Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Joseph Stone Stafford


Joseph Stone Stafford

1790-about 1856
Hampshire County, Virginia

Joseph Stone Stafford was born 03 September 1790 in Hampshire County, Virginia, the sixth of ten children born to Richard and Catharine Brobeker Stafford.  He may have been married twice, but the name of his first wife is unknown.  He married secondly Elizabeth Myer 17 December 1818 in Allegany County, Maryland.  Elizabeth was born 31 January 1790 in Hampshire County, Virginia, the daughter of John Henry and Charity Ann Wire Myer.  Joseph may have owned land on both sides of the Potomac River, because he appears in the records of both Hampshire County, Virginia, and Allegany County, Maryland.  They both died in the 1850s, probably in Hampshire County, Virginia.

His full name and birthdate are recorded in the Family Bible of Richard and Catharine Stafford, transcriptions of which were provided by Rita Kay Stafford Fawcett, Lake Alfred, Florida.  A 1790 birthyear is also corroborated by the 1850 Census. Their marriage record is on file in Allegany County, Maryland.  Their death dates are not known for certain, and their graves have not been located.

Joseph was recorded in the 1810 census for Hampshire County, Virginia, with a wife.  Close by was his brother Richard.  He is also on the tax and tithe rolls for Hampshire County from 1811-1814, appearing after he turned 21.  On 23 July 1810, Joseph Stafford and his brother John witnessed the will of their mother Catharine Stafford.  Ten years later, Joseph filed a lawsuit against his siblings and Daniel Collins, executor of his mother’s estate, for his share in the estate of his brother Washington who died in childhood.

During the War of 1812, Joseph served as a sergeant in Captain William McLaughlin’s company from Allegany County, Maryland.  In 1812, a bill of sale with his name on it is recorded in Hampshire County.

If Joseph’s marriage information is correct, then his oldest daughter Elizabeth was probably born to his first union in 1818.  Perhaps his first wife died in child birth since he married Elizabeth Myer in December of that year.  In 1820, he is recorded with a wife and daughter in the Hampshire County census near his brother Westley Stafford.  In 1830 they are in Allegany County, Maryland.  That same year he was appointed a constable for District 6 with John Hayes, William Houx, and Theophilus Beall.  In 1840, he was recorded in the census for Hampshire County, and again in 1850.  By 1860, both he and Elizabeth are gone from the census.

Joseph had eight children, the first from his first marriage—Elizabeth Jane Stafford Wiley, born 1818; Washington, born 1820; John Wesley, born 1823; Sarah Stafford Long, born 1824; William Josephus Stafford, born 1827; Susan Catherine Stafford Brace, born 1829; James R. Stafford, born 1830; and Mary Elizabeth Stafford Ridgley, born 1834.  Washington Stafford’s biography in a history of Livingston County, Illinois, confirms these eight children of Joseph. 

 In the 1850 Census, a girl named Frances E. Stafford, born 1843 in Virginia, is recorded in their household.  There is also a Joseph Stafford, born 1831 in Maryland, recorded in the household of Joseph & Margaret White Logdson, Allegany County, Maryland.  They are likely a niece and nephew to Joseph Stone Stafford, but to whom they belonged is unknown at this time.

 Marriage records for Elizabeth, Washington, John, Susan and Mary are recorded in Allegany County, Maryland.  William married in Coshocton County, Ohio, having moved there with his brother Washington.  It may be presumed that Sarah married in Hampshire County, as those records have been destroyed, and she is not recorded in Allegany County.  James married in Wood County, Virginia.  Of Joseph’s eight children, all but Washington and William remained in West Virginia and Maryland.

 

Elizabeth Jane Stafford Wiley

Elizabeth Jane Stafford was born about 1818 in Hampshire County, Virginia, according to the 1850 census.  She married Zale Wiley 12 September 1839 in Allegany County, Maryland, and they had four children—James, John Edward, Laban, and Elizabeth.  Elizabeth died between 1850-1852, and Zale married Sarah Jane Beall 25 November 1852.  Zale’s will is dated 11 November 1855, probated 25 November, listing four children—John Edward, Laban, Elizabeth Ann, and Eliza Jane—the youngest of which was his daughter by Sarah.  James must have already been dead.  Hampshire County records show that Joseph W.H. Pollock and David Gibson were named guardians over Zale Wiley’s children on 26 November 1855.

