose creations from the 1720 through about 1739 also still exist throughout Connecticut. His son Joseph extended the business into Massachusetts and his career spanned from late 1720's well into the 1750's. Joseph's son John crafted headstones from the mid 1770's until the end of the 1700's. Each of the 3 generations got more detailed and more elaborate. Pictured here is John Johnson's work from Middletown which is deteriorating, however you can still see the fine craftmanship on this stone. So next time you look at a headstone you may want to do some research into who made that stone. You never know, it could be a family member!

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