Elizabeth (Gardner) Dabney Bridges Stevens

As mentioned in the post on Elizabeth (Gardner) Gardner, we have started to review our decade worth of accumulation. One focus of research has been to fill in Dr. Frank's tree more than he did in his 1907 book. In 2018, we made progress with this mother's heritage. Another has been oriented toward collateral families, including those who moved outside of New England. That gets us to looking at the western expansion among other things. Another theme was 'All things Gardner' as we have heard from many of the Gardner families that Dr. Frank mentioned. Then, there was an interest in what came before: origins and more (FAQ provides a summary and links to further material). And, that encompasses the fuller view of England (and Europe).

How we proceed is an open issue. We will be scholarly and fund research for others (see our Portal (to truth) and the support button). We expect a lot more posts. We have experimented with different blogging methods as well as produced the Gardner's Beacon and The Gardner Annals (GB Vol IX, No 3 and TGA Vol V, No 2 undergoing construction - still time to contribute).

Organizing will be a continuing task. Presentation will continue to be on the www as well as by print. After we finish five volumes of The Gardner Annals, we intend to prepare a printed version beyond our current volumes. This will consolidate information to be more suitable for future research.

WikiTree has been really helpful, for several reasons. However, as with any of these tools, what one gets dependents upon the care and quality of the work. The New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) has been using WikiTree to document descendants of those who were part of the Great Migration. As well, they have a focus on Gateway Ancestors. In this case, there is an effort to build proven threads back to the Magna Carta Sureties. Lots of work to be done. Technology can be a great assist. Effort is a major factor.

Dr. Frank's work was phenomenal. We have mentioned that. Too, we are using his work as the basis for what we do. Other works, such as the NEHGS provides, are complementary. We will correct (extend and amend) Dr. Frank's material. And, we'll be using our 'Portal to truth' (which has a basis not unlike other things of theoretical interest).

Which gets us to Elizabeth (Gardner) Dabney Bridges Stevens. After we looked at Elizabeth (Gardner) Blanchard (post describes the motivation), we found a few more Elizabeth Gardners. There are other names, but this one search allowed us to look more closely at the 1907 and 1933 books (we'll have a new table of comparison drawn up). EGDBS was found on page 178 of the 1907 book (see image). She was 1-#159. The entry was short. One line said that Elizabeth married Ebenezer Stevens. Per usual, we go to look via search (a technique that has been honed). One thing we found was a reference to a portrait of her (Item #2043).

1907 book, showing
correction by Dr. Frank

Well, that suggested that she might very well be in the 1933 book. She is 2-#56 in the later work. There was more text describing her marriages. On further looking, though, Dr. Frank had included some of the new material in 'Additions and Corrections' section. In the image, the left side is a copy of the page from the 1907 edition; on the right is the correction from the same edition.

Her first husband, Nathaniel Dabney, was a loyalist. We have a couple of posts on that subject, for instance, Henry Gardner. But, there were other loyalists who have ties to the Gardner families or are of interest to our work.

Right now, we just want to emphasis the thoroughness of Dr. Frank. In the 1933 edition, he expands information about the other two husbands, including their parents.

We will be looking at this topic further after we find more information about Elizabeth.

Remarks: Modified: 12/27/2019 

12/27/2019 --

Elizabeth (Gardner) Gardner

We have another Elizabeth (probably, several more) to look at. We just did a post on Elizabeth Gardner (1-#197, 2-# -58 - married Blanchard). Also, we had an earlier reference to Elizabeth Gardner (2-#147 - married Amory) who is noted by Dr. Frank as being the originator of the 1st Governor argument. We had intended to follow up on all of the descendants that we have encountered during the past decade's research. Of late, given the Clapp story (and there is reference to this family in the 1933 book) story in the recent NEHGS publication, we wanted to get back to our original focus on collateral families which brings the mothers into focus. Also, we can see a more full picture of how all of these people relate to each other.

Speaking of Dr. Frank's book, we are using the copy found at Hathi Trust. That is, that will be the source for the numbers. We did a comparison between the 1907 and 1933 (overview) editions one night. Doing this review brings out how the 1907 book is mostly about the Samuel line that Dr. Frank was more familiar with (he had done the research).

