"I Begun to Learn Latin Latter End of the Year 1763"

[Continued from "I Call to Mind My Parent Dear": Isaac Stone's Tribute to His Mother


This is the last installment of Isaac Stone's beautiful manuscript on his family history. It's not addressed to anyone in particular, so I wouldn't call it a letter. It's more about his relatives than himself, so not really autobiographical, either. Yes, I guess it is notes on his family history: almost a compilation.

I took to my software program (newly updated Reunion for Macintosh, v. 10) and created a tree using only the information in his letter, and only if I was sure of what he meant. The relationships in this portion of his work are not always so clear, so I left a bunch of them out altogether. I resisted the temptation to check it all via the published vital records, and will leave that to anyone who really wants to pursue Isaac and his family, or for another time.

p. 8 [cont.]

My Father mar.^d to Miss Anna Parker Feb. 28. 1788. __

My children. Mos. born March 2. 1774. Mar^d Nov. 6. '94.

His child.ⁿ Jonas_ June 6. '93. Died Sept. 30. '95. Sukey Feb. 19.

'92. Moses Died, in the morning, May 10. 1803. ~

~ Sukey – Sept. 14. 1776. Luke Rice _ Aug 10. '78. Jonas _

Nov. 17. '79. Died, Nov. 19. 48 h. old. Grace Nov. 28. '81.

Submit. G. July 6. '88. ~ My sis Lydia inft. Mar. '50.

Died Jan.    '60. ~ Rachel_Oct. 20. '54. Mar^d Sept. 3. '84.

Rac^l Rice_[Nye?]_Sept. 4. '85. Elisab. Feb. 4. '87. Olive___

June 26. '88. Mary, Sept. 21. '90. Lydia _ May 1. '93.

Jonas _ Ward _ Dec^r '95. ~ Sis. Parer, Lydia 2^nd

Mar.     '61. ¹Sally_May 4. '84. '84. Died, Mar. 27. '803.

²Lydia_       '86. ³Lucy June      '88. ⁴Luke '90

^5.Jonas_ Friday, Oct. 25. '92. ⁶Simⁿ Mar. 11. '95.

⁷[Scratched out then faint overwrite of Phebe] '97. ⁸[Phebe scratched out and Mars? overwritten, faintly] April.   1800.

⁹Asa_ Oct. 13. 1802. 10 [^illegible addition] Stillman. 11. [Eb. Druids?]

///////////////////////

L.R.S. Mar^d to N.S. June 24. 1804. Nabby Taft_

_Jan. 14. 1777. Now, N. Stone. Moses their son___

May 2. 1805. Na[t/b] Stone Sept. [20]. 180[4/9].

////////////////////////////////////

Susanna Goddard born August 4 O.S. 14. N.S. [^1744]

Marr^d Oct. 27. 1773. I begun to preach about 14.

of Oct. 1770. _ Came to Douglas, Mar. 30. preached

first at Doug. Mar. 31. 1771. Ordained Oct. 30. 1771.

I begun to learn Latin, latter end of the year 1763.

Joined the ch'h in Shrews. June or July '64 being

16 years the Mar. before. Studied [^with] Mr Sumner

next winter. abt. 17 '65 I went to Mr. Payson's__

'66, July after I was 18. I [??, ink blot] College. Isaac Stone.

p. 9

[accounts]

Douglas, 1807. George Riedel D^r

   Horse to Providence, c^r 1 day.

x Mr. G. Briggs Horse + Hey

twice to Sutton    in 1807. + 1808

M^r Saml Smith, D^r 1807.

Horse to Uxbridge_ + Buck Hill_

Mr. Hunt unwilling to pay__

Mr. Clar[kson?] Hunt had my horse

several times + paid. But Decr

1805. He had my horse to Mendon.

It was to have been paid by [^Mr] Oliver

Flint_ it was not _

Feb^ry 1808. Mr. Simeon Marsh

   had my horse + Sleigh to Worcester

Mr. Stoddard had my horse to

Uxbridge. all which I wish may

be paid to Luke R. Stone.

