Unmasking Ann Kellogg: How a CT Gravestone Exposed a Decades-Old Identity Mix-Up
A headstone in Pine Island Cemetery in Norwalk, Connecticut, reads: Ann, widow of Samuel Kellogg, died 1798 at age 85. No parents listed, no maiden name.
Major online trees claimed she was Abigail Sterling, wife of Samuel Kellogg of Colchester. But geographically, that made no sense. Why would Abigail of Colchester be buried in Norwalk? And why did the headstone say Ann, not Abigail?
Here is how I traced the paper trail to find Ann's true identity.
Clue 1: Finding the Right Samuel
Calculating back from her 1798 death date, Ann was born around 1713.
Norwalk records show a father and son named Samuel Kellogg:
Samuel Sr. (b. 1673) — Too old for a wife born in 1713.
Samuel Jr. (b. 1706, d. 1754) — A perfect match.
When Samuel Jr. died in 1754, probate records confirmed his widow was Ann. They had seven daughters together (and one son, Stephen, who died young).
Clue 2: The Scudder Connection
Listed alongside Ann in the estate administration records was Isaac Scudder of Huntington, New York.
Tracing his father, Benjamin Scudder of Stamford and Huntington, his 1732 will leaves £50 to his unmarried daughter: Ann Scudder. Born around 1713, she was the ideal age to marry Samuel Kellogg Jr. around 1733–1734.
Clue 3: The Guardian Records
In 1755, Ann was named guardian of her minor daughters. By 1765, the youngest daughter, Sarah Kellogg, officially chose her guardian in court: her “uncle” Isaac Scudder.
That confirmed it—Ann Kellogg was Ann Scudder.
Clue 4: Unraveling the Second Marriage
Did Ann remarry?
In 1757, an Ann Kellogg married Nathan Jarvis in Norwalk. Timeline analysis shows this was actually Ann Jr. (Samuel & Ann's daughter).
Around that time, Nathan’s widowed father, Samuel Jarvis, assumed guardianship over two of Ann Sr.’s other daughters. When Samuel Jarvis died in 1779, his estate distribution set aside a widow’s third for “Anna Jarvis.” Ann Scudder Kellogg had remarried the elder Samuel Jarvis.
Samuel Jarvis was buried next to his first wife, Naomi, in 1779. When Ann died in 1798, she was laid to rest in Pine Island Cemetery under the name of her first husband: Ann Kellogg.
Setting the Record Straight
Abigail Sterling was misattached to this headstone and has been removed.
Ann Scudder is restored as the true widow of Samuel Kellogg Jr.
Profiles on FamilySearch, WikiTree, and Find a Grave have all been updated.
