Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Tombstone Tuesday ~ STEEL, buried at Derry, New Hampshire (then Londonderry)

These tombstones were photographed at the Forest Hill Cemetery in Derry, New Hampshire.



HERE LYES THE BODY
OF NAOMI STEEL.  SHE
DIED OCTOBER 28
1759 AGED 18 MONTHS


HERE LYES
THE BODY OF
MR THOMAS STEEL JUNR
WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE
OCTR 3RD AD 1746 IN THE
25TH YEAR OF HIS AGE.

These two gravestones are typical of the early Scots Irish in Nutfield.  One is plain with no adornment, and the child's tombstone has a simple geometric design.  The lettering on both is crude and unplanned for the space.  

The Thomas Steel buried and photographed above is the son of Charter Thomas Steel.    He arrived with his wife Martha Morrison with the original group of Ulster Scots from Aghadowey, Northern Ireland in 1718 and went to Maine where they suffered great deprivations.  A group of them came first to Methuen and then to Nutfield (later called Londonderry) in 1719.  This burial ground is now in the town of Derry, because of the schism in the early 19th century. 

I'm not sure about little Naomi Steel, buried next to Thomas.  Who are her parents? 

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http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/05/tombstone-tuesday-steele-buried-at.html
Copyright (c) 2015, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

4 comments:

  1. Thomas Steele is my 6x great grand-uncle, brother of my 6x great grandmother, Janet Steele. Although I am not certain, I suspect that Naomi was the child of another brother, William; her birth date fits, and his other children included Moses, Joseph, and Mary.

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    1. Hi Robert, I guess that makes us Cousins.

      I believe that Thomas Sr. was from NI and marries Ms. Morrison on the Isle of Man before making their way to the New World. I have some interesting biographical information on them somewhere.

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  2. Thomas Steel ix my 5th gr-grandfather. Thanks for the photos. Where did you get the "Charter Thomas Steel" info?

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    Replies
    1. See Parker's "History of Londonderry" and Willey's "Book of Nutfield" for information on the first settlers who came with Rev. MacGregor to Londonderry, NH.

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