April 16. 1808      Isaac Stone.

p. 10

Freeborn White had my

[???] Freeborn White had

my horse _ _ March 1808.

[Bottom of page, upside down]

Luke? April 16, 1808

This chart comes out very tiny here, but gives you an idea of how much information Isaac provided!

This is the end of series on Isaac Stone article. For other posts in the series, please see:

Isaac Stone of Shrewsbury and Douglas, Mass.

Sensible of His Vileness: The Battle for Isaac Stone's Immortal Soul

Isaac Stone's Paternal Ancestry

"I Call to Mind My Parent Dear": Isaac Stone's Tribute to His Mother

Isaac Stone's Paternal Ancestry

Continued from Sensible of His Own Vileness: The Battle for Isaac Stone's Immortal Soul, posted 11 May 2012*

Isaac traces his paternal ancestry back to early Cambridge, Massachusetts.

p. 3 (half of page: image in previous post)

My Grandfather's Father, Nathanael

was the Son of John Stone, an Elder in the

church in Cambridge, N. E. Probably, while

Mr. Shepard, Mr. Mitchel + President Oakes mi-

nistered there. Likely, his gravestones [sic, that would be a headstone and footstone] are yet

legible, in the burying ground, near the Col-

lege. GrandF Stone's [^Mother's] maiden Name was Waite,

Elder Stone + his son Nathanael lived to

p. 4

be old: the elder had two brothers settle at Lex-

ington, then Cambridge Village.

   My GrandMother Elizabeth Stone was born

Nov. 1696 - died 1792. - aged more than 95 years:

In Shrewsbury. In her prime she was a

prudent, resolute, sensible woman + a tender

mother. Her father was Mr. Brown of Sud-

bury: her mother Miss Abigail Haynes: Mr.

Brown's Grandfather came out of England:

his wife's Grandfather Hayes came in the

same ship. Each had a son with him, who mar-

ried to two young women who came in the

same ship. These two couples were the parents

of Mr. Brown + his wife; grandparents to

My Gr.Mother Elis. Stone.

   I affectionately remember my dear Mother,

+ her relations. Her father [^Luke Rice] was born at Marlboro' Mas.

Nov. 30 1689. Died suddenly, June 8, 1754:

in Shrews. age 64 + 6 mo.- was reputable,

Town clerk + c. Her mother, Rachel Rice

was born at Marlboro' Feb. 14 [old stile] 1690. Died at

Shrews. Feb. 12. 1780. N. Stile. age 90. Maiden name

Stow: her mother's maiden Name Stone.

Her sisters Azuibah Baker, died while her children

were young. Dinah Eager died since my mo-

ther; Her brother Hezekiah some years

before. Lydia died [^young]. My Aunts, Abigail May-

nard, Priscilla How + Sarah –. Survive.


Continued in "I Call to Mind My Parent Dear": Isaac Stone's Tribute to His Mother.

Other posts in the series

Isaac Stone of Shrewsbury and Douglas, Mass.

Sensible of His Vileness: The Battle for Isaac Stone's Immortal Soul

"I Begun to Learn Latin the Latter End of the Year 1763"

* Ampersands have been replaced with a + due to html's inability to deal with them.

"I Call to Mind My Parent Dear": Isaac Stone's Tribute to His Mother

[Continued from Isaac Stone's Paternal Ancestry, posted 16 May 2012.]

In my previous post, Isaac had just finished describing his father's family. Here he begins on his maternal line, focusing for three pages on his mother, alone.  Two things strike me about this long passage. First, in the days before Mother's Day, children surely appreciated their mothers, just as we do now. And somehow they got by not buying Hallmark cards, taking her out to brunch, sending flowers or making keepsakes in school to demonstrate their love. No doubt they honored and respected both their mothers and fathers, or they would be in serious trouble. But I wonder if he ever mentioned to his mother how he felt about her? Did he discuss her with other people? I doubt it. You don't need Hallmark to get sentimental, as you can see from his memorialization--the feelings were there, just probably not spoken of. I suspect that then, just as now, mothers could feel the love of their children and didn't need any extravagances beyond the best gift all, a loving glance.

