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Samuel Stetson

Three 1st tier candidates:

  • Samuel Stetson (candidate 1) - b 1772 d 1859, Hanover, MA, housewright in 1800 to 1836 deeds and in the 1855 census when he was 83​​

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  • ​Samuel Stetson (candidate 2) - b 1775 Hanover, MA d Blue Hill, ME, carpenter in 1850 census​​​

 

  • Samuel Stetson (candidate 3) - b 1754 Scituate, MA d Charlton, MA, housewright in 1784 deed and believed builder of Oliver Wight house in 1789

​The only plane known was reported in GAWP5; 14.5" x 4.25" crown molder with a closed tote. ca. late 18c.

Samuel Stetson​

An initial search of US census records from 1790 to 1820 yielded about a half dozen Samuel Stetson's. Most were in Plymouth Co., MA where the family settled in the mid 1600s. Trades were found for these MA men and three are considered 1st tier candidates as they were housewrights / carpenters. The Samuel in New London CT was b 1772 and d 1859 but his trade is not known.

Samuel Stetson (candidate 1)

b 1772 d 1859, Hanover, MA 

Housewright in 1800, 1828, 1829, 1833, 1834, 1836, 1836 deeds and still a housewright in the 1855 census when he was 83.

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His parents were Samuel II and Alice. He married twice; Zilpha Stetson in 1795 (3 children) and Abigail Monroe in 1807 (16 children).

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Samuel Stetson (candidate 1)

The house built by Samuel Stetson I in 1716 in Hanover, MA is now a museum curated by the Hanover MA Historical Society. This house was inherited by Samuel III, the housewright, in 1791.

 

Here's an excerpt from a write-up dated March 30, 2024 by the Society.

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"The story of the third generation of women in the Stetson House is complicated. Samuel Stetson III (1772-1859) inherited the house on the death of his father in 1791. In 1798, when Samuel was 26, he married 37-year-old Zilpha Stetson (1762-1807). Zilpha was Samuel’s second cousin once removed. Zilpha and Samuel had three children, but their first child, daughter Zilpha died less than a year old. The older Zilpha herself died in 1807 at age 45, cause unknown. The 35-year-old widower Samuel remarried the same year.

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Samuel’s new wife was the 16-year-old Abigail Monroe Stetson (1791-1874), Zilpha’s niece and Samuel’s second cousin twice removed. Samuel and Abigail’s first child was born in 1809 and named Zilpha in memory of Samuel’s deceased first wife and Abigail’s aunt. Abigail and Samuel had a total of 16 children.

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The Stetson House still stands today and is open every Saturday for visits and tours! https://hanoverhistoricalsociety.com/contact-2/visit/"

1800 deed with Samuel noted as a housewright. (candidate 1)

1855 census with Samuel listed as a 83 year old housewright. (candidate 1)

The 1716 Samuel "Drummer" Stetson house which was inherited by Samuel III in 1791. (candidate 1) Photo courtesy Hanover-MA.gov 

1716 Samuel "Drummer" Stetson house elevations. (candidate 1) Image courtesy the Library of Congress.

1716 Samuel "Drummer" Stetson house elevations. (candidate 1) Image courtesy the Library of Congress.

Samuel Stetson (candidate 2)

b 1775 Hanover, MA d Blue Hill, Hancock Co., ME

Carpenter in 1850 census

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wife Phebe, parents Seth Stetson Jr. and Lucy Studley

1850 census with Samuel listed as a 75 year old carpenter. (candidate 2)

Samuel Stetson (candidate 3)

b 1754 Scituate, MA d 1800 Charlton, MA

Housewright in 1784 and 1799 deeds. Believed to be the builder of the Oliver Wight mansion house in 1789, Sturbridge, MA.

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wife Deborah Gross, 4 children.

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Samuel Stetson (candidate 3). Housewright in a 1784 deed from Charlton, MA.

Samuel Stetson (candidate 3). 1789 Oliver Wight home, Sturbridge, MA. Photo and information courtesy of the Old Sturbridge Village. Additional information from Delaney Antique Clocks.

Samuel Stetson (candidate 3)

Sturbridge Village Facebook: "Cabinetmaker Oliver Wight had a federal-style “mansion house” built in 1789 by carpenter/architect Samuel Stetson. Wight and his family lived in the house for a while but sold it in 1815 due to financial troubles."

 

Old Sturbridge Village from the Sturbridge – MA Historical Commission: "HISTORICAL NARRATIVE .... The Oliver and Harmony Wight house was designed and perhaps constructed by the cabinet-maker Wight (1765-1837) between 1787 and 1789. According to Holly Izard of Old Sturbridge Village, the builder was Samuel Stetson; traditionally, Wight himself is the attributed builder."

 

From the Delany Antique Clocks website: “Like his brothers David and Alpheus, Oliver acquired property from their father, who held expansive property holdings. In 1789, Oliver and Harmony were thought to have had the housewright Samuel Stetson build their Georgian-style dwelling. This clap-boarded homestead featured a hipped-gable roof, two interior chimneys, and a ballroom on the second story that spans the front of the building. This impressive building is now part of the Old Sturbridge Village (OSV) complex. It is one of only two buildings on the OSV property that stands on its original site and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. “

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