Jonas Hewitt (1737 - 1824)

Born 2 Nov 1737 in Stonington, New London County, Connecticut

Ancestors

Husband of Comfort (Billings) Hewitt — married 1760 in Stonington, New London, Connecticut

Husband of Temperance (Smith) Hewitt — married about 1782 in Stonington, Connecticut

Descendants

Died 25 Oct 1824 at age 86 in North Stonington, New London, Connecticut, United States

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This profile is part of the Stonington, Connecticut One Place Study.

Biography

Birth

Jonas Hewitt was born on 2 Nov 1737, to Elkanah Hewitt and Hannah (Sterry) Hewitt, in Stonington.^[1]

First Marriage

Jonas married Comfort Billings about 1760, with whom he had the following (known) children, paternity established by his will ^[2]:

1. Tabitha
2. Samuel
3. Amy
4. Jonas
5. Comfort
6. Desire

Second Marriage

After the death of Comfort, he married Temperance (Smith) Holmes, (daughter of John Smith and Temperance Holmes), the widow of ______ Holmes, about 1784. ^[1][3], with whom he had the following (known) children:

1. John Smith Hewitt, b.~1785
2. Jonas Hewitt, b. Aug 5, 1791
3. Eunice Hewitt b. Feb 16, 1793
4. Thomas, b. Sept 30, 1794
5. Benjamin (twin), b. Nov 4, 1797
6. Denison(twin), b. Nov 4, 1797

The identity of Temperance Smith had been somewhat of a mystery, until investigated by Arthur Booth^[4], who found three key pieces of information about her:

1. Found within the records of the Connecticut State Library, within one of the 98 cemeteries within North Stonington, were the gravestone records of Jonas Hewitt and family members, who were buried on what was their property, just west of the section known as Stewart Hill.^[5][4] These inscription records were found:

"Jonas Hewitt died Oct 25, 1842, ae 87"

"Temperance, wife of Jonas Hewitt, died Oct 20, 1801, aged 55 years

"John S. Hewitt died Aug 31, 1862, aged 76"

"Mary, wife of John S. Hewitt, died 21 Feb 1855, aged 67."

2. In an excerpt from Genealogy of the Descendants of William Chesebrough of Boston, Rehoboth, Mass,: "On 10 Nov 1737, Joseph Billings Jr of Preston, Conn. (son of Joseph Billings and Comfort Denison) had married Thankful Denison (daughter of William Denison and Mary Avery): their daughter Comfort, b. 24 Sept 1740, married ----- Hewitt." According to a quoted abstract of Joseph Billings' will, proved in 1797, Comfort (apparently now deceased) had at least six children, as this will named, among others, "Granddaughters Tabitha Wells, Amy Killam, Comfort Hewitt, Desire Hewitt, and grandsons Samuel Hewitt and Jonas Hewitt." ^[6],^[4]

3.The Will of his mother in law, Temperance Treadway:

"I, Temperance Treadway of Stonington, in the county of New London, being aged and considering the time of my departure out this world is at hand, but now of sound mind and memory, do, on this 8th day of March 1791, make...to my son Joshua Smith... to my son Nehemiah Smith... to my son Roswell Smith ... to my son Charles Smith ... I give unto my son in law Jonas Hewitt and his wife Temperance Hewitt, my daughter, eight sheep and one cow and one mair and all my beds & bedding and all my household furniture. I further give to my executor Jonas Hewitt all my estate that I have heartofore not given away and all demands that I have against John Treadway and Asa Treadway that was left to my last husband James Treadway..." ^[4]

Third Marriage

He married 3rd Mary Palmer (?) who was previously married to _________. (have to find that again).

Death and Burial

He died in 1824, and is buried in the family cemetery, Hewitt Cemetery, in North Stonington, Connecticut. ^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Wheeler, Albert Gallatin : American College of Genealogy (1914). The Genealogical and Encyclopedic History of the Wheeler Family in America; American College of Genealogy, Boston, Massachusetts;
2. ↑ Will of Jonas Hewitt (1737-1824) , That Establishes His Paternity of the Children of Comfort (Billings) Hewitt, Pg 2 of 8 pages.
3. ↑ Wheeler, Richard Anson. (1900) History of the Town of Stonington, County of New London, Connecticut, The Day Publishing: New London, Conn. p. 421, #72, birth;p.423, #72, marriage and children'
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3} Booth, Arthur, "The Identity of Temperance, Second Wife of Jonas Hewitt of Stonington, Conn," in The Detroit Society for Genealogical Research Magazine, Summer 1962: Vol 25, Iss 4, page 147-148
5. ↑ Hewitt Cemetery Records, "Cemetery Records of North Stonington, Conn," Connecticut State Library.
6. ↑ Wildey, Anna. Genealogy of the Descendants of William Chesebrough of Boston, Rehoboth, Mass. (T.A. Wright, New York, 1903), pages 22, 40, 557.
7. ↑ Burial site of Jonas Hewitt, Sr, Find A Grave: Memorial #20774030, in Hewitt Cemetery, in North Stonington, Connecticut.

• Watterson, V. H. Descendants of Captain Thomas Hewitt of Stonington, Connecticut, p. 11