Sometimes people say that because death was so prevalent in earlier times, people were somehow hardened to it. Perhaps they didn't get attached to infants as early, didn't "decorate the nursery" before a child was born, but I love Isaac for making it perfectly clear that death struck an equally cruel blow two hundred years ago as it does today. Mother suffering for lost child, son lamenting loss of beloved mother, nothing can change the way our hearts react to losing loved ones. This letter is a treasure in the way that it brings out Isaac's humanity.


p. 4 [cont.]

My Mother, Raschel Stone was born at Marlbo-

rough April 2, NS. 1723. Moved with her parents

to Shrewsbury, 1737: age 14. Died April 17. 1787.

p. 5

Tues. eve. 10. o'clock. Married Feb. 1747: in a mar-

died state 40 years - - age 64. 7. 17. d. at Death.

   She was lame + feeble from her childhood;

a woman of Sorrows. Since my remembrance,

her lameness increased by a broken bone, at-

tended with anguish + exquisite pain. In

1759. In June her eldest daughter Lydia, was

sick; languishing thro' the Summer +

Autumn till Jan. 1760. By watching + ten-

ding, + by the death of her child, my mo.

ther received a shock, of which she never

recovered; tho' she had comfortable hopes,

that her little daughter was an heir of

heaven: after this She lived 27 years; but

could never promise herself enjoyments

in this world any more: willing to

wait, + to do, + to suffer her heavenly Fa-

ther's will, her great change appeared

definable in God's time. She was of a very se-

rious turn of mind while quite young; dedi-

cated herself, + made a public profession

early. She spent much time in secret meditation

+ prayer. Her mind was [best/bent] and looked, waiting

to learn Christ Jesus + holiness according to

the holy Scriptures. She deeply mourned for

her sins: abhorring all sin; renouncing

self, trusting in Jesus Christ. She constantly

took her infants with her to the house of worship.

She, watchful of her children, counseled them

most seriously with a mixture of tenderness.

Many of her pious counsels in her own hand

writing are my monitors and embalm her memory.

p. 6

She was ready to drop some pious word when

she could with propriety as long as she lived

She was provident in her family, careful +

an ingenious, industrious tayloress, curious

with her pen + needle, she employed her in-

ventive faculties + imagination judiciously.

She was a compassionate friend to all the hum-

ble + distressed. I call to mind my parent dear,

    Over her grave I weep__
Comfort! ____ Her Soul, her Mother's care,

   Tho in the dust she sleep.

From toil + sorrow ever free

   The Lord will raise the dead;

In realms of joy the blest agree

   With life eternal clad.

Monday, April 9. 1787. I wrote: "I visited my sick

Mother, last monday: found her in extreme pain

+ distress; waiting earnestly for her change. I was

filled with sorrow at seeing my kind parent in

such a wasted, distressed + low estate. She has ever since

my remembrance appeared to be a woman

of piety, always showing regard to God + to His in-

stitutions; expressing her dependence upon Christ

alone for Salvation. ___ She told me she had se-

cretly given me up [^to GOD] after I was born + before. __

I bless God for her earnest cries to Him for me:

+ for her pious care for me ever since I have had

an existence. I hope my parent's solemnly dedicating

me to GOD, their instructions, prayers + example

have been sanctified to me. Upon her death bed,

in the near [^view] of death, my Mother told me, she had

often cried to God, that I might be sanctified from

the womb. __I hope her prayers have been XXXXXX

p. 7

answered. May these considerations deeply affe[ct]

my mind, to excite me to strive to answer the

pious concern + expectations of [^my] Parents; that

I may be instrumental in promoting GOD's Glory.

