Hidden away atop a hill surrounded by the bustling of trains and automobile traffic sits Riverside Cemetery in Middletown, Connecticut. And in this hidden 17th century burial ground lies many of the town’s first settlers, including many related directly or indirectly to me.
There’s no sidewalk or parking lot for the cemetery and it’s surrounded by tall iron fencing. A sign informs you to request the key from the fire station for entry. The graves date back to 1689, my 9x great grandfather, Comfort Starr was buried there in 1693, though that grave marker we could not find. The other Starr family members interred there include:
Capt Samuel Starr 1704-1778 7th great-granduncle (Brother of Thomas our 7th ggrandfather) In 1734 Samuel was the town collector, in 1746 a grand juror and in 1750 a selectman of the town. Married Elizabeth de Jersey and then Sarah Ward. Samuel Starr’s marker is a large table type monument made of heavy stone such that I had never seen before. There were a few others in the cemetery as well.
Elizabeth De Jersey Starr 1703-1768 wife of 7th great granduncle, Samuel Starr. Elizabeth was born in about 1703. “Tradition says that she and her sister were the only children of a French nobleman, proprietor of a large estate in Jersey, one of the Channel Islands, near the shore of France. They were left orphans at an early age, and placed under the care of an uncle, to whom the estate would revert in case of their decease. He, under the pretense of sending them to England to be educated, put them on board of a ship bound for America. On arriving at New York the captain sold them for their passage-money. They were brought to Middletown and given the surname of their native island. The elder was about 10 years old at this time; — the sister married a Redfield. After many years, the uncle on his death-bed confessed his great wrong, caused letters to be written to his nieces, begging them to return and claim their rightful estate. They were too old themselves to respond, and their children did nothing about it. This romantic tradition is preserved among all the descendants of said Elizabeth De Jersey now scattered over the country. In one family in Ohio they have it in writing, taken down from the lips of a granddaughter of said Elizabeth. In another family a grandson, b. in 1779, d. in 1852, often said that when a boy, living in Mid., he saw in the garret of the old Starr house those very letters from the uncle, that he read them himself, and that they contained the above story.”
Elizabeth married Samuel Starr on 20 August 1724 in Middlefield, Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut, United States. They had 9 children together, 5 boys, 4 girls, all survived to adulthood, a rarity in those times. She was 65 when she died. Samuel remarried the following year.
Elihu Starr 1735-1798 is my 1st cousin 8x removed the 6th child of Samuel and Elizabeth De Jersey Starr. He married Mary Birdseye in 1756 and they had 13 children together. Elihu was the treasurer of Middletown in 1776-78 and was charged with taking charge of the families of the soldiers who were away in the Revolutionary army. He was a highly respected merchant and left a considerable estate. Elihu and Mary had 13 children, several dying in childhood.
A quote from Revelations 14:13 is inscribed on his stone, though half is broken now it likely said: “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”
Elihu Starr, son of Elihu and Mary Birdseye Starr is buried next to his grandfather’s table monument. Elihu Jr lived to be age 28 yrs, dying in March of 1784. There’s no indication he was ever married.
Ruth and Charity Starr. Ruth lived to be 4, Charity only eleven months.
Benjamin Starr, son of Elihu and Mary Starr died of the small pox by “enoculation” in his 12th year of age his gravestone says. (He’d be my 2nd cousin 7x removed).
The stone next to his is for Abigail, wife of Joseph Cornwell. She was my 1st cousin 10x removed. Her father, Daniel Harris Jr was the son of Mary Weld Harris, my 10x great grandmother, mother of Rachel Harris, the wife of my 9x great grandfather, Comfort Starr, and mother of my 8x great grandfather, Joseph Starr.
Mary Ann Weld’s father Captain Joseph Weld came to New England in 1635, and are recorded among the early members of the First Church in Roxbury where his brother, Thomas was the Pastor. Mary was born in England and came to America with her parents. Three years after arriving her mother, Elizabeth, died and Joseph remarried to Barbara Clapp, and they had 4 children including Marah Weld. Mary was 16 when Marah was born, and their father died of mouth cancer just a year after Marah was born. Her name “Marah” mean bitter, it’s said she was named that because her father was dying of mouth cancer and had a horrible sore on his tongue so everything was bitter to him.
Joseph was a clothes merchant and had a large farm. His store also sold wine. As an award for his participation in the Pequot War of 1637 and subsequent negotiations, the colonial legislature granted Weld 278 acre in the town of Roxbury, Massachusetts. Captain Weld’s land is now much of present day Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. With the wealth generated from this grant, Joseph Weld became one of the first donors to Harvard and a founder of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts.
Mary Weld married Daniel Harris (10x gr grandfather) in 1648. He was a lieutenant in the Pequot War and wheelwright (made and repaired wooden wheels) and then when they came to Middletown he ran an Inn and was in charge of the town stock of powder and arms. He had a slave named Mengo who he bequeathed to his son. Mary and Daniel had 11 children, including Abigail’s father Daniel Jr.
