We need your input with filling in gaps in our information about the Denisons and some of the items in our collection. Some of these items are old pictures, some are household artifacts. Please scroll down to see if you can tell us anything.
Questions About our History
The Homestead as a Family Care Center?
Not too long ago, at a Denison Day, someone mentioned that her grandfather had been born at the Homestead in the latter part of the 19th century.She said that the Homestead was sort of place where Denisons with health problems could go for care. We knew that Phoebe and Sarah Denison took in family on a summer boarder basis during this time period. When they were living in New York, Annie and Stanton Gates and their little son used to come and spend summers at the Homestead with the aunts. But we didn’t know about whether care was given there to Denison family members.
Can anyone tell us more about this? When did it happen? Was it Phoebe and Sarah who were the caregivers? Do any of you have relatives who spent time here under those circumstances? There must be interesting stories to tell regarding these times. Please share them with us.
Who Was Helen Hunt?
Helen Hunt was an interior decorator who is reported to have been a companion to Annie Gates after Stanton Gates’s death. Recent information regarding Helen Hunt has her born in Massachusetts about 1875. Her father was the Reverend George Hunt. So we are unable to find the Hunt family in any Massachusetts census.Does anyone have any information about Helen Hunt and Annie? In an earlier Census, Helen appears to be a border with the Gates when they were living in New York but that is all the information we have about her. If you know anything about this please share your information with us.
Annie's Education?
After Annie completed her education in the Stonington/Mystic schools, did she go on to further education? There seems to be a space of years before she married Stanton Gates. What did she do during those years? Do you have any information you can send to us?
Unknown People and Artifacts
Click on a picture to see a larger view.
 |
This unknown baby boy or girl appears to be in a Christening gown. We feel sure this adorable child will ring a bell in someone's mind. |
 |
This happy boy's picture was glued onto a brown backing (cropped in this picture), which has a penciled signature in the lower right corner. The first name looks like Gilbert, and this might be the photographer. |
 |
On the back of this picture, written in pencil, are the words: Freddie & Bertie |
 |
Handwritten at the bottom left corner of this photo (which isn't apparent on this scan) is "Atlas Auto" and on the right is "My family 1907". On the back, handwritten in ink, is "My Family in 1907 Julian Frederick Denison". Julian Frederick Denison's father was Henry Mason Denison, who is in the car and who we think was involved with Atlas Automobile, which manufactured cars in Springfield, MA, from 1907-1913. We would like to know all the people in the picture as well as information about the car. |
|
This pair seems to go together but we can't be sure, as we don't know anything about either of them. Each of them is discolored in a way that suggests they were in separate oval frames, but the pictures still seem to be part of a set. Can your provide more information? |
 |
This picture appears to be a photograph but a close inspection indicates it is actually a pencil drawing, including pencil or chalk shadowing in the background. Someone has used white chalk to highlight part of her ruffle and her pin. |
|
What about this beaded purse? While recently cleaning the Homestead attic in preparation for the structural engineer's inspection, this lovely beaded purse was discovered tucked carefully away in an unmarked box. Unfortunately, we know absolutely nothing about it. We would very much like to know as much of its history as possible, especially to whom it belonged, and how it made its way to the Homestead. Can anyone be of any assistance? We had it appriased by the MRHS but they have no information about it. Click on the thumbnails to see pictures of the front and back. |
  |
These two pictures, a young boy and a man, appear to be part of a set. They are both chalk drawing and have many characteristics in common. But that is all we can say about them. |
 |
This family(?) of 6 and their little dog is probably from the '40s or '50s but that is a guess. Can anyone tell us about these smiling people? |
  |
To the left is a picture of a lovely, small silk parasol and a close-up of its ivory handle. The silk is blue-green and delicately pinked around the edges. The ivory handle is carved and appears to have been broken and repaired. We found this treasure in the attic. Can anyone help us with this? |
If you have information about anything on this page, please email us, or contact Jane Preston at The Denison Society, P.O.Box 42, Mystic CT 06355 |