USA > Connecticut > New London County > Stonington > Old homes in Stonington : with additional chapters and graveyard inscriptions > Part 15
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Beginning at a mear stone, standing by Wequetequock Cove, about fourteen rods east of the dwelling house of the said Charles; thence northwesterly by William Chesebroughs land about 89 rods to a mear stone, thence northwesterly by said William"s land to a mear stone standing in the dividing line of the said Charles' and William's land which is the south bound of a lot of land the said Charles sold to Denison Palmer, thence northwesterly by said Palmer's land to a mear stone standing in the dividing line of Moses Yeoman's land, thence southwesterly by Moses Yeomans land and Samuel Chese- brough's land, to a mear stone standing in a corner of a stone wall, about twelve rods easterly of the said now Samuel's dwelling house. Thence east and southerly by said Samuel's land to a mear stone
SAMUEL STANTON HOUSE
standing by a ditch and swamp adjoining a lot of land I bought of Denison Palmer, known and called by the name of Clesby orchard, thence west southerly by said ditch in swamp, by said Samuel's land, until it comes to Wm. Chesebrough's field, thence east southerly by said William's land to a lot of land I sold to Henry Burch, then by said Burch land to the Cove. Reference being had to the Deed of the said Burch land. Thence by said Cove to the first mentioned bound. To have and to hold the above granted and bargained premises ,for- ever." Signed by Charles Chesebrough in 1777.
The house which has been pointed out to some of our oldest in- habitants as the home of King David, is now known as the Charles Main house, which is situated east of the highway in Wequetequock, and nestled among the vines and climbing roses which cover the west side. It is a low gambrel-roof house, with the front door at the west end facing the road. On the east side of the house, in an underground room, was his store, where he sold merchandise to the neighboring
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people, and it has been kept for this same purpose all down the years, even during the lifetime of Mr. Charles Main.
King David was born in Stonington in 1702, but went to Newport into business as a merchant. He married there, first, Abigail-,and she died in 1738, aged 27 years, and is buried in the common ground at Newport. Later he married Abigail Rodgers and still later, Margaret- and had four children; one daughter married an English officer, and went to London to live. At the time of the Revolution, when the British held possession of Newport, they confiscated all his merchan- dise, and he returned in 1776 to Stonington, where his grave-stone records "that he sat down on his estate," where he lived till his death
THE BIRTHPLACE OF CAPT. CHARLES P. WILLIAMS
in 1782. His brother, Mr. Thomas Chesebrough, was educated at Harvard College and received several degrees. On his stone in the Stonington cemetery is the inscription: "He was a good scholar, a great He died with great resignation in the prime of lfe, unmarried, Decem historian and well acquainted with the Liberal Arts and Sciences. ber 11th, 1754, aged 48 years."
A few rods to the north, standing on the bank and overlooking the Cove is the low, wood-colored house built in 1787, by Gov. Thurston of Rhode Island, and purchased by Mr. Samuel Stanton of Mr. Eph- raim Williams. It was occupied for a long time by Mr. Constant Taylor, before Mr. Stanton lived there. The rooms show many marks of age and the great chimney fills a large portion of the upper of the two-story in front order with a long, low roof in the rear. chambers. On this same spot some years before, stood a large house It was used as a tavern stand, and a school was also kept in this tavern-room at one time by Mr. Ezra Denison. The old sign post
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which once held a creaking sign remained long after the house was gone, and here notices were posted up, and here also "trainings" were held. In this old house some have thought that King David Chese- brough lived.
The house was a little to the north, which stood where now Mr. Irtis Main lives, was called the Bill Batter or Silver Billy house. It was large, two-story with the long sloping roof, and was taken down about 1842. This place was owned by Mr. Jonathan Chesebrough shortly before its removal, and stories are told of a man who was de- ranged, being kept here for some time and by his screams frightened children when they passed on their way to school, and by others it was said to be haunted. The present house was put up by the Col-
ELIAS CHESEBROUGH HOUSE
linses for Mr. Elias Denison as a home for Mr. George Congdon, a blacksmith, who came from Voluntown to assist him in his black- smith work, afterwards he moved to North Stonington and the house was enlarged to its present size.