The advancement of His kingdom, + the conver-

son of many Souls. __ If my mother is yet a-

live, I desire affectionately to commend her in

to the hands of GOD, thro' or Redeemer: GOD,

[alsoficient?] is our only hope. In extremity we

may safely trust in Him! May she have Divine

supports; when she  walks thro' the dark val-

ley of death, may she fear no evil: may thy

rod + thy staff comfort her! She has taken

her leave of us all: we leave her with GOD; hum-

bly pleading, that when death closes her eyes, all

her sorrows, grief + cares may end. May an open

+ abundant entrance be ministered to her into the

joys of her Glorious Redeemer. Weaned from the

world + from all its pleasures. She longs to be

with Jesus, I pray Thee, O my GOD, afford her Grace,

patience, hatred of Sin, self-denial, + to do, +

to suffer the whole will of God, until, full of love

to holiness, she shall be presented faultless + blame-

less before GOD, in chimes of boundless bliss, where

there is no sin, pain, nor Sorrow; but her Soul

shall eternally rest in God her Redeemer:

"April 22. '87. My Mother died Apr. 14 eve. 10 o'clock.

Her last words were, "I see the truth clearer than

ever." She bid my Father, "Farewell!" When he

asked her, if her faith held out? she answered, "yes."

How religion, how faith bears the Spirit up, un-

der most pressing pains + distresses? What a re-

commendation of religion, when its professors

p. 8

hold out to the end of life, + appear supported

by it, in distressing hours, in near views of Death.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////




[continued in "I Begun to Learn Latin Latter End of the Year 1763"]

Other posts in this series

Isaac Stone of Shrewsbury and Douglas, Mass.

Sensible of His Vileness: The Battle for Isaac Stone's Immortal Soul

Isaac Stone's Paternal Ancestry
"I Begun to Learn Latin the Latter End of the Year 1763"

Note: All ampersands have been replaced by a + symbol because of the interference with html.

Sensible of His Own Vileness: The Battle for Isaac Stone's Immortal Soul

[continued from Isaac Stone of Shrewsbury, Mass., posted 10 May 2012]

When we left Isaac, he was recounting a visit to the deathbed of his grandfather, Isaac Stone. He quotes his own diary entry written nearly forty years earlier (22 April 1766) describing his feelings. At that time, Isaac Jr. was 18 years old and training for the ministry, and  like his grandfather, very concerned with the theological ramifications of death. He describes his grandfather's journey as he prepares to meet his maker. 

In the past I would have glossed over this bit, but the History of Shrewsbury, Mass., by Andrew Ward goes into excruciating detail on the battles fought over theological ideology and it seems that Isaac Sr. was well immersed in them. In particular, he was a staunch proponent of original sin! In 1750 the church appointed a committee to "discourse" with Dr. Joshua Smith and Isaac Stone on the controversy. "Isaac Stone [had] complained to the brethren, that one of them was defective in a fundamental article... The ground of controversy was doctrinal. It related to original sin. Mr. Stone contending for, and Dr. Smith against the doctrine."This was under the leadership of the first minister of the First Congregational Church in Shrewsbury, Job Cushing. 

Having served as the church historian at this very same church, I'm accustomed to reading exceedingly dry accounts of these discussions, whether taken in minutes of meetings or minister's records. You can tell that those involved felt very deeply about the issues, but still it comes across as lofty academic discussion. By reading Isaac's letter, on the other hand, you get a much more personal account, and see the implications of belief in certain doctrines. This poor man felt he had to spend his life atoning for original sin and spent his days weeping and gnashing his teeth. What a depressing existence he must have had!

2 [cont.]

                                ...He expressed
very comfortable hopes, that his sins
were pardoned;  that the consolati-
ons of God had abounded to him, more,
than in all his life before, in his time
of general calamity. Notwithstanding
the thought of Death seemed to lie with
weight on his mind." His countenance
was most solemn! Astonishing Solemn-
ity in his face + expressions, painted the
deep impressions made upon his
mind, by death, judgment + eternity.
in near view: Sensible of his own vile-
ness, by reason of original total de-
pravity + propensity to sin, he spent
much of hs time alone in his cham-
ber, many years before his death:
that he might mourn [for sin] + humble
himself: renouncing with abhorrence,
vile selfish feelings; striving to come near
to his dearest Saviour; renewably, + con-
tinually, devoting himself wholly to Christ;
he depended upon Him alone for rich-
teousness: + cryed earnestly. for the influen-
ces of Divine Grace upon his Soul: he re-
garded God above many; + poured out
Strong desires of his mind in prayer for

