Rebecca (Wright) Stone (abt. 1604 - abt. 1640)

Born about 1604 in Wethersfield, Essex, England

Ancestors

Wife of Samuel Stone Sr. — married 5 Jun 1629 in Cranham, Essex, England

Descendants

Died about 1640 at about age 36 in Hartford, Connecticut Colony

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Halsey Bullen [send private message], Donna Jean Wykoff [send private message], Blain Mercer [send private message], and Ellen Blackwell [send private message]

Biography

Rebecca Wright was born about 1604, in Wethersfield, Essex. She was the daughter of Rev. Samuel Wright, the vicar there, and Rebecca (Rogers) Wright.^[1] Rebecca was mentioned by name and identified as the child of her parents in the 1622 will of her stepfather Edward Hastler:^[2]

Rebecca Wright married Samuel Stone 5 June 1629 at Cranham, All Saints, Essex^[3]

Rebecca emigrated with her husband and growing family to Hartford and died there in 1640. The last thing known respecting her is gathered from a letter written by Mr. Hooker in Nov. 1640, announcing her death to his son-in-law, Rev. Thomas Shepherd, in which he says: "Brother Stone's Wife smoaked out her days in the darknesse of melanchollie."

Children of Rev. Samuel and Rebecca (Wright) Stone:^[4]

• Samuell Stone, baptized 13 Sep 1632 in Towcester, Northamptonshire^[5], possibly died young
• John Stone b. say 1634 attended Harvard and Cambridge, not named in his father's will, so probably died before 1663 and without issue.
• Rebekah Stone, born about 1636, m. Timothy Nash
• Mary Stone, born about 1638, m. Joseph Fitch, settled in East Windsor
• Sarah Stone, born about 1640, m. Thomas Butler of Hartford

Research notes

Samuel Stone's wife is often claimed to be named Hope, but research published in 2022 (see above) has refuted this. She is sometimes identified as Hope the daughter of William Fletcher and Anne Finney, but this was a different Hope who married the Rev. Samuel StoWe (not StoNe). The origin of the error is here: "The second pastor of the church at Elizabeth Town [New Jersey] was the Rev. Seth Fletcher.... His sister, Hope Fletcher, was married, before 1650, to Rev. Samuel Stone, of Middletown, Connecticut."^[6] In this quote, "Stone" appears to be a misspelling of "Stowe." The famous Rev. Samuel Stone of Hartford was certainly not at Middletown around 1650, and he was married to his second wife Elizabeth Allen at the time.

Here is another quote, from the Fletcher genealogy: "There is a family tradition that Robert [Fletcher] was accompanied by a brother named William; and the town records of Middletown, Conn., give the marriage of Rev. Samuel Stowe to Hope, daughter of William Fletcher, Esq., of Chelmsford, in 1649."^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ Tarbert, Jesse, "The Identity and English Ancestor of Rev. Samuel Stone's First wife: Rebecca Wright, Granddaughter of Rev. Richard Rogers" in the New England Historical Genealogical Register, Vol. 176, Fall 2022, pp. 403-404 and 391-392, citing parish registers of St. Peter, South Weald, and All Saints, Cranham, Essex
2. ↑ Edward Hastler's Will dated 11 June 1622 and proved 4 Oct 1622, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, PROP 11//140/281, cited by Tarbert
3. ↑ Register of All Saints, Cranham, Essex, Essex Record Office, D/P 118/1/1, image 25, viewable on ancestry.com, cited by Tarbert
4. ↑ The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III by Robert Charles Anderson, page 1771
5. ↑ Register of Towcester, Northamptonshire Record Office 329P/255, image 172, viewable on ancestry.com: "ye sone of Mr Samuell Stone & Mrs Rebecca his wife"
6. ↑ C. Benjamin Richardson, "Historical Magazine, and Notes and Queries concerning the Antiquities, History and Biography of America" (March 1868), p. 140.
7. ↑ Edward Fletcher, Fletcher family history : the descendants of Robert Fletcher of Concord, Mass. (1881), p. 12.

• Find A Grave: Memorial #148033693, wrongly identified as Hope née Fletcher. Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 29 April 2018), memorial page for Hope Fletcher Stone (1602–22 Oct 1640), Find A Grave Memorial no. 148033693, citing Ancient Burying Ground, Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut, USA ; Maintained by Gerilynn M Campbell (contributor 47834227) .