Some Very Special Volunteers You Probably Never Knew About, But You Might Have Benefitted From Their Work And Not Even Known It

Susan (Walker) Tew (1828-1893)

Susan (Walker) Tew is my 2X great grandmother.  She is also the 2X great aunt of my cousin Bill Newcomb.

On April 16th of this year I received an email from Bill alerting me to the sad news that Susan's gravestone had been seriously damaged in a violent storm that swept through the Rice City area of Rhode Island where Susan is interred in a family burial ground.  Eerily, of the numerous graves and headstones, only Susan's headstone was damaged.

Susan had a rather difficult life.  She was the eldest of the ten children of Nathan Walker and Polly (Wells) Walker.  She had two younger sisters and seven younger brothers.  Susan was 17 years old when she married Adam Tew (age 20), in January 1846.  Less than seven months later she and Adam had their first of six children and almost a year to the day later her mother died leaving at least five minor children under 15 years old motherless.  Susan, who was married with an infant daughter, was unable to assist her father with the raising of her siblings and so they were farmed out to others willing to help.  When Susan was nearly 60 years old, she and her husband Adam separated and Adam remarried in April 1887.  He was 62 years old and his new wife was 43.  Adam Tew was her fifth husband.

When Bill sent me the news about Susan's damaged headstone, he and I communicated about what might be done to repair it.  Bill said he was going to reach out to the historical cemetery community and that reminded me that back in the fall of 2015, I was contacted by Diane Boumenot of the outstanding blog, One Rhode Island Family.  Diane shared the photo (below) of a damaged headstone in Cumberland Cemetery that was being repaired by volunteers who devoted their time, energy, and resources to caring for historic and often neglected and damaged cemeteries.  It turned out the the headstone was that of my 4X great uncle, Aurin Miller, brother of my 3X great grandfather, Eber Miller.  Eber was one of the incorporators of Cumberland Cemetery and he and his brother are both interred there.

I told Bill that I would try reaching out to Ken Postle and Robert Butler who were involved in the River Road, Blackstone River and Canal Group that did the above headstone repair at Cumberland Cemetery.  I would see if their group perchance knew of a similar group that cared for historic cemeteries in the Coventry, RI area or if their group did such work outside of Providence County.  Before I was able to make the inquiry, Bill found the volunteer group known as the Pawtuxet Valley Preservation and Historical Society (PVPHS).

PVPHS is located in the historic former Crompton Library in W. Warwick, RI.  In 2011 the Cemetery Committee of PVPHS became the fifth organization in Rhode Island to repair and preserve tombstones and burial sites.  The Cemetery Committee also joined a network consortium with the National Park Service in the Blackstone Valley in northern Rhode Island.

Within days of Bill making contact with the PVPHS, volunteers made the trip to Rice City and made repairs to Susan Tew's damaged headstone.  A description of the repairs and photographs by the volunteers below tell the story of the wonderful efforts by this group of dedicated volunteers.

          "This stone belongs to Susan (Walker) Tew and was brought to our attention by

           her second great nephew, William Newcomb. The stone had deteriorated around

          the pins causing multiple fractures. This, combined with a settling base, led to

          the breakage and falling seen here.

          The first step was to epoxy the stone fragment back in place.  Once this was

          cured, the remaining cracks will be filled to prevent water from freezing inside

          them, further damaging the stone.

          Next, the base had to be leveled.  Upon lifting the base, it can be seen that there

          was concrete used to help support it and prevent settling. Additionally,

          fragments of marble stone, one of them carved with a date, were used for

          support. This was almost certainly a discarded fragment from the stone carver's

          shop used instead of field stone for a foundation.

          The intermediate base with the pins was then epoxied to the lower base to be

          completely level in preparation for the next visit, after the epoxy has cured."

        

Once the epoxy cured on all the repairs described and pictured above, the dedicated volunteers of the PVPHS Cemetery Committee returned to the cemetery and restored the mended headstone of Susan A. (Walker) Tew to its full upright position on a secured and leveled foundation.  The completed repairs are shown below in a photo by Bill Newcomb.

Bill Newcomb and I are very grateful for the altruistic volunteer efforts of the members of the Cemetery Committee of the PVPHS in repairing the damaged headstone of our family member.  It is comforting to know that there are such selfless people devoted to doing whatever they can to preserve, protect, and repair the final resting place of forebears–many of whom must be complete strangers.  They deserve our gratitude and our support whenever possible.

I am not sure how many states have organizations and volunteers that watch over historic and often forgotten cemeteries, but Rhode Island is fortunate indeed to have at least five including the Pawtuxet Valley Preservation and Historical Society and the River Road, Blackstone River and Canal Group.  They are due much praise and credit for the work they do in preserving a major resource for genealogists and historians!

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Photograph of Susan A. (Walker) Tew from the personal collection of the author.

Photograph of the initial damage to Susan's headstone and of the completd repairs courtesy of  William "Bill" Newcomb.