Note: As we go forward, we will need to update the table to show changes between 1907 and 1933. As well, when this was done, I was a newbie with both books at a desk and just typed in numbers as I saw them. In columns. I see, now, that the numbers changed per book for persons in each. BTW, after ten years of research running down many paths, it's time to consolidate all of this. Of course, The Gardner Annals is our planned vehicle for delivery of the material.

Note: We'll use '1' for the 1907 book and '2' for the 1933.

The Elizabeth of this post (1-#89, 2-26) is a descendant of George (John, Samuel, George, Thomas). She married Jonathan (1-#73) who was a descendant of Samuel (Abel, Samuel, Thomas). She was fifth generation; her husband was fourth generation. They were born only six years apart.

Her children were Jonathan, Elizabeth, Samuel (died young as did three other children), Sarah, John, Mary, Lydia, Samuel, Hannah, Margaret, Benjamin (died young).

It was her son, Jonathan (1-#105), who was eulogized by Dr. Bentley. Her son, Jonathan, and his wife, Sarah Putnam, are buried in the Charter Street Cemetery, in the Gardner annex that we will be looking at further.

Note: We are attaching a 'Research' tag to this post which will be used to flag additional work.

Remarks: Modified: 07/01/2023

12/26/2019 -- We have started a WikiTree for Jonathan (Gardner-14318). We will continue with Elizabeth's Profile as we get material together. These threads a great for working out these types of  relationships which can be involved.

12/27/2019 - Some changes due to an edit review.

10/16/2020 -- Her great-grandson, Richard Crowninshield Derby (Descendants of Samuel, How to handle the frontiers), was killed at the Battle of Antietam, MD. 

07/01/2023 -- Elizabeth is featured in this post: 247th of U.S. At least, two sons were Patriots. 

Elizabeth (Gardner) Blanchard

We got to this lady by a circuitous trek. The latest issue the American Ancestors Magazine (Vol 20, Num 3) had an article titled thus, In Her Own Words: "The Life of Elizabeth (Clapp) Withington (1816-1845)." She was a granddaughter of Lemuel Clapp of Dorchester about whom we know a bunch. Elizabeth's diary was found and was the basis for the article. The tales were a repeat of what happened 100 years before which we will look at more closely. The main theme of the issue was women's voices which have been lost. We might say the same for the silence of Thomas and Margaret.

Now, the Elizabeth of the title of the post is not this Elizabeth.

So, continuing, Elizabeth's father, Lemuel, was an early patriot whose military career has been the subject of several papers. So, the thought was, did Dr. Frank mention him in the series on the Siege of Boston? These appeared in issues of The Massachusetts Magazine. We found no reference to Lemuel, himself, though several from the Clapp family were mentioned. It may be that Lemuel's organization was outside of the focus area (his group helped fortify Dorchester Heights).

The next step was to see if Dr. Frank had mentioned Clapp in his 1907 book. Also, we looked for Withington as this was the family into which Elizabeth married. Well, not that either, but Winthrop is there. Of course, John is mentioned with regard to the early years of Salem and its surrounds. However, another Winthrop name, that is familiar, shows up.

Before we look at that, this reading of this history today got us to Israel Porter. Now that name rings a bell since Dr. Frank has it in his lineage (Houses of Salem). Too, there are Gardner/Putnam going-ons from way back. What was new was a Journal with an article about the reputation of General Israel. This bears our attention. Israel had been a farmer. So, he wasn't of the clan (military officers). Some of the opinions will tie into that theme. Lafayette weighed in to. Well, Americans are celebrating that old guy (we'll put a link here, French student's work on following the General - Note: 07/29/2020 - here it is - The Lafayette Trail). Yet, we allow merit to be a factor in the rise of an individual. The American dream? Some think so (it'll be a part of the conversation, too).

In our ten years, we have covered a lot of area. Most of this was looking back, however, along the way, new stuff was being created. So, we are a point where we can use our work as a backbone and fill in the new material. In short, again, no lack of work to be done.

Well, back to Dr. Frank's book. Where R.C. Winthrop was mentioned was in the section for Elizabeth Gardner (1-#197 - 1907 book). Okay, we have seen that name before. Our first step was to look at WikiTree. What? There is very little information there. We could see how she descends from Thomas on one side, but there is also a descent on the other to bring out. That WikiTree information needs to be updated.

