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The Stanclifts were one of the earliest and most influential of the carving families of the lower Connecticut River Valley. Their work extends from the late 1600s into the nineteenth century and includes five generations of carvers. The various Stanclifts worked in sandstone; that used for stones in eastern Connecticut came from their great quarry in Portland. The Stanclift genealogy can be confusing because of the number of James Stanclifts engaged in the gravestone trade. I have used the terminology employed by Sherry Stanclift who is actively engaged in research on the family. Because this is a difficult and ongoing project, numbers of stone and attributions follow her present information and may be modified in the future. The Stanclift carvers can be listed as follows: James Stanclift I ( -1712) came to Connecticut from England via the island of Nervis in the West Indies, where he was indentured for four years. He arrived in Lyme, Connecticut about 1684 and moved to what is now Portland in 1689 where he worked as a mason and stone cutter until his death. His stones sometimes cannot yet be distinguished from some of the work of his eldest son William. However, for the most part they are distinguishable by the peculiar elongate roof-like line (tented) that he placed at the top of his letter “A.” He carved in large capital letters on stones that usually have evenly rounded tops rather than lateral “shoulders” so characteristic of most New England gravestones. James I’s earliest dated stone is for Renold Marvin in the Duck River burying ground (Old Lyme) and is backdated to 1676. The stone for Rebecca Minor (1701) in Wequetequock (Stonington) is a typical an the farthest east in Connecticut any of his stones have been discovered. William Stanclift (1686-1761) was the oldest son of James I. Like his father he carved in capital letters, and some of his stones also have evenly rounded tops. William, however, produced stones with designs, including some delightful folk-skulls and Halloween-like faces. His more common stones are shouldered and have nicely executed but simple rosettes in the finials. He used the “thorn” in his legends, which James I never did. William’s stones are distributed throughout the Connecticut River Valley even into Massachusetts and also along the coastal areas of eastern Connecticut. James Stanclift II (1692-1772) was a younger brother of William. He appears to have begun active carving rather late in life. His stones resemble those of William in that he used simple rosettes in the finials of his small sandstones. The rosettes of James II tend to be flat compared with the rounded surfaces of William Stanclift rosettes. James II was apparently never called that by his contemporaries. His probate papers identify him as “late of Chatham” (at the time the name of Portland) and he was called James III on his birth papers. William’s son has come to be called James Jr. James II never used capital letters in his legends and this together with his “flat” finial rosettes will served to distinguish at least most of his work. James Stanclift III James II has two sons that became stone cutters. Of these Comfort is not known to have produced stones east of the Connecticut River. James III, however, did carve many stones that remain in the old burying grounds in the lower reaches of the eastern side of the Connecticut River. A clear definition of the limits of his work remains to be done. His stones are usually three-looped or arched but he is not known to have used rosettes in the finials; he replaced them with pinwheels or a peculiar floral-like leaf design. He also used a large stylized floral motif in the lunette. James Stanclift, Jr. This James was the son of William and thus of the same generation of James III and Comfort. His work is common in the Simsbury and Southington regions of western Connecticut. In eastern Connecticut, only a single stone by his hand is known: the Elizabeth Latimor (1754) stone in the old Quarry burying ground in Portland. His peculiar heavy-jawed cherubim are quite characteristic.
From: Slater, James A. The Colonial Burying Grounds of
Eastern Connecticut and the Men Who Made Them. Memoirs of the
Connecticut Academy of Arts & Sciences, vol. 21. Hamden,
Connecticut: Archon Books, 1987.
*Homer Babbidge Library call number f/Q/11/C85/v.21