Description of the repairs and photographs of the repair process from the PVPHS. 

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Copyright 2020, John D. Tew

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Tombstone Tuesday (April 30, 2013) -- William Henry Tew

This gravestone is for William Henry Tew, the son of Adam Tew and Susan A. (Walker) Tew, my 2x great grandparents.  Little is known of William other than he was born in 1858, most likely in Coventry, Kent County, Rhode Island.  He died on December 20, 1883 possibly in Central Falls, Rhode Island.  He married Eva Almeda Blanchard on December 7, 1880 in Warwick, Rhode Island and it appears they may have had one son before William died in December 1883 -- Adam H. Tew who was born in 1881 and died in 1964.  

It appears Eva married Antone August Graemiger on February 7, 1885 in Scituate, Rhode Island about fourteen months after William's death.  William is buried in Coventry, Rhode Island in the Walker-Tew family cemetery (Rhode Island Historical Cemetery Town of Coventry 14).

William is the youngest brother of my great grandfather, John Andrew Tew, and he is my great grand uncle.  From the inscription on his gravestone, William was known in the family by his middle name, Henry.  The inscription reads. . .

          Dear Henry thou hast gone and left us

          And thy loss we deeply morn [sic -- mourn] 

          But again we hope to meet thee

          On the resurrection morn.

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Photograph of William's gravestone courtesy of Don Benoit, a cousin of the author. 

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Copyright 2013, John D. Tew

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Military Monday -- Arnold A. Walker (1841 - 1863)

Arnold A. Walker

Arnold A. Walker is my 2nd great grand uncle.  He served in the Union Army during the Civil War and was a casualty of that war having died at the age of 21 years, 2 months and 28 days (according to his gravestone).  I was not aware of Arnold's relationship to me until less than four months ago, but it turns out he played a very influential part in the life of my paternal grandfather, my father, and, not insignificantly, in my very identity!  [See yesterday's post, Discovering Where My Father's Name Came From. ]

Arnold was one of the younger brothers of my 2X great grandmother, Susan (Walker) Tew.  As explained in yesterday's post, Arnold was only six years old when his mother, Polly (Wells) Walker, died in Coventry, Rhode Island at age 38.  At this point I know nothing about what Arnold's life was like in the immediate aftermath of his mother's death and the almost complete shattering of his nuclear family that resulted from that tragedy.  I know only that when Arnold Walker reached young adulthood, he was enlisted in the Union Army and fought in the Civil War.  He died on February 19, 1863 in Washington, DC according to his gravestone. 

Arnold A. Walker was born in Coventry, Rhode Island on November 24, 1841 . . . almost 81 years to the day before the birth of my father, Arnold G. Tew, Jr.   Because of the newly discovered role Arnold Walker plays in my genealogy, I plan to do more inquiry into his life this year and hope to make any results the subject of a future blog post.

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The photo of Arnold A. Walker is taken from the Oehler Tree at Ancestry.com, which is owned by Joshua Oehler of Phoenix, Arizona.  Thank you Joshua!

Photograph of Arnold A. Walker's gravestone in Rhode Island Historical Cemetery Town of Coventry, 14, by the author.

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Copyright 2013, John D. Tew

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Discovering Where My Father’s Name Came From

Arnold G. Tew, Sr.

Margaret "Maggie" (Conner) Tew

John Andrew Tew

As I have posted in other places on this blog, my paternal grandfather’s name is Arnold George Tew.  He was the son of John Andrew Tew and Margaret “Maggie” (Conner) Tew.  My father is a Junior and so is also named Arnold.  [My mother says that there was some vigorous lobbying for me to be named Arnold George Tew, III – but she nixed it and thus I am named John David Tew after my father’s brother and my mother’s brother respectively! ]

Other than my father and his father, the only Arnolds I knew of while growing up were celebrities –- Arnold Palmer, Arnold Stang, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and, of course, Arnold Ziffel, the “son” of Fred and Doris Ziffel on the 1960s sitcom Green Acres.  Arnold Ziffel just happened to also be a pig.  But the point is, that based on this small sample I determined early on that in the U.S. the name Arnold is rather rare and so it always made me wonder about where my grandfather’s -- and hence my father’s – first name came from.  About five months ago I solved the mystery of how my father and my grandfather came to be named "Arnold."  [HINT:  It was not after Arnold Ziffel!]

My great grandfather, John Andrew Tew, was born in Coventry, Rhode Island in 1853.  He was the son of Adam Tew (1865 - 1908) and his wife, Susan (Walker) Tew (1828 - 1893).  Susan was born in Rhode Island on April 14, 1828 and she married Adam Tew on January 8, 1846 when she was only 17 years old.

