Esq. Thomas DIMAN

Notes:

Thomas became blind in his later years, but was skilled enough to cut his own tombstone (see Diman genealogy by Dorothy Chapman Saunders, Ph.D.). He died at the age of 90.

Information on the baptism of Thomas & Salome's four older children was found in "Genealogies of RI Families, Vol. II," p. 395 (on Family Tree Maker CD 180).

Thomas married Salome FOSTER Abt 1767, Plymouth, MA. Salome (daughter of Thomas FOSTER and Mary MORTON) was born Between 1748 and 1749; died 26 Dec 1818; was buried , East Burial Ground, Mt. Hope Ave. & Wood St., Bristol, RI. [Group Sheet]

Thomas married Elizabeth Waldron Aft 1818. Elizabeth (daughter of Daniel Waldron and Phebe Reynolds) was born 30 May 1762; died 20 Jul 1834. [Group Sheet]

Susanna married Allen USHER, Jr. 29 Jul 1787. Allen (son of Allen USHER and Rebecca ALLEN or Bourne) was born Abt May 1765, Bristol, RI; died Sep 1796, a drowning at sea. [Group Sheet]

Salome — Peter Cartwright. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Mary & Deborah were twins.

Notes:

Deborah & Mary were twins.

Elizabeth — Obadiah Dyer Brown. [Group Sheet]

Deborah married Stephen CHAFEE, Jr. 13 Dec 1812, Bristol, RI. Stephen (son of Stephen CHAFEE and Chloe PEARCE) was born Abt 1791, Rehoboth, MA; died 17 Oct 1864, Bristol, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Alden G. Beaman's "RI Genealogical Register," Vol. 17, Bristol Cemetery Inscriptions, gives Lucinda's date of death as 19 Jan 1834, at age 20. There was another Lucinda T. Chafee, date of death given as 3 Oct 1848 (?).

Notes:

The name George T. B. Chafee first came to my attention in a copy of an old letter of Great Uncle Frank's which he sent to his mother, Mary Elizabeth Chafee (nee Andrews), my great-grandmother. In this letter he lists our Chafee ancestors, but without any documentation or details, save that he says this person's son invented a propeller boat which used to sail from Connecticut to New York City. This ties in somewhat with the information I found in the Bristol town records, which identify his occupation as sea captain, and his place of death as Middletown, CT. (Bristol Vol. #5, p. 139)

According to Frank's letter, the son George Austin (brother of my great-great-grandfather, Samuel Russel Chafee) was a restaurant and hotel man in Middletown, CT. He had a son Charles Austin and a daughter Grace. Around 1870 he built a propeller ship that ran between Portland, CT (across the river from Middletown, CT) and New York City. The ship was named after him: The George Austin Chafee. (Need to check out all these details!)

George T. B.'s name came to me also from an Austin family genealogist (Bonnie Austin Bigolin of Green River, WY), in an e-mail replying to my query through their web site. They have his name in their database as having been married to Harriet N. Austin, and she listed his children for me, one of whom is my gr-great-grandfather, Samuel Russel Chafee. The name Austin has since been passed down in our family in the form of the middle name of his son George and of my grandma's brother Charles, and the first name of one of Charles's sons, among others.

Also, it appears that the name Harriet has also been passed down, being the name of one of George and Harriet's daughters, the name of a granddaughter ("Hattie" who married DeWitt Bolster), and the name of a great-granddaughter -- my grandma's sister Hattie, a name which I presume was also Harriet in this generation. She died very young. My parents have her old rocking chair.

Since acquiring the above information, I have viewed and copied George and Harriet's marriage record at Bristol Town Hall, as well as other family records of birth, marriage, and death. I also have photographed their gravestone(s) at Bristol's North Burial Ground.

In addition to the above sources of information, I have transcripts from the following census records which show the various Chafee families: 1850, 1860, and 1870 for Bristol, RI; 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920 for Middletown, CT.

"The Chaffee Genealogy" by William H. Chaffee, published in 1909, says that Mr. George T. B. Chafee "served as a sutler in the Union Army during the Civil War. He was a mechanic and restaurant keeper. He had a light complexion, blue eyes, a jovial disposition, and was five feet, four inches in height. In 1883 he lived in Middletown [CT], where he died of pneumonia at the age of seventy-five in the home of his son, Stephen B. Chafee. He was buried in the family lot in Bristol."

In the front of my grandmother's old Bible there is this notation, written in her handwriting: "Lest I forget, I must write down the Chafee family motto -- 'As we journey through life, let us live by the way.' It is above the large fireplace in the Chafee Hotel in Middletown Conn. made in the masonry."

George married Harriet Newell AUSTIN 18 Mar 1839, Bristol, Bristol Co., RI. Harriet (daughter of Samuel Ward AUSTIN and Mary MITCHELL) was born 1822, North Kingstown, Washington Co., RI; died 29 Jul 1856, Bristol, Bristol Co., RI; was buried Jul 1856, North Burial Ground, Bristol, RI. [Group Sheet]

George married Susan Hathaway Hoar 3 Mar 1859, Swansea, MA. Susan was born 15 Aug 1829, Swansea, MA; died 22 Feb 1884; was buried , North Burial Ground, Bristol, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

In the 1850 Federal Census, Zechariah & Eliza A. Chafee are living in Bristol, RI. They have a 2-year-old son, William L. C. Chafee. The family is next door to Thomas D. & Mercy Chafee.

Zechariah — Eliza Ann LeCroix. Eliza was born Abt 1828, Maine. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

According to "The Chaffee Genealogy," p. 453, Thomas was living in Taunton, MA, in 1888.

He may be the T. D. Chafee buried at North Burial Ground in Bristol, RI.

In the 1850 Federal Census, Thomas D. & Mercy P. Chafee are living at Bristol, RI. They have a four-month-old son, Lyman M. Chafee. The family is living next door to brother Zechariah Chafee and his family on one side, and next to parents Stephen & Deborah Chafee on the other side.

Thomas married Julia Eddie Abt 1845. [Group Sheet]

Thomas married Mercy P. Read Abt 1848, Connecticut. Mercy (daughter of George Read) was born Abt 1828, MA. [Group Sheet]

Thomas married Abbey Macomber Aft 1850. Abbey died Aft 1889. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

In the 1850 Federal Census, Cyril is aged 20, a clerk, and living with his parents at Bristol, RI. Apparently he died just about a year later.

Notes:

Alden G. Beaman's "RI Genealogical Register," Vol. 17, Bristol Cemetery Inscriptions, gives Sarah's date of death as 24 May 1833, at age 7 months.