John Sanford Sturdevant, son
of John
Sturdevant Jr. and father of Eli, was a craftsman and
carpenter. He built this house in Bridgewater, CT, in 1826. The house was built of
12" x 12" timbers, "hand hewed, fastened with mortice and tenon joint by
wooden pins". The original house had five fireplaces with a 3 x 8 feet stone
hearth for each. Behind the trees, next to the road, you can see "The little red shop, .... used by John Sturdevant to make ox carts, spinning and flax wheels, all of which were branded with his name. It contained many kinds of hand-made lathes and small tools, and also had a circular stone wall foundation to guide the horse that had to travel in a circle to provide power for his wood lathe." John Sanford apparently learned his craft from his father John Jr., who had a factory of his own that produced all the spinning and flax wheels used in this part of the country in the late 18th century.
John Sanford married Currence Hatch, a daughter of Mark T. and Hannah Camp Hatch. Currence was technically his step-sister, as John Jr. married Hannah Camp Hatch after the death of her husband, Mark and the death of his first wife Sarah Barnum. Currence was born 10/23/1800, and died 3/22/1874. John Sanford and Currence are buried in the Center Cemetery, Bridgewater.
John and Currence had three children:
- Betsey Ann Sturdevant, born 3/6/1820
- Sarah Sturdevant, born 10/25/1827
- Eli Sturdevant, born 3/9/1835