Saturday, September 5, 2015

Charity (Walbridge) Blodgett

Alexander Village Cemetery, 1982
     Charity Walbridge was born in Stafford, Tolland County, Connecticut, on 1 April 1751, daughter of Ames Walbridge and Margaret (–?–).1 She died in Painesville, Geauga (now Lake) County, Ohio, on 3 December 1822, notice of her death appearing in the Painesville Telegraph of 4 December 1822:  "Died yesterday morning, widow Charity Blodgett, age 65 yrs.2 She married in the First Congregational Church of Stafford on 6 February 1777 Caleb Blodgett,3 who was born in Stafford on 20 September 1751, son of Samuel Blodgett and Hannah (–?–)4 and died on 25 October 1813,5 probably in Alexander, Genesee County, New York.6   
    Caleb was buried in Alexander Village Cemetery, where there is a gravestone and DAR marker.7 There is also a stone for Charity, although her place of burial has not been ascertained.8
    Caleb and Charity had at least eleven children, including a daughter Charity, who was born in Randolph, Orange County, Vermont, on 9 September 17909 and died in 1841.10 She married first Burnham Lyman11 (1780-1828) and second Lomer Griffin12 (1772 - 1878).
     A photograph of the gravestone of Charity Blodgett Lyman-Griffin, who is identified as the daughter of Caleb and Charity, is posted on Find A Grave. She died 1 May 1841 and was buried in Old Kingsville Corners Cemetery in Kingsville, Ashtabula County, Ohio.13 The inscription, somewhat difficult to decipher, appears to be: “Charity/ wife of/ Lormer Griffin/ Died/ May 1, 1841/ Æ 57 Yrs./ 3 Mos & 15 Days.”

    The photograph of Charity Griffin’s gravestone appears on several Ancestry Family Trees as the icon for Charity (Walbridge) Blodgett. Why?
__________

     1Lucius Barnes Barbour Collection [of Births, Marriages, and Deaths from Connecticut Town Records to ca. 1850], Stafford, vol. 2, p. 7, Charity Walbridge, 1751..
     2Judy J. Stebbins, Guide to the Painesville (Ohio) Telegraph, 1822-1829 (Willoughby, Ohio: Genealogical Research Co., 1982), item 94.
     3L. Belle Gorton, Records of the First Congregational Church, Stafford, Connecticut, 1757-1817 (copied by L. Belle Gorton for Connecticut Society of Colonial Dames of America), Marriages, p. 53, Caleb Blogget and Charity Wallbridge, 1777; microfilm of 110 page photostat copy in the Connecticut State Library in Hartford, Connecticut; FHL microfilm1013276, item 10.
     4Edwin A. Blodgett, Ten Generations of Blodgetts in America (revised edition, Barre, Vermont: Modern Printing Co., Inc., 1969), p. 37. Also "Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906," database, FamilySearch (accessed 24 August 2015), Caleb Bloggett, Stafford, Tolland County, 20 September 1751; no microfilm source cited.
     5Alexander (New York) Village Cemetery, Caleb Blodgett gravestone inscription copied and photographed in October 1982 by Irene Marks Rupp.
     6New York, Genesee County, probate records, orders 1809-1841, volume 1, p. 46, widow’s dower laid off to Charity Blodgett (part of lots 4 and 2, section 14, township 11, range 2; i.e., Town of Alexander); digital image 29/500, FamilySearch (accessed 24 August 2015); FHL microfilm 811136.
     7“Caleb Blodgett,” memorial 18102482, Find A Grave (accessed 23 August 2015); record by Donna Ruhland Bonning, February, 2007; photograph taken July 2011 by Edward Toy.
     8“Charity Walbridge Blodgett,” memorial 22438123, Find A Grave (accessed 23 August 2015); record by Dawn L. Pocock-Dilcher, October 2007; photograph (taken October 1982) added by Irene Marks Rupp.
     9“Vermont, Vital Records, 1720-1908,” database and images, Ancestry.com (accessed 23 August 2015), entry for Charity Blodget, Randolph, 1790; original data, State of Vermont,Vermont Vital Records through 1870; New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.
    10“Charity Blodgett Lyman- Griffin,” memorial 51291746, Find A Grave (accessed 23 August 2015); record by Suzanne Thayne, April 2010; photograph by Nancy LoomisPhillips, August 2010.
    11“Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988,” database and images, Ancestry.com (accessed 23 August 2015), entry for Charity Blodgett and Burnham Lyman, Chester, 9 September 1807; citing Holbrook Research Institute, “Chester Marriages,” Massachusetts Vital and Town Records (Provo, Utah), p. 125.
    12"Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013," database with images, FamilySearch (accessed 24 August 2015), Lomer Griffin and Charity Lyman, Concord, Geauga County, 13 April 1831; citing FHL microfilm 20,256.
    13“Charity Blodgett Lyman- Griffin,” memorial 51291746, Find A Grave.