Adam Tew

Susan (Walker) Tew

Susan was the daughter of Nathan Walker (1808 - 1885) and his wife Polly (Wells) Walker (1809 - 1847).  Nathan and Polly had nine children including my 2X great grandmother Susan, who was the eldest.  Nathan and Polly had three daughters and five sons.  Until late December of last year I knew nothing about Susan's siblings and while I had a picture of Susan in middle age, I had no photographs or pictures of other members of the Nathan and Polly Walker family.  And then on or about December 20, 2012 I stumbled across the Oehler Tree on Ancestry.com.  The tree is owned and maintained by Joshua Oehler of Phoenix, Arizona -- and the Nathan and Polly Walker family of Coventry, Rhode Island is part of his family tree.  Mr. Oehler had lots of information about Nathan and Polly's other children, but he had virtually nothing about Susan, the eldest.  He did not have the fact of Susan's marriage to Adam Tew, anything about their children or of her death -- but perhaps for good reason.

As I pieced together from information on Joshua Oelher's tree and in my Tew genealogy, the Walker family suffered a number of tragedies by July 1847 when Polly, mother of at least six living children, died in Coventry, RI at age 38.  In 1830 Nathan and Polly's second daughter had died before reaching her first birthday.  In 1846, their third daughter and third eldest child, Mary (born in 1832), died at age 14.  This left Susan Walker, the eldest child, as the only surviving daughter of the three girls of Nathan and Polly Walker.

Of the six boys of Nathan and Polly, at least five were living at the time of their mother's death.  Edmund Walker might have been Mary's twin brother for he was also born in 1832.  Edmund was 15 when his mother died.  Stephen Walker, named for his paternal grandfather, was born in 1835 and was 12 years old when his mother died.  Benjamin, born in 1838, and another boy born in 1841, were 9 and 6 respectively when their mother passed away.  A son whose name is presently unknown was born in 1844 and would have been just under 3 years old when his mother died if he himself was still living. Finally, Joseph Manchester Walker, born in Coventry, RI on November 14, 1846 was a mere 8 months old when his mother died on July 19, 1847 in Coventry.

Nathan Walker

So, in the summer of 1847, when Nathan Walker was not yet 39, he found himself a widower with five or six sons all 15 years old or younger and a sole surviving daughter who was 19 years old.  In many cases this would have left the family of underage boys to be raised by their father and their older sister, except that in 1847 the eldest child and only daughter, my 2X great grandmother Susan, was already married to Adam Tew and was herself the mother of a daughter, Mary D. Tew, born in Rhode Island on July 20, 1846.  Susan's first child, Mary, turned 1 year old the day after her grandmother Polly died.

Nathan's solution for making sure his children were cared for was to turn to others for assistance.  As a result, his young family was dispersed across Rhode Island and Massachusetts.  Infant Joseph went to live on a farm in Foster, Rhode Island with the Daniel Battey family.  In 1850 Benjamin was living with the John Corey family in Coventry.  The whereabouts of the other children during the first years after their mother's death is presently unknown.  The dispersal of the sons, and the fact that eldest child, Susan, was married and the mother of an infant daughter, probably explains why Mr. Oehler had little information about my great, great grandmother Susan (Walker) Tew in his Oehler Tree -- when the young boys were dispersed among other homes after their mother's death, Susan was already married and had a family of her own to care for.

Susan and her husband, Adam Tew, had at least five children in addition to their first-born, Mary Tew.   They had three girls and three boys that I know of.   The oldest of their three sons was my great grandfather, John Andrew Tew, born in Coventry on August 27, 1853.  John Andrew was only about 11 years younger than one of his mother's brothers -- the one that was born in 1841and who was only 6 years old when his mother Polly died in July 1847.  It is quite possible, therefore, that John Andrew spent some time around this uncle until the uncle died at age 21 in 1863.  In any event, John Andrew Tew and his wife, Maggie, named the only one of their four sons to survive beyond age two after this particular brother of John Andrew's mother Susan.  They named their son Arnold George Tew after John Andrew's maternal uncle, Arnold A. Walker!  John Andrew Tew's "Uncle Arnold," one of his mother's younger brothers, died in the Civil War at age 21 and so it becomes almost certain that my grandfather, Arnold George Tew, was not randomly named Arnold, but rather was named in honor and in memory of his grand uncle, Arnold A. Walker, a casualty of the Civil War.  In turn, my father, Arnold George Tew, Jr., was named Arnold after his father and, by extension, after the younger brother of his great grandmother who died while serving in the Union Army during the Civil War!

My 90-year-old father learned for the first time how he came to be named Arnold when I shared this genealogical insight with him in mid-December last year.

Arnold A. Walker (1841 - 1863)

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Photos of Nathan Walker and Arnold Walker courtesy of Joshua Oehler as posted on his Oehler Tree at Ancestry.com.  Thank you Joshua!

Picture of Susan (Walker) Tew courtesy of my cousin, Bruce O. Marquardt, who is a great great grandson of Susan (Walker) Tew and her husband, Adam Tew.

Picture of Adam Tew courtesy of my cousin, Don Benoit, who is a descendant of Adam and Susan Tew.

All other photos from the collection of the author.
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Copyright 2013, John D. Tew
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