John Edward Wiley married Delilah Catherine Hart and lived out his life in Cumberland, Allegany County, Maryland.  In 1920, his cousin James Long was living in his household.

Laban Joseph Wiley may be the same man who married Mary E. Hott in 1870, Cumberland, Allegany County, Maryland, and later lived in Buchannan County, Missouri.  In 1893, he married secondly Mary L. Dowell in Macon County, Missouri.  He had at least three children—Jennie, born 1885; Archie, born 1889; and Frederick D., born 1894.  He died in 1925 and is buried in Saint Joseph, Buchannan County, Missouri.  His gravestone says he was a bugler in Company D of the 4th Pennsylvania Calvary during the Civil War.

Elizabeth Ann Wiley was raised in the family of her aunt Susan Stafford Brace, lived with them the rest of her life, and died in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1902.

 

Washington Stafford

According to his tombstone and census information, Washington Stafford was born 05 September 1820 in Hampshire County, Virginia, and he died 28 May 1909 in Chenoa, McLean, Illinois.  He married Elizabeth Licklighter 29 November 1842 in Allegany County, Maryland.  She was born 05 February 1823 in Hampshire County, Virginia, and died 06 January 1902 in Chenoa, McLean, Illinois.  Elizabeth was the daughter of George Peter and Rosanna Cook Licklighter, who settled in Richland County, Ohio, in the 1840s.  Washington and Elizabeth are buried at Payne’s Cemetery in Livingston County, Illinois.

 After their marriage, they lived in Hampshire County, Virginia, until the late 1840s, when they moved to Coshocton County, Ohio, to live near Uncle Francis Stafford.  In 1852, they moved to Livingston County, Illinois, settling near Eppard’s Point, where they lived until 1890, when they moved to Chenoa.

 Washington and Elizabeth Stafford had ten children, nine of which are named, and eight of which lived to adulthood to have families of their own—James William, born 1843; John Wesley, born 1846; Joseph Milton, born 1849; Mary Louisa Flurer, born 1852; Matilda Catherine Foltz, born 1855; Lydia Elizabeth Schubkagel, born 1861; George B. McClellan, born 1864; Mazie Jane McNeil, born 1865; and Isabella Hanna, born about 1870.  Isabella and an unnamed baby born about 1858 died without marrying or having children.

 James fought in the Civil War with Company E of the 129th Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry.  After some travels out west in the 1860s, he returned to Eppard’s Point, married Katherine Hartman in 1871, and moved his family to Taylor County, Iowa, in February 1875.  In 1877, they moved to Grayson County, Texas, and finally in 1883, they settled just north of Vernon, Texas, in Wilbarger County on the Red River.  James established the first post office at Fargo, and this is where they raised their ten children. 

 John Stafford married Margaret Reidell and settled in Ringgold County, Iowa, Taylor County’s neighbor to the west.  They had two children. 

 Joseph married Sarah Elizabeth McDannell and they lived in Polk County, Iowa, and for a short time in Colorado.  They had four sons and a daughter.  In the 1880s, Joseph went to Colorado or Arizona with a partner driving a mixed herd of horses and cattle and was never heard from again. 

 George Stafford married Mary Weller and moved to Wilbarger County, Texas, before finally settling in California.  They had three daughters. 

 The Schubkagel and Foltz families settled in Kansas.  Louisa Flurer and Mazie McNeil remained in Chenoa, Illinois, at least until after the death of their mother in 1902.

 

John Wesley Stafford

John Wesley Stafford was born 1823 in Hampshire County, Virginia.  He married Elizabeth Licklighter 10 September 1853 in Allegany County, Maryland.  She was the daughter of George Peter and Catherine Licklighter and cousin to Elizabeth Licklighter who married Washington Stafford.  John and Elizabeth lived in Hampshire (now Mineral) County, West Virginia.  John died before 1871, when Elizabeth Licklighter Stafford married George Clise.  John and Elizabeth had four children—Joseph Berkeley, born 1854; George Milton, born 1856; Charles Greenbury, born 1858; and Susan, born 1859.  Joseph died as a baby.