The old house standing on the hill above the Chapel, having a fine view of the Cove and Atlantic Ocean, was one of the mansion houses of the day, built as a half house originally, by George Palmer about 1783, and was exchanged by him, with a Mr. Butler for land in New York state, which when he went there to settle upon, he found that the title was not good and so returned.
This house stands, large and brown, on a rocky hill, with the roof sloping down to the windows of the first story in the rear, with a lean-to on the north side, while on the broad west side, above and be- low, are three windows. The old-fashioned outer door on the south and west side, with their old-style knockers and the hand-made cornice in the roomis, all testify of age. This house was occupied by Mr. Ephraim Williams after he married his second wife in 1787, and here
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his son, Capt. Charles, was born. It is now the property of the Second Congregational Society, having been given to them by Capt. Williams in his will, thus giving help through all time to that church.
Many other families have dwelt in this house in the last hundred years, among them, Mr. Isaac Wheeler, Jr., who lived here when the schoolhouse was built which stands there now, though somewhat changed, the door having been put in the middle when it was formerly at the corner, and the building turned to face the road, as it used to stand with end to the big boulder by the road, which was a good place for the scholars to spring upon from the door and then slide off into the road. This rock was finally split up and used for the founda- tion of the chapel built there some years later. This schoolhouse was built in 1811 by subscription and was considered the finest one in town, with its arched roof, while the number of children on the list then was over ninety.
OLD MILL HOUSE
The first grist mill in Stonington was also built near here in 1662 and stood a little northeast of the dwelling house occupied a few years ago by Mr. Elias Denison's family. The old mill was sold in 1663 to Mr. Luke Bromley, who run it for a number of years ,and after him came many other millers who operated the mill. About 1700 Capt. Andrew Palmer lived in the mill-house which stood near, a low, double. one-story affair with sloping roof, having the front door not quite i ... the middle of the house, for on one side of it was a room much larger than the other, having two windows, while the room on the other side had only one. Quite near, standing in the line of the old stone-wall, was the well with its long sweep and bucket, free to all passers-by on this road.
Mr. Elias Denison, who has lived in Wequetequock for over sixty years, can well remember the Old Mill house, which stood in the very place and over the very cellar where Mr. Asa Vincent built his barn, now standing; just in the rear of his house and that of Mr. Denison's. It belonged then to Mr. Andrew Palmer, but it seems quite probable that it was the very first mill-house built in 1661, which is mentioned in the agreement signed by the early settlers, one of whom was Elihu Palmer, brother of Capt. Andrew's great-grandfather, who died with- out children, and his will was burned in New London in 1781, and the only knowledge we have of his property is from a deed on the Ston- ington records.
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This house was built in the manner of the old houses of that date, very similiar to the old Jackson house in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, which was built in 1664. It faced the south and the road went in front of the house, which was a story and a half building, with the north roof sloping so that the plates rested on the ground and with only one small window in the gable end, east and west. In the early part of 1800 this was a very old house, and no other is remembered as being built in this manner about here so that it seems evident that it was the very first mill-house. The old mill stood a little further east and quite near the water. In this old house Mrs. Mary Chesebrough Fish, widow of Elisha, taught school, and after it became too dilapidated for a home, it was used as a blacksmith shop by Mr. Abel Crandall for some time, but finally was taken down and the barn built over the cel- lar.
EZRA CHESEBROUGH HOUSE
Turning at the Samuel Stanton house and passing through several gates, you climb "Tripe Hill," at the summit of which stands the Elias Chesebrough house, from which a fine view is obtained of the nearby valleys and hills, while the grand, old Atlantic ocean in the distance can be plainly seen. This large, double, wood-colored house was built in the latter part of 1700. It opens into an old-fashioned garden on the east side, full of vines and shrubs.
Mr. Elias Chesebrough lived here in 1793, and married Lucretia Pal- mer, sister of Sarah, who married Mr. Chesebrough's brother Ezra, and resided a half mile further on, where through pastures and orchards up hill and down, over rocks and through gates, you follow the path and wend your way in "Shacktown" as it used to be called, till you reach this small one-story house resting contentedly here amid the environments of nature. Could these old walls speak, they would tell much that would interest us of this neighborhood and its social life be- fore 1800. Here, Mr. Jesse Dean, who was Town Clerk in 1807, holding
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the office for over twenty years, at the Dean Mills, lived the latter part of his life, with his daughter Nancy, who married Mr. Ezra Chese- brough, Jr., in 1828.
