Tombstone Tuesday ~ Elder William Choate, died 1835 in Londonderry, New Hampshire

This tombstone was photographed at Forest Hill Cemetery in Derry, New Hampshire.  At the time William Choate was living, this was the town of Londonderry, New Hampshire.

In memory of

ELDER WM. CHOATE

Who died Jan 4, 1835

AEt. 75

Mrs.  SUSANNA

Wife of Elder Wm. Choate

Died April 23, 1829

AEt. 64

CAPT. JOHN CHOATE

Master of Brig Caesar of Bos-

ton, Lost at sea Oct. 21, 1817

AEt. 26

Also

DAVID CHOATE

His 2^nd officer, AEt. 22

They were driven from

Their mooring during a

Hurricane in the W.

Indies

I was surprised to find one of my ancestral names CHOATE here in landlocked Derry, New Hampshire.  The name originated in Essex, Massachusetts, the former Chebacco Parish of Ipswich.  Many members of this family were mariners, fishermen and ship builders.  They lived on Hog Island, off the coast of Chebacco.  

The first CHOATE in New England was John Choate (about 1624 – 1695) and his wife Ann.  He is my 9^th great grandfather, and I descend from two of his eight children.   William Choate (1759 - 1835) was the great, great, great grandson of John Choate, the immigrant, through his son Thomas Choate (1671 - 1745), my 8th great grandfather.

William Choate, son of William Choate and Mary Giddings, was born 10 August 1759 in the Chebacco Parish of Ipswich, Massachusetts and died 4 January 1835 in Londonderry, New Hampshire; married on 19 August 1784 to his third cousin, Susannah Choate, daughter of Humphrey Choate and Ruth Lufkin.  She was born 12 June 1765 in the Chebacco Parish, and died 11 April 1829 in Londonderry.   They had the following children:

1. William, 18 April 1785, born in the Chebacco parish

2. Susanna, August 21, 1786, born in Londonderry, as well as the rest of her siblings

3. John,  May 13, 1788  (see above)

4. Sally, April 11, 1790

5. Lydia, April 1, 1792

6. Nabby, March 21, 1793

7. David, March 30, 1795  (see above)

8. George, June 23, 1797

9. Mary, Ocober 6, 1798

10. Nathan, June 30, 1801

11. Hannah, May 27, 1804

12. George Washington, December 12, 1806

William Choate sold half his farm on Hog Island off the coast of the Chebacco Parish to George Choate, and he removed to Londonderry, New Hampshire on August 30, 1785.  Members of the Choate family lived on Hog Island since immigrant John Choate came to Massachusetts, and still lived there for many years after William left for New Hampshire.  He was a selectman in Londonderry for six years, and a representative to the New Hampshire legislature from 1796 to 1797. 

For the truly curious:

The Choates in America: 1643 – 1896, by E . O. Jameson,  1896

The Heroes of the American Revolution and Their Descendants, by Henry Whittemore, page 164 

My two Choate lineages can be seen at this link:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/05/surname-saturday-choate-of-chebacco.html   

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~ Elder William Choate, died 1835 in Londonderry, New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 17, 2017, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/01/tombstone-tuesday-elder-william-choate.html: accessed [access date]).