Abigail married Captain Joseph Cornwell in 1710. The Cornwell family is credited with founding Middletown around 1650 and a home built by her great grandson, Joseph, in 1783 still stands.
Mary’s daughter Rachel married Comfort Starr and then after Rachel died in 1711 Comfort married Mary’s half sister Marah Weld.
Dad is examining the grave stones of Daniel Harris Jr and his wife Abigail in the picture below, unaware at the time that these were the graves of his 1st cousin 9x removed and his 9th great granduncle.
Another son of Samuel Starr was Timothy Starr, our 1st cousin 8x removed. . He was a ship’s Captain. His ship was called Hamlin, it had 6 guns, 12 crew. His partners were Trumbull and Porter, listed in Naval Records of the American Revolution as capturing a British brigantine, Agnes. Crew included John, Justus, Elihu and Nathan Starr. Capt Timothy Starr’s commission in May 1781 described him as 50 years old, five feet 7, dark complexion, rather slender and wears a wigg.
The grave stone for Timothy’s second wife, Abigail, is very different than the other grave stones, looking very modern as it is flat grey and thin.
John Birdseye Starr was another son of Elihu and Mary Starr who died young, at only 10 in 1778. He would be my 2nd cousin 7x removed.
The above memorial was for Major Jehoshaphat Starr my 7x great granduncle (Thomas brother) and his youngest son Comfort, who was lost at sea. Jehoshaphat Sr. was the youngest surviving son of Joseph Sr and Abigail Baldwin Starr. His home is now part of Wesleyan University in Middletown and there’s a historic marker telling about him and his wife. Major Starr served in the French and Indian War and worked as a tailor. He bought the house that was once owned by the first minister of Middletown and it still stands. Benjamin Franklin’s Tory son William, the last royal governor of New Jersey was seized for his Tory activities, and Governor Franklin spent nearly a year under house arrest at the Starr home.
Sarah (Stow) Starr 1720-1784 wife of 7th great-granduncle, Jehosaphat. Between the ages of 18 and 42, Sarah gave birth to thirteen children – including triplets born when her husband was away serving in the French and Indian War.
Sarah Starr was a strong woman who survived her thirteen deliveries, but mourned the deaths of seven of her children who never reached adulthood. Her triplets died in infancy: four other children died in early childhood or as teenagers. One of those, Comfort Starr, went to sea at age sixteen. His ship was never heard from again.
Jabez was the first son of Maj Jehoshaphat Starr Sr. and Sarah Stowe Starr. He died at 16. Their first son called Jehoshaphat Jr died at 6 years old in 1757. They named their son born in 1759 Jehoshaphat also.
Joseph Starr Sr 1676-1758 was my 8th great grandfather. He was the second son of Comfort and Rachel Harris Starr.
Comfort and his second wife, Marah, are listed as being buried in this graveyard in 1693, but no grave markers can be found for them or Rachel. Comfort was born in Scituate, Plymouth Massachusetts in 1644, of the first generation of Starrs born in America. His father, Dr. Thomas Starr, was born in England and came to America with his father Doctor Comfort Starr. The family moved out of the Plymouth colony to Charlestown, then on to Boston where he married Marah. They were living in Middletown when Joseph was born in 1676, Comfort was a tailor and he taught his son Joseph the trade.
Joseph married Abigail Baldwin (1678-1745) in 1697. He was chosen to be tax collector in 1705, then constable in 1711 and 1712 for Middletown. He and Abigail had 9 children together, 7 boys including my 7x great grandfather Thomas, named after his great grandfather presumably. All but one of their children lived to adulthood.
Their eldest son was Joseph Starr Jr 1698-1781. He married Sarah Southmayd then Priscilla Roper. He was a tailor like his father. He fathered a whopping 17 children by his 2 wives. The Southmayd family were also one of the earliest settlers of Middletown, descending from William Southmayd a mariner and that family is intertwined with ours in a few ways. Joseph Jr.’s brother Daniel also married a Southmayd, Esther, cousin to Joseph’s wife. Sarah and Esther were the grandchildren
of William Southmayd and Hester Hamlin. Hester, in turn, was the
aunt of Charles Hamlin, who married Joseph and Daniel’s sister, Elizabeth Starr. Connecting our family to the many Hamlins found in Riverside Cemetery as well.
Joseph Jr’s son Thomas was hanged for murdering Samuel Cornwell (his nephew, my 2nd cousin 7x removed) in 1797. He stabbed him seven times with a pen knife. I think that is a post for another day though.
William Ward 1632-1690 was my 9th great grandfather, father of William Ward who was the father of Annah Ward who is Ruth Moore Starr’s mother. The first grave in Riverside was in 1689, so this would have been just a year later. His wife, Phebe Fenner Ward 1633-1691 was my 9th great grandmother . Her father was Captain Arthur Fenner Sr. He died in England in 1640 and Phebe came to America with her brother Captain Arthur Fenner Jr who had been in Oliver Cromwell’s army before emigrating to Providence, RI. Arthur fought in the Indian Wars and built a home in1677 that still stands in Cranston RI. He was one that determined the layout of border of RI, something that caused a bitter feud between he and William Harris, his father in law. William sailed to England to get support for his version of the boundary and was captured by pirates and held for years, eventually dying in England due to the poor conditions in which he had been held.