What about find a grave? Sure enough, Elizabeth Blanchard (1759-1816) is there. She was born early enough to remember the War of Revolution. Too, F.A.G. has a record for her son who married Mary Anne (Cabot) Lee. Their daughter, Elizabeth (she of the post), married Robert Charles Winthrop (1834-1905). He is a forebear of John Kerry through a granddaughter. Also, he funded Winthrop University in 1886 to teach young women. It is considered South Carolina's top university.

There is a lot more to look at, but Elizabeth's father, Samuel Blanchard, was a physician who studied with General David Cobb. We do have a Wikitree entry for him (Cobb-1762), as there is an effort to on WikiTree to identify people who had served during the War of Revolution.

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If we might proceed on Elizabeth (Gardner) Blanchard's line further back toward Thomas and Margaret on the father's side (John 1-#139), we see that her grandfather was Samuel Pickering Gardner. His grandparents were John and Elizabeth (Putnam) Gardner, and his son was John Lowell Gardner. We want to look at further at his sister (see Remarks 12/25/2019).

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Elizabeth Blanchard is a grand-niece of a descendant of Samuel (Jonathan who married Elizabeth (Gardner) Gardner),  as well, as being descendant of George (through her father). Looking at all of these associations, Samuel Gardner (son of Thomas) owned Gardner Hill. It was Samuel Pickering Gardner (descendant of George) who visited in the 1830s and was upset with the destruction of grave sites.

Now, looking at Putnam (mentioned above), Elizabeth (Gardner) Gardner's grandmother (Elizabeth Putnam) was a cousin of General Putnam. But, her grandmother was sister-in-law, too, as she married the General's brother (her first marriage).

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In eight days, we can acknowledge, once again, 29 Dec. 1674.

Remarks: Modified: 07/29/2020 

12/25/2019 -- Closer look at the sister of Samuel Pickering Gardner: Elizabeth (Gardner) Gardner (WikiTree - husband Jonathan). Also, we have a WikiTree profile for Elizabeth (Gardner) Blanchard.

12/26/2019 -- One of the ways that Clapps comes into the Gardner tree is with the 1704 marriage of John Gardner and Elizabeth Weld. Elizabeth's grandmother was Barbara Clapp.

12/27/2019 -- Some changes after an edit review (not the final). Put in the new reference for people and the book (1907 will be 1-#number which is the Dr. Frank assigned number; 1933 will be 2-#number). Clarified the relationship between EGGardner and EGBlanchard.

07/29/2020 -- Added link to the work on Lafayette's Trail. Also, Elizabeth is of the sixth generation.

John Gardner

John (WikiTree) was the third son; he was born in England or in New England. There was been some controversy on that.

These posts of the children will pull together recent research as well as provide links to former work.

• John and the Merrimack survey - John was out as a young man with a crew that went to survey the Merrimack. No doubt, he was the muscle, however he would have learned a lot from the experience. 
• Mary (Gardner) Coffin - John's daughter married Jethro Coffin. Some say that this helped solve a long problem between two groups on Nantucket, namely the first settlers and the late-comers. 
• Sherborne - it was the brothers on Nantucket who kept the information about Sherborne as the place of origins alive. 
• Stories and unwindings - the Gardners had a good reputation on Nantucket. They were noted to have been educated which did not come from Harvard. The best guess? Their parents, especially Margaret. 

Children (according to the NEHGS and the Great Migration Project - as represented by WikiTree): Thomas, George, Richard, John, Sarah, Samuel, Joseph, Miriam, Seeth.

List of descendants of John. 

Remarks: Modified: 10/31/2020 

12/09/2019 -- John and siblings was featured at our portal to truth (see Roll).

10/31/2020 -- Descendants of John. Friend of John: Giles Corey.

George Gardner

George (WikiTree) was the second son and was born in England.

 After he wrote his 1907 book on Thomas Gardner, Dr. Frank worked on the Gardner Memorial book (1933) which looked at the descendants of George Gardner.

These posts of the children will pull together recent research as well as provide links to former work.

• Gardner-Wyman-Peabody - this mill was owned by a descendant of George. 
• Gardner-Pingree - this house was owned by a descendant of George (and his brother, Samuel) and was lost by the family during the turmoils of the War of 1812 with its blockades that interrupted commercial naval activity. 
• Ruth Gardner - George's daughter married John Hathorne. 

List of descendants of George. 

Children (according to the NEHGS and the Great Migration Project - as represented by WikiTree): Thomas, George, Richard, John, Sarah, Samuel, Joseph, Miriam, Seeth.

