Tombstone Tuesday Dudley Kent Of Suffield, Connecticut

When I visited Suffield, Connecticut in 2011, I was very disappointed that my local ancestor's headstones no longer exist. I was told by a staff member at the Kent Memorial Library that the church had expanded and renovated over the years and built the additions to the church over the graves. Although I was very disappointed, I was happy to find this wonderful headstone for Dudley Kent. Dudley was born to John Kent (my ancestor) and his first wife Abigail Dudley (who is not my ancestor). Dudley was born in Suffield on 23 October 1695 and married Ruth Ruggles who bore him 10 children. Dudley lived to be 71 years old.The headstone is a typical style for the Hartford County area of this period. We are very fortunate his headstone exists in remarkable condition considering it is over 246 years old!

Tombstone Tuesday - Lt. Daniel Bagg 1776

Lieutenant Daniel Bagg

This is the exquisite headstone of Lieutenant Daniel Bagg who died on December 21,1776 at the age of 44. He is buried in Westfield, Massachusetts at the Old Burying Ground also called The Mechanic Street Cemetery. Although he was not my family, I photographed his grave because of it's beauty and uniqueness. As I was sorting through the photographs the date he died, 1776 and the fact he was a lieutenant, peaked my curiosity. A quick search revealed he was listed among the dead listed in the book "Known Military Dead During the American Revolutionary War, 1775-1783" written by Clarence Stewart Peterson. However, he is listed as "died" not killed. Exactly how he died is unknown, however, he did die while in service to the revolution. So for this blog post, I decided to look for the names of his parents. This is what I found. Daniel Bagg was born on 24 February 1696/97 in Westfield, Massachusetts. He was the son of Daniel Bagg and Hannah Phelps. He married, Abigail Dewey, daughter of Thomas Dewey and Abigail Dewey, on 12 December 1734 in Westfield. I knew if he married a Dewey during this time frame she was somehow related to my family. After all, this is the cemetery my early Dewey settlers are buried in. Further checking revealed that Thomas Dewey was the son of Jedidiah and Sarah Orton and his mother Abigail Dewey was the daughter of Thomas Dewey II and Constant Hawes. So Daniel Bagg was not related to me directly, however, his wife was. Had I not written this blog post, I never would have known that.