Desire Williams

Biography

Desire Williams was born in 1712, the eldest child of John Williams and Desire Denison of Stonington, on Connecticut’s southeastern coast. Her mother’s name became her own, but her adult household was a separate one: she married Amos Chesebrough on December 2, 1729.

Their children’s births trace more than a quarter-century of family life. Amos was born at the end of 1730, followed by Desire, Lydia Esther, Priscilla, Mary, Samuel, Hannah, John, Joshua and Elizabeth. The youngest was born in July 1755. The children's names reflected their Williams, Denison and Chesebrough family connections.

Desire’s mother died in August 1737, between the births of Lydia Esther and Priscilla. Her father went on to remarry, while Desire was already several years into raising her own family. These overlapping generations explain why the same names appear repeatedly in the Stonington records.