And so at last we come again to Wequetequock, where our ancestors first came, and although there are a few other century old houses, yet standing in town, their history is shrouded in oblivion or unknown to the writer. Could these have been traced, they would doubtless have proven most interesting, but still we find that Stonington is rich in her "Old Homes."
CHAPTER ELEVENTH
OUR ANCESTORS
Capt. George Denison of England, Roxbury, Mass., New London and Stonington, Conn., is a familiar person to me. Sometimes I almost think I have met him somewhere, as I have heard so much about him all my life, and also have ten strains of Denison blood in my veins. His orig- inal will, written by his own hand, has hung in our library ever since I can remember, and a Denison Coat of Arms has also hung in the same room for years, having been given to me by my grandmother, Grace Denison, a direct descendant, who lived at the old homestead of Capt. George Denison at Pequotsepos, a few miles from my home in Stoning- ton.
"The Denison family were from Bishop's Stratford, Hertfordshire, England. From the old Parish register there, Stratford is spelled Stort- ford and the name of Denison is spelled in many different ways, seeming to indicate its origin was in Yorkshire, and goes back to about the time
that folk took family names. Thus-Bapt. "The son of Dennis." Both Denis and Denise, masculine and feminine forms were in common use. Crossing over from France this font name was for a while exceed- ingly popular, especially in Yorkshire and the North and has left its mark in such familier surnames as Dyson, Denny. The feminine, Den- ise, lingers on in southwest England till the close of the last century Richardfil Dionise Co-Norf 1273-Robert Denyson 1379-West Riding Yorkshire-Simon Denyse-1782-Norwich-Dennis, whence came Den- ison."-From Ervine Denison York.
There are quite a number of the name near Stortford, where our an- cestors lived in 1567 and died of the plague in 1582. Near there is an old manor said to have been tenanted in the time of Elizabeth by a Den- ison.
The first immigrant to America by the name of Denison is found in the Musters of the inhabitants of Virginia taken in 1624|5 where it is stated Edward Denison, aged 22, arrived in the Truelove, 1623. While not of the nobility, the family, as found in Hertfordshire, Eng- land, had apparently been long settled there and were wealthy, educated and influential, their sons being educated at the neighboring university of Cambridge and having representatives in the Established Church. The name appears in the Charter of King Malcolm who died in 1160, but the first one recorded here lived in the time of Queen Elizabeth (1558- 1603) and his children under James 1 (1603-1625).
The emigration to the New World was during the reign of Charles I (1625-1649) when the Commonwealth came in. It would appear quite probable that the family leaned toward the Reformation in the English Church, and the religious troubles may have had much to do with emigration of William Denison, for his son, George, returned to England and fought under Cromwell on the side of the Roundheads and Puri- tans and against the Papists and Cavaliers.
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The John Denison who died of the Plague in 1582 in England had wife Agnes, who married again, but the Denison children were, Luce, Will- iam, Edward, Mary, Elizabeth, and George, bapt. from 1567 to 1582.
This family appears to have been well to do for that period, for when their eldest son, William Denison, came to New England in 1631, he brought a good estate and took first rank in the community. He had married Margaret (Chandler) Monck in Stortford in 1603, and had seven children, only one daughter, Sarah, who died and was buried. Savage says, they brought with them to New England three sons, Dan- iel, Edward, and George, leaving their eldest son, John, a minister, and their son William, who went to Holland as a soldier and was never heard of again. They probably came in the ship, Lion, with Gov. Win- throp's wife, her son, John, and the Apostle Elliot.
Mr. and Mrs. William Denison settled at Roxbury, Mass., and he died there in 1653, his wife having died eight years before him. William Denison's brother, Edward, and family went to Ireland in 1631, the very year that his brother came to New England, and he died there leaving a son, John, who was a soldier and Deputy Governor of Cork, living in Dublin in 1670. William Denison's brother ,George, remained with wife and son in Stortford and all died there in 1678.
