This seems tougher than it should be.

Question

I take a tombstone and its inscription as definitive proof that a person existed; when it's a couple who shares a stone, there's two certain people, plus a definite relationship. I have having trouble finding parents for this particular couple, and since there's so many able hands here on WikiTree, I decided to put out a call for help regarding Birdsey Lewis (1809-1865) and his wife Eunice Amanda Beach (1811-1856.)

I found a birth record (Barbour Collection) for Birdsey, son of Nathan & Comfort Lewis, born in Stratford CT, 1796. Hard to imagine it would be off by a over a decade based on all the Census records I found for Birdsey. If Birdsey b. 1796 died young, perhaps Birdsey b. 1809 might be a necronym. However, there's no evidence for that, even if it's not ruled out.

Birdsey's wife, Eunice Amanda Beach was born 1811 according to the tombstone. We have a profile that might be a match, not sure. 1809 is pretty close to 1811 for a birth date. And, actually, we've also got another Eunice Beach b. 1809. I've marked them both as Unmerged Matches on Mrs. Birdsey Lewis's profile as I ponder this puzzle.

I don't always succeed, but I like to connect the profiles I add with tombstone pictures. Because I found a 1850 & 1860 Census with children for Birdsey & Eunice, I'm going to try and connect through them today.

Meanwhile, any help on finding parents for Birdsey b. 1809 and his wife Eunice Amanda b. 1811 would be welcome. Any progress on the unmerged matches would also be terrific!

For general context: Birdseye/Birdsey, Beach and Lewis are all surnames of early settlers in Stratford, CT. Long Hill Burial Ground, where Eunice & Birdsey are buried, is located in Trumbull, CT, which was separated out from Stratford in 1797.

Answer 1

 All Results

Birdseye Lewis

 in the U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970

VIEW

Name:	Birdseye Lewis
Birth Date:	23 Aug 1809
Death Date:	11 Mar 1865
SAR Membership:	67863
Role:	Ancestor
Application Date:	5 Dec 1946
Father:	Andrew Lewis
Mother:	Rhoda Seeley
Spouse:	Eunice Amanda Beach
Children:	Frank Edgerton Lewis

Source Citation

Volume: 340

Source Information

Ancestry.com. U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Original data: Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970. Louisville, Kentucky: National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Microfilm, 508 rolls.

National Society, Sons of the American Revolution

 

Comments

That's a new one: Ancestry.com library edition. I have an ancestry account, but I can't get past the library logon. Here's the regular ancestry link: http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=2204&h=675020&ssrc=pt&tid=24711851&pid=13915746510&usePUB=true

That's cool. I'm always a little skeptical of SAR records, since they sometimes have errors. In this case, the application is from Birdsey's grandson, a fairly close relationship. To be pursued further. Thanks!

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Looking more closely, I'm not sure that SAR application is entirely correct. There's 2 Andrew Lewis's born in CT 1762. The SAR application says died 1836, but that man was buried some distance away @ Chester in Middlesex County, CT and had a wife called Eunice (not Ruth) who died only a few years before he did. Another Andrew Lewis also born in 1762 died in Trumbull in 1840, which strikes me as more likely. This one is definitely a harder-than-usual puzzle.

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I would recommend checking the SAR records against DAR records. When I went to a genealogy research night for the DAR chapters in NYC, we discussed the SAR and that their confirmed lineages were not considered proof; DAR applications based on a SAR application/lineage would need to provide the actual paper trail of birth/death certificates, probate records, etc.

Answer 2

Have you looked at this possibility in the 1820 census: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYYR-SZB?i=5&cc=1803955

Comments

The Birdsey Lewis in question was born in 1809. He would have been only 11 at the 1820 Census, so he wouldn't have his own listing. Birdsey Lewis b. 1796 would have been 24, which would make more sense on a listing with two adults and a child. He's also a few entries away from Nathan Lewis. The father of Birdsey b. 1796 is Nathan Lewis. Plus Nathan's father died in 1818, leaving a widow named Johanna. This 1820 Census sheet has Johanna Lewis, household of one, listed right by Nathan.

I think what you've found here rules out the necronym theory but, unfortunately, nothing more. A small step in the right direction!

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Might be worth looking to see if Nathan had brothers and whether one of them named a child Birdsey.

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The 1850 Census has one Theodore Lewis in Birdsey's household, c. 10 years older than Birdsey. Assuming the SAR application is correct, Birdsey's father Andrew (b. 1762) could certainly have a son b. 1798. That's the only hint at siblings found to date, and it could just as easily have been an uncle, even a cousin. Less than certain.

I haven't explored the siblings of Nathan Lewis, father of Birdsey Lewis b. 1796, yet. I didn't find his will, but did find that of his father, Abel, so I there's something to work from for that. I found a Birdsey Lewis who died in 1822 as well, born in the mid 1700s. I've done nothing to explore him, but it does show that there were at least 3 men named Birdsey Lewis alive at the same time in the same general area.