Leaves and Stones

More autumn pictures.  These stones are in the First Presbyterian Churchyard in Morristown, Morris County, New Jersey.  I will need to re-visit the cemetery.  This plot was filled with leaves, obscuring some stones.

The center stone in the front row is Susannah Scofield (died 1852), wife of William Bishop (died 1844), originally from Connecticut.  The other four stones are for their children, Charles, George, Darius, Hannah.  Readable images of the individual stones are on Find A Grave.  I wanted to see if these stones were together to solidify a family connection, which indeed they are a family.

My Bishop line hails from Morris County.  The earliest Bishop I've traced is Reuben Bishop, who died in 1856 in Morristown.  He was married to Susan Ayres (1817-1890).

I descend from a son of Reuben Bishop and Susan Ayers, William Bishop (1843-1915).  In the 1850 census, William is listed as Reuben.  Future records give his name as "William" or "William R."

Is there a connection between my William Reuben Bishop from Morris County, New Jersey and the William Bishop who moved from Connecticut to New Jersey?  Still working on it . . .

Bishops of Morris County, New Jersey

For several weeks, on Amanuensis Monday, I posted pictures of handwritten records along with my transcription, of the contents of the family file for Bishop found at the New York State Library in Albany, New York.  As I uncover my Bishop line back in time, one generation at a time, I hope to link up with one of those documented Bishop lines (and continue researching).

The most recent Bishop in my family line was Minnie Caroline Bishop, my great great grandmother.  Minnie was born in Newark, New Jersey about 1866 and died in Newark in 1910.  She is buried with her parents and siblings at Evergreen Cemetery in Hillside, Union County, New Jersey.

List of burials in plot owned by William R Bishop
Courtesy of Evergreen Cemetery
located in Hillside, Union County, New Jersey

Minnie was one of several children born to William Reuben Bishop and Susan Jennie Marsh.

William Reuben Bishop was born in the 1840s in Morris Township, Morris County, New Jersey, to Reuben Bishop and Susan Ayers.  The earliest child I have found for this couple is Mary Bishop, born about 1836.  Reuben died in after the 1850 census.  I do not know where he is buried.  Susan remarried in 1860 in Newark to Enos Whitehead and died in 1890.

My strategy at this time is to uncover more records in Morris County on Bishops prior to 1860.  I need to find a record of the marriage of Reuben Bishop to Susan Ayers, probably in the mid 1830s.  There are some Bishop burials at the First Presbyterian Church in Morristown that I need to explore.  I have two possibly relevant wills probated in Morris County in 1823.  One is for Rachel Bishop, where she names two daughters, Elizabeth Smith and Mary Jones, and a son, William Bishop.  The other will is by Reuben Bishop and mentions brothers, Calvin Luther Mills and Abner Bishop.