Of Margaret and William Denison's children, we know that Daniel who had been at Cambridge before he came to Roxbury, Mass., speaks for himself in the following, taken from the New England Historical and Genealogical Register of April 1892. "I was the oldest of the three brothers that were brought to New England and the next year after our arrival-viz: in the year 1632 on the 18th day of October, on which day twenty years before I was baptized at Stratford and seven years before I was admitted into the University of Cambridge, I married Patience, the second daughter of Thomas Dudley, who was a principle undertaker of the plantation of Mass., and one of those first comers in the year 1630 that brought over the patent and settled the government. He came over Deputy-Governor and was afterwards at divers times Gov- ernor.
Thomas Dudley then lived in Cambridge, but afterwards removed to Ipswich, where he stayed one year, then settled himself at Roxbury, where he died July 30th, 1653, and his wife died about ten years before, the latter end of December, 1643.
"As for myself, after I married Patience Dudley, I lived about two years in Cambridge, and in the year 1635 I removed to Ipswich, where we lived together without children till January 16, 1640, when my son, John was born and two years Elizabeth was born inApril 10th 1642 and about nine years later another daughter Mary was born, and three years after, Deborah our last, was born."
William and Margaret Denison's son, Edward, was married about the beginning of the year 1641, and lived the rest of his days at Roxbury, in the same house which his father built, lived and died in. On March 20th, 1641, he married Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph Weld and died in April 1669. He left but one son, William, and five daughters, of all his large family of 13 children. This William Denison according to the
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records of Roxbury, Mass., was buried in the old graveyard on Eustis Street, corner of Washington, started in 1633. "Here lyes ye body of William Denison Master of Arts and Representative for ye town of Roxbury about twenty years, who departed this life, March 22nd, 1717, aged 54." In a record of 1636-40 he was noted as owning 267 acres. The Denison estate of nine acres south of John Johnson, as you go towards Boston extended from a point opposite the burying ground to Vernon Street and included a dwelling house, bake house, orchard and house lot.
On the site of Diamond block was a very old house, known as the Old Red Tavern early in the 19th century and kept by Martin Pierce, father of Mrs. Lot Young, which was possibly the Denison homestead. This dilapidated building was pulled down by some young men, who thought it too shabby to be seen by President Monroe when he visited Boston in July 1817.
Now we come to our own Captain George Denison of Stonington and Mystic, who came with his parents to New England in 1631, quite a young boy, having been baptized in England in 1620. At Roxbury, Mass., he met Miss Bridget Thompson, the daughter of John Thompson deceased, whose widow, Alice, had come here from Little Preston in the Parish of Preston Capes, Northhamptonshire, England. This family in their English home held a high position, their social status being next to that of the Cuonty families.
During the courtship of George and Bridget, he sent her the following love letter as it is directed to Miss Bridget Thompson Stonington, Conn., she must have been here visiting at some relative's, as she had two sis- ters in places about Stonington-Dorothy, who married Thomas Park, and Mary, who married Rev. Richard Blinman. The following is the poem :
It is an ordinance, my dear, divine Which God unto the sons of men makes shine Even marriage is that whereof I speak And unto you my mind therein I beak. In Paradise, of Adam, God did tell To be alone, for man, would not be well. He in His wisdom thought it right To bring a woman into Adam's sight, A helper that for him might be most mete, And comfort him by her doing discreet. A branch though young, yet do I think it good That God's great vows by man be not withstood. Alone I am, an helper I would find Which might give satisfaction to my mind. The party which doth satisfy the same Is Mistress Bridget Thompson by her name. God having drawn my affection unto thee My heart's desire is thine may be to me. Thus with my blottings though I trouble you Yet pass these by because I know not how, -
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Though they at this time should much better be, For love it is the first have been to thee And I could wish that they much better were. Therefore, I pray accept them as they are So hoping my desire I shall obtain.
Your own true lover I, George Denison by name. From my father's house in Roxbury To Miss Bridget Thompson, Stonington 1640.
This certainly shows his love and admiration for her and their mar- riage occurred in 1640 and they lived in Roxbury, Mass. Their oldest child Sarah, was born in 1641 and the next, Hannah, was born in 1643.
Then in only a few months later his dear wife Bridget, a young wom- an, died. Her death is recorded in the records of the Roxbury church, by Rev. John Elliot, thus: 1643-6 mo. "Bridget Denison, the wife of George Denison, a goodly young woman dyed of a fever and consump- tion."