Remarks: Modified: 12/12/2020

12/09/2019 -- George and his siblings have been (are being) featured at our portal to truth.

12/13/2020 -- Added link to a list of descendants of George. 

Thomas Gardner

Thomas (WikiTree) was the eldest son, born in England. His parents (Thomas Gardner and Margaret Fryer) look to have been married in Sherborne, Dorset in 1617. There were baptism records in that area and time for Thomas, George, and Richard.

Thomas has several mentions in Salem records. Along with George, Samuel and Joseph (his brothers) he was "ordered to survey and measure from the meeting house to a meadow along the river Westerly from Salem." As well as being a cordwinder, Thomas kept a "merchandise store" with "10 pages of inventory" which was recorded at his death.

Thomas married 1) Hannah  in 1641 and 2) Elizabeth Horne in 1665. He had ten children.

Children (according to the NEHGS and the Great Migration Project - as represented by WikiTree): Thomas, George, Richard, John, Sarah, Samuel, Joseph, Miriam, Seeth.

We are looking at the descendants of each child. 

Remarks: Modified: 12/13/2020

12/13/2020 -- Added link to the descendants of Thomas. 

Richard Gardner

We have a page for some of the children and will have one per. Why? There is open research being done, and post are a good way to collect material and comments.

There was an earlier one in which Richard and John featured. That dealt with Nantucket issues. Some of Richard's descendants were mentioned, such as Folger (coffee company) and Macy (store with the red star). we got to looking at Richard while tracking down the ancestry of the namesake of Fort Worth, TX: William Jenkins Worth who was a pre-Civil-War officer in the U.S. Army. One of his forebears married a descendant of Richard; however, she had died, and a new wife was involved. Those close-calls are interesting.

As we were collecting Thomas descendants (Wikipedia page), Richard's (WikiTree) descendant line was touched upon more often than it was for others. For instance, look at the category of "Academic/science/arts" for an example of this.

Richard named one of his daughters Miriam. He had a sister, Miriam (Gardner) Hill, so we just added some information about the niece.

One open issue is where was Richard born? It might have been England, however some claim that he was born here, in New England. This is an example, like that of Margaret Fryer, of work to be done by the family rather than from researchers looking at the wider scope. There are more which we will itemize.

Children (according to the NEHGS and the Great Migration Project - as represented by WikiTree): Thomas, George, Richard, John, Sarah, Samuel, Joseph, Miriam, Seeth.

List of descendants of Richard. 

Remarks: Modified: 12/13/2020 

11/27/2019 -- The kids (each will have link): Thomas, George, Richard, John, Sarah, Samuel, Joseph, Miriam, Seeth.

12/13/2020 -- Added link to a list of descendants of Richard. 

Thomas Needham Gardner

Images of Yore
August 4, 2019
Facebook

On FB, there is a group where people post interesting photos (Images of yore). Recently, there was one of a Thomas Gardner (Cutter's Memoirs). He is mentioned in Dr. Frank's book as the son of Daniel Gardner #338 on page 275. He married Agnes Littlefield. On a closer look, Thomas is a great-uncle of Dr. Frank. FindAGrave for Thomas N. Gardner.

Follow the discussion about Thomas via the New England Family Genealogy and History FB group.

His mother was Elizabeth B. Manning. Thomas lived from 1804-1875, so he is of the same time frame as is Nathaniel Hawthorne whose mother was Elizabeth C. Manning. Any connection? It will be interesting to look at this; it is nice to see the interconnections between the families of Salem. On his father's side, Nathaniel was a descendant of sons, George and Thomas, of Thomas and Margaret.

Thomas married 1) Mary E. Fabens, daughter of Joseph Fabens and Elizabeth Curtis. She died in 1857. He married 2) Agnes Leslie Littlefield, daughter of Edson Lysander Littlefield and Lydia (Smith) Davis. Find A Grave, for Agnes' mother: Lydia Smith Davis Littlefield.

Note: Some work needs to be done with the FindaGrave records. Thomas' FAG only shows his first wife, Mary. Lydia's FAG does not show Agnes (she died as Winchester).

Remarks: Modified: 07/09/2022

11/20/2019 -- He's mentioned in Sidney's History of Salem on page 1-77.

07/09/2022 -- Thomas was of Gen 8, post Thomas and Margaret.