p. 3

the Strengthening of the church of

CHRIST; The advancing of the cause

of GOD: His native country Lay near

his heart: he longed for the Salvation of

[fellowday?], in all the world. His tempe-

rance was persevering. Years before his

death signs of a cancer appeared in his

face; he avoided cider, + whatever might

inflame: and it never increased. His com

plexion was dark, his eyes blue, his stature

a middle five; his features + deportment

quite agreeable: he retained his teeth + other

marks of a man of fewer years...

[Continued in "I Call to Mind My Parent Dear": Isaac Stone's Tribute to His Mother,

Other posts in the series

Isaac Stone of Shrewsbury and Douglas, Mass.

Isaac Stone's Paternal Ancestry

"I Begun to Learn Latin Latter End of the Year 1763"

Note: Isaac used ampersands all over the place. But because the ampersand is an escape character in html, it appears as & when I type it here. I have therefore decide to replace all ampersands with a plus sign (+) instead.

Isaac Stone of Shrewsbury and Douglas, Mass.

I don't choose my friends by how many historical documents with genealogical value they own. I just got lucky. Occasionally my pal Harry brings along a treasure for me to admire. It makes me feel like I did as a kid when my father would bring home a little trinket. Only what Harry has is immensely valuable to historians and genealogists alike.

A couple of weeks ago he appeared bearing a mylar pocket with a small yellowed letter in it. I only had to read a few words before I knew I'd need to transcribe the entire ten pages. The words of a man about my age, born a little more than 200 years before me, all about his life and family. He wrote it about a month before he was discharged from his position as a minister in the town of Douglas, Massachusetts.

I snapped photos of it on my kitchen table with my iPhone, at night, so the images aren't great. I can always go back and recapture them, but I want to share some of it with you here before I bust a gusset. It will have to be in installments, though, because it is so long. I have Harry's permission to publish this.

Letter in possession of private collector.

Written by Isaac Stone, 5 September 1805, Douglas, Mass.

Transcribed by Polly Kimmitt, 1 May 2012, 10 pp

p. 1

                            Douglas, Sept. 5, 1805

I, Isaac Stone was born March 17. 1748:

at Shrewsbury. My Father, Jonas Stone,

was born at Framingham, Massachusetts,

August 23, 1725* My Grandfather, Isaac

[footnote in right margin reads *died March 27. 1809]            

Stone was born at Framingham, Sept.

3. 1697. O. S. Died just before midnight,

April 22. 1776. N. S. In his 79th year. He

much encouraged me in my fitting for

College, at College, + since, in the gospel

ministry, as long as he lived. I received

many letters +; pious instructions from

him. He had 300 acres of excellent land

in Shrewsbury, new, when he first pos-

sessed it. Lived many years upon it, and

died there. He was an ingenious pen-

man and draughtsman_ he was town-

clerk _ he was accurate in his writings;

his labours were well accepted in church

+ town. When his deathbed sickness began,

he thought he should not recover. In my

Diary I wrote: "April 22. 1776. Last week

I visited my Grandfather, whose name

I bear, – was much affected at seeing

him sick, to appearance on the verge

of eternity! He desired me to remem-

ber him to Mr. Hall of Sutton, + to de

sire his prayers, that he might have

a safe + easy passage through the valley

p. 2

of the Shadow of Death, +that he might enter

into the haven of eternal rest... [much religious

verbiage follows].

Title page of Webster's 
Dictionary of the English Language,
 circa 1830–1840

The first thing that strikes me is that his spelling is virtually the same as that we use today. I've seen works by well educated men but there's always something that gives away the fact that spelling had not settled down into anything standard. This man was spelling words the way we spell them today, and it was 23 years before Noah Webster first published his Dictionary of the English Language in 1828. Of course that was when the difference in spelling between British and American English was really standardized, thus we find Stone spelling labours rather than labors. 