Tradition has always said that the husband went immediately from her grave to England, leaving the two little girls, presumably with his parents. He was a soldier in England for more than a year, served under Cromwell in the army of Parliament, was at the battle of York or Marston Moor, where he did good service, was afterwards taken prisoner but got exchanged and, being wounded at Naseby, went to Cork, was carried into the castie of Bowadil, was nursed back to health and subsequently he loved and married the daughter, Ann, who had as many pounds for her dowry as her weight, which was ninety pounds. The Hyde geneaology says Ann Borrodale was born at Corsica in 1675.
The Denison genealogy speaks of one, Mercy Denison, a descendant of Capt. George and Lady Ann Denison (Bowadil), daughter of John Bowadil of Cork, Ireland. This is further proven by the will of Capt. George, dated Nov. 20, 1693 where it appears that at one time they were residents of Cork, as he says, "there is considerable rent due me for a house of my wife in Cork, Ireland, which was given her as a le- gacy by her father, John Borrodell, at his death and no doubt may ap- pear upon record in Cork. The house stands upon lands which they called Bishop's lands and was built by our said father, he to have lived in the same whereof my said wife was next to himself as may also ap- pear there upon record."
The Borredell, Borredale, Borrowdaile or Borodelle family needs look- ing up. As the story goes, George Denison wounded at Naseby, was taken to the house of John Borodelle, somewhere spoken of as Sir John, and was nursed by Ann, the daughter. Now Naseby is in Northomp- shire, but in George Denison's will in 1693, he speaks of a home in Cork, built by John Borodelle and in which he lived.
Again, Ann's brother John lived in England. His will in 1667 calls him of London, of course the father may have removed to Ireland af- ter Naseby.
In this connection, I will note that there is a vale of Borrowdale in Cumberland, and that a Borrowdale family lived in this County. The
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Vale is in the Lake District, near Derwentwater, and we must not for- get that our Capt. George Denison had an uncle who went to Ireland in 1631, Edward Denison. From John D. Champlin's MSS-a descendant of Capt. George Denison and a member of the N. Y. Gen. Society.
Besides his wife's relatives in Cork, Capt. George had cousins there also, as his first cousin, John Denison, who was Deputy Governor there, might have been the direct cause of his visiting Cork. But, be that as it may, he married Ann, as the will of her brother John Borodelle, mentions sister Ann Denison, though we have no date of the marriage, the jointure made by him proves the fact and this may be seen in the first book of Conn. state records in Hartford, Conn., Vol. 1 pages 273- 274.
Jointure of Capt. George Denison.
"This witnesseth that I, George Denison of Southerton, in Connecti- cut Jurisdiction in New England, for and in consideration of an jointure due unto my now wife Ann Denison, upon marriage, and upon my for- mer engagement, in consideration of the sum of three hundred pounds by me received of Mr. John Borrodelle, which he freely gave to my wife his sister Ann Denison, and I have had the use and improvement of, and for and in consideration of conjugal and dearer affection moving me thereto, have for the reasons above said, and for the only use and benefit of my said wife, Ann Denison, her heirs and assigns, and b: these presents do fully absolutely give, grant, alien, make over, and con- firm unto my brother Edward Denison, all that my farm, which I now dwell upon, consisting of five hundred acres, more or less, as it lyeth at Mintick in Southerton, upon the east side of the Mystic river, to- gether with all the housing that at present are, or hereafter may be raised upon the said farm, with the household furniture, together with all the fencing privileges and appurtenances belonging to it, with all the stock upon that farm aforesaid, reserving only to myself there my bald faced mare and all my goats and the present fencing and privileges according to my pleasure, during my natural life to have and to hold the said farm, housing, lands, furniture, stock and fences with all the privileges and appurtenances for the only use of the said Ann Denison, under him the said Edward Denison, his heirs and assigns forever, tc his and their own proper use and behoof for the only benefit of the said Ann Denison, and the said George Denison, for himself, his heirs, exe- cutor and administrators, doth further covenent and grant to and with the said Edward Denison, his heirs and assigns, that he the said George Denison, his heirs and executors, shall at all times forever hereafter warrant the said bargained premises, against all persons whatsoever claiming any right thereunto by, from, or under me.
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