The Fenner family in Rhode Island went on to include Governors, Senators as well as military leaders.
A daughter of Phebe and William Ward buried in Riverside was Sarah Ward Hands, widow of Benjamin Hands (18 Dec 1667-27 Apr 1744), so she’s our 8x great grandaunt (Ruth Moore Starr is daughter of Annah Ward, daughter of William Ward, son of Phebe and William)
This area of the graveyard had many members of the Ward family, unfortunately it’s a very shady area and they are covered in fungus and moss which makes them hard to read. The 4th from the left in the second row says John Ward, he was Phebe’s son too. It’s likely the others are his family. He was one of the largest landowners in Middletown, known as “landed Ward”. He raised 6 grand children and gave them each a farm when they began their lives. He married Margaret Hubbard. The Hubbard family graves can be found in the same area of Riverside Cemetery.
Our 7x great grandparents, Dr. Abijah Moore 1706-1758 and Anna Ward Moore, Ruth Moore Starr’s parents are also buried near here. (Ruth is Capt David Starr’s mother). Dr. Moore received a degree from Yale under the first charter and was a physician in Middletown. He died of smallpox as did his daughter Martha who is also buried in Riverside. I was not able to find their gravestones. Abijah remarried after Anna’s death so he may have been buried in a different area.
I was surprised to find a monument to another cousin here. Lamberton Cooper is my 2nd cousin 11x removed. My paternal great grandfather, Ernie Starr,’s grandmother was Susan Longwell Webster. Her mother, Catherine, was a Woodruff, her 2x great grandfather was the son of Hannah Ward who was the daughter of Mary Catherine Cooper. Her father Timothy Cooper was the brother of Thomas Cooper, Lamberton’s grandfather. I guess all roads lead back to Middletown.
This one really surprised me. The stone says “Here lies the body of Sam Collins who died 10 January 1696 being in the 60 year of his age.”
Samuel Edward Collins is my 9x great grandfather. His daughter is the mother of Dr. Abijah Moore, Ruth Moore Starr’s father. Samuel’s father Deacon Edward Collins brought him to America about 1637 when he was only one year old and the family lived in Cambridge. His mother was Martha Baylie Collins. They lived on the plantation of Governor Cradock at Medford for many years, eventually purchasing it for themselves, selling 1600 acres at one point, so it was a sizable estate. He was appointed Clerk of the Writs in 1641, Deacon of the Church before 1658 and represented Cambridge in the General Court 1654-1670. In 1636 he was a member of the Military Compapny in the General bridge, commanded by Capt. George Cooke. He took an “active part” in protecting regicides Goffe, Whalley and Dixwell.
Sam married Mary Marvin in 1664 and settled in Middletown the next year. He is listed as a “freeman and member of the General Court of Connecticut” in the list of Colonial Families of the United States, but his means of employment I do not know. It’s possible he had family money and had no reason for employment.
In 1691 he set free “a Mulatto Boy which was given me by my mother, Mrs. Martha Collins, at the age of 31 years, which boy was born in the year 1686, the 30th of March”.
Mary Marvin was the daughter of Reinhold Marvin, one of the first Puritan settlers of the Colony of Connecticut in 1635.
A few more surprise connections:
Lament Collens Inscription: Here lyeth the body of Lament Collens Daughter of Robert and Lois (Burnett) Collens who dyed May 13 1732 in the 23 year of age
and a child’s grave son of Nathaniel and Mary Collens inscribed: This lovely pleasant Child
He was our only one
Altho we have buryed three before,
Two Daughters and a Son.
God grant us grace with Job to say:
The Lord doth give and take away,
And Blessed be his Name for aye.
Nathaniel Collens is our 9th great granduncle, his father was Deacon Edward Collins who came to America from England around 1637. He was the 2x great grandfather of Ruth Moore Starr who married Thomas Starr (Asa’s Mom).
The third stone says Here lies interr’d the body of Cap Joseph Rockwell who was chosen Deacon of the first Church of Christ in Middletown May the 31 1704 and servd his own generation by the will of God fell on sleep October 27 1742 in the 75 year of life. – This is the paternal grandfather of wife of 5th great-granduncle, Samuel Moore Starr (his son Samuel Rockwell Starr died at Nauvoo visiting his sister Submit Starr).
Joseph Rockwell and wife Susanna. Joseph is the uncle of the wife of my 5th great-granduncle.
This next surprise has connections to both my tree and Christopher’s.
Abigail Harris Cornwell daughter of Daniel and Abigail Barnes Harris is my 1st cousin 10x removed. Her mother is also Christopher’s 9x great grandaunt. Her grave is next to Benjamin Starr, son of Elihu and Mary Starr my 2nd cousin 7x removed. Small world!