A brief entry in Andrew Ward's History of the Town of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts (Boston: Samuel G. Drake 1847), 425, states "Stone, Rev. Isaac (s. of Jonas) grad. H. U. 1770; ord. minister of Douglass, Oct. 31, 1771; married Susanna, D. of Benjamin Goddard, Oct. 27, 1773; dis. from his pastoral charge Oct. 28, 1805, and d. in 1837, aged 89."

H. U., as you may know, refers to Harvard University. And well yes, that's what Harvard did: it trained ministers and educated them extremely well. Still, I'm surprised by his consistency in spelling, the neatness of his writing, and his syntax. Can't help it. And I find it appropriate that he mentions his grandfather being "an ingenious penman and draughtsman" and notes that "he was accurate in his writings." The apple don't fall far from the tree!

I compared some of his date notations to the Vital Records of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849 (Worcester, Massachusetts: Franklin P. Rice, 1904). There, on p. 99, his birth appears as "Stone, Isaac, s. Jonas and Rachel, March 6, 1747-8." OK, pretty close. (We'll see later that he gives us his mother's maiden name as Rachel Rice). The History of Shrewsbury also gives his birth as March 6, 1748, corroborating the date in the published vital records. So I just wonder which date is correct. The dates for his father and grandfather's deaths agree in Isaac's letter and Shrewsbury VRs. 

The first page was enough to draw me in, and I continued to transcribe through his description of his grandfather's religious convictions, which I will present in the next installment.

Continued in: Sensible of His Vileness: The Battle for Isaac Stone's Immortal Soul

Other posts in the series: Isaac Stone's Paternal Ancestry

"I Call to Mind My Parent Dear": Isaac Stone's Tribute to His Mother

"I Begun to Learn Latin Latter End of the Year 1763"

*I have been obliged to substitute a + for an ampersand because of the limitations of html. If I can figure out a way around this, I will fix it.http://pk-pollyblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/sensible-of-his-own-vileness-battle-for.html

1940 US Census Project Update:
Release of Images Tomorrow!




Here are some excerpts from a notice from the 1940 census project. Please note that it won't ALL be ready to index by tomorrow! I sort of wish they had warned us earlier. In fact, by 10pm on the first day, only five rather sparsely populated states will be ready to index.

Get Ready, Get Set . . .

What You Can Expect on April 2
The 1940 US Census Community Project is creating an index to the 1940 US Federal Census that will be made available for free. This is a joint effort between Archives, FindMyPast, FamilySearch, hundreds of societies, and tens of thousands of individual volunteers. The resulting index will be made available on the websites of the primary sponsors.

On the morning of Monday, April 2, NARA will release the digital images of the 1940 census to multiple parties, including the 1940 US Census Community Project. We will immediately start uploading these 3.6 million images to servers, where they will become available online over time. The ability for people to start accessing some of these images through the community project will take hours, not minutes.

As the first five states are loaded to servers, corresponding projects will be set up to index those images as state projects. We anticipate the first five states will be available for volunteer indexing by 10pm EDT.

The first five states to be loaded and ready for indexing on April 2 are the following:
Delaware
Virginia
Kansas
Oregon
Colorado
The process of uploading images and setting up indexing projects by state will continue until all of the states and territories for this project are published, which may take up to two weeks to complete. Every day more images will be made available for browsing and indexing, so you will want to check back often to see which states are available.

The indexing process will be taking place through FamilySearch indexing. If you are already a FamilySearch indexing volunteer, these 1940 census projects will appear as new projects in the indexing software. No new software download or registration process is necessary to participate. If you are not currently a volunteer but want to participate in this historic opportunity, get started by downloading the indexing software and registering today.


What You Can Do Now
Download and install the indexing software
Watch an Overview | Get Started
Learn how to index the 1940 US Census
Watch a Video | Try the 1940 Census indexing simulation
Let others know about the 1940 US Census Community Project
Like the Facebook page | Follow @The1940Census on Twitter | Follow the page on Google+ | Tell friends about the1940census.comYou can keep up with the latest updates by visiting the1940census.com often over the next few weeks.

Thank You!
The 1940 US Census Community Project Team