Person talk:Elizabeth Partridge (42)

Grave stone [16 June 2011]

The gravestone, if correctly identified, implies that Elizabeth did not marry Jonathan Payson, since her buried name would not have been Johnson if so.

The evidence that the marriage happened is not overwhelming, being based on intentions, not an actual marriage record, but the discrepancy in birth dates also raises doubts that this is the same Elizabeth. The text on Find A Grave says Elizabeth is next to her husband, but her tombstone appears directly in front of a spreading bush and there are no signs of the bush in the picture of his tombstone.

Elizabeth Johnson being a fairly common name, both identifications (the marriage to Jonathan Payson and the gravestone being her) could benefit from confirming evidence. --Jrich 12:38, 15 June 2011 (EDT)

I put in a question for the Findagrave volunteer - asking how she knows this grave is Elizabeth *Partridge* Johnson. I wonder if she went by cemetery records? --cthrnvl 15:44, 15 June 2011 (EDT)

I did receive a response from the Findagrave volunteer. I have asked for her permission to include it here. Until then you can read it on my public page at Findagrave. --cthrnvl 10:01, 16 June 2011 (EDT)

The comments kind of highlight the importance of the birthdate discrepancy. Whereas Elizabeth Partridge would have been 34 in 1722, an Elizabeth b. 1680 would have been 42. So six children argues for the former case. The question is, is the age at death inflated, or is it a different Elizabeth Johnson buried there.

Connecticut and Johnsons are neither one something I have studied so that I have any idea how many Elizabeth Johnsons there are or any real idea of their disposition. But Barbour Collection for Middletown does show Joseph Johnson having a sister Elizabeth b. 19 Feb 1680/81. If she never married, she might be who the gravestone is for?

My work led me to this from the Payson side and the person who created the page for the parents of Joseph Johnson did not enter any of the children so I have no idea if Elizabeth Johnson did marry, or not. If not, it would be plausible that she might live with her brother and end up being buried close to him. The Barbour collection lists two marriages for an Elizabeth Johnson. One is 1705 to John Blake but Linzee in his book Peter Parker and Sarah Ruggles shows this Elizabeth was the daughter of Nathaniel Johnson so not Joseph's sister. The second is to William Harris in 1721. Manwaring's probate documents 1729-1750, p. 293, show that Joseph Johnson's estate was distributed to heirs including Elizabeth Harris, so that appears to be his daughter, not his sister. --Jrich 11:35, 16 June 2011 (EDT)

It sounds like we could use a disambiguation page for "Elizabeth Johnson". I've only done them for men and I don't know how to do one for women considering maiden names. I think I could help by searching Findagrave, with some parameters. I noticed she is the only Partridge in that graveyard. Question #2 the gravestone clearly says Mrs. (am I right about that?). Who would use that title at that time? Only married women? I know it was at one time used by any woman. --cthrnvl 16:06, 16 June 2011 (EDT)

Notes by Lucia Finley at Findagrave: [17 June 2011]

The Johnson's in Middlesex, CT are a difficult group to research and document (circa 1600-1800) due to their abundance and intermarriage. One of my ancestral lines is that which descends through Capt. John Johnson b. 1588 England d. 1659 MA, down through these Middlesex, CT Johnson's. In an effort to document my own ancestors, I did considerable research in 2008/2009 on the CT Johnson group, and was helped in this effort by Findagrave contributor "Ruth" who photographed many of their stones and verified their location within Johnson family groups. I have the Hale transcription for the JOHNSON names in Old Farm Hill, and while it lists several Elizabeth Johnson's, it does not include the Elizabeth (Partridge) Johnson on this memorial. However, Joseph Johnson (husband of E. Partridge) was also not on the transcription, and his stone verfies that he indeed is buried in this cemetery (his dates concur with other documentation for this Joseph). Ruth went to the cemetery and documented that the "Mrs. Elizabeth Johnson" in my memorial was buried next to this Joseph. As Joseph's first wife, Elizabeth Blake, died in 1720, this is clearly not her grave (she is buried in Riverside Cemetery). I'm aware of the research giving different dates from Elizabeth Partridge, for example that done by Coralynn Brown, a respected researcher and contributor, which states the following "Elizabeth, b. Oct. 7, 1688; m. (1) May 9, 1709, John Hamlin Jr.; m. (2) _____ Hamlin; m. (3) _____ Johnson of Woodstock, Conn.; m. (4) _____ Payson of Middletown, Conn." Further, the Barbour Collection documents the 1709 marriage to Hamlin and the 1722 marriage to Johnson. I have always questioned that if she married Joseph Johnson in 1722, she would have been 42 years old at that marriage (from the age on her headstone), rather old to then give birth to six children (the last being born in 1736 when she would have been 56). However, I have found no other documentation that would support this grave being anyone other than Elizabeth Partridge Johnson. That fact, and the location next to husband Joseph Johnson, coupled with the lack of any record of a different burial which might be hers, leads me to believe this is the correct gravesite.

If you have access to Ancestry, I have documentated my Johnson line (which includes this Elizabeth Partridge) quite well. My tree is "The Storrs, Oakley & Lane Families".

If you have some further documentation that is primary and offers sound reason to further question my conclusion, please advise me, as I'm always happy to go back and re-examine previous work if new documents come to light :O)

Best Wishes, Lucia Finley Added by L. Finley on Jun 15, 2011 6:15 PM [This was copied and pasted here by --cthrnvl 22:17, 16 June 2011 (EDT). Lucia gave me permission to paste her notes about Elizabeth here to collaborate with other researchers. Original note is on Findagrave]