 George married Martha Lavine Bucy, and they had six sons who produced a large family that remains in the Cumberland, Allegany County, Maryland, area.  Charles married Anna Klosterman and had a son and a daughter.

 

Sarah Stafford Long

Sarah Stafford was born about 1824 in Hampshire County, Virginia, and died after 1880.  She married John Long, a boatman from the Hampshire County-Allegany County area about 1840.  John was born in 1818 in Virginia.  They lived in Hampshire County, Virginia, until about 1868, when they moved to Allegany County, Maryland, living there at least as late as 1880

John and Sarah Long had eleven children, all of them except the last born in Hampshire County, Virginia—Nelson, born 1842; Noah, born 1844; Catharine, born 1846; James, born 1848; Mary, born 1852; Daniel, born 1856; Amanda, born 1858; Elvira, born 1860; Virginia, born 1864; Philip, born 1866; and John, born 1869.

         

William J. Stafford

William J. Stafford was born in 1827 in Hampshire County, Virginia.    He went with his brother Washington and the Licklighters to Coshocton County, Ohio, in the 1840s, where he married Mary Licklighter 22 February 1849.  Mary was born 18 Mary 1825 in Hampshire County, Virginia, the daughter of George P. and Rosanna Cook Licklighter.  William and Mary Stafford and the Licklighters had settled in Richland County, Ohio, where all of their children were born.  Mary died there 14 Feb 1898.  William is recorded on the 1900 census, but died before 1910.  They are buried in the Four Corners-Zion Cemetery, Worthington Township, Richland County, Ohio.

William and Mary had six children—John T., born 1851; Martha H., born 1854; Arabella M., born 1856; William J. Stafford Jr., born 1857; Mary Ellen, born 1863; and Charlotte, born 1867.  John and Charlotte died as children and are buried in the Four Corners-Zion Cemetery.  William married Rachel Lovezilla, maiden name unknown, and they are also buried in the Four Corners-Zion Cemetery.

 

Susan Catherine Stafford Brace

Susan Catherine Stafford was born 1829 in Hampshire County, Virginia, and died 17 March 1921 in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri.  She married William Brace Sr. 16 October 1849 in Allegany County, Maryland. William was born 1820 in Connecticut to parents who immigrated from Wales.  He was a veteran of the Mexican War, and was later employed by the B&O Railroad, and by the city of Cumberland as a civil engineer.

William and Susan Stafford Brace had seven children—William Jr., born 1850; Mary, born 1852; Charles H., born 1855; Harry C., born 1858; Susan C. Brace Hitchins Klives, born 1861; Thomas, born 1863; Theodore, born 1865.  Mary and Thomas died as children.  William was a lawyer and politician, first in Cumberland, then in Chicago.  Charles H. was a doctor for all of his adult life in Cumberland, Maryland.  Harry was a prominent newspaper man in St. Louis.  Susan and Edward Stanley Hitchins had two sons before she left them and married Charles Klives.  She died in St. Louis.  Theodore was in the wholesale clothing business in St. Louis.

 

James R. Stafford

James Stafford was born April 1830, in Allegany County, Maryland, and died 07 march 1902 in Wood County, West Virginia.  He left Hampshire County about 1851, settling in Wood County where he married Pulcharia Jackson 26 October 1852.  James fought for the Union Army, 15th West Virginia Infantry, during the Civil War.  

 

Their children included Anna Maria Pocahontas “Pokey” Stoops, born 1853; Alice Rose Fleming, born 1856; Raleigh Cager Stafford, born 1858; Mary Stafford, born 1862; Herbert Stafford, born 1867; Caroline “Carrie” Stafford, born 1869; Garnett Stafford, born 1877; and Jeremiah, born 1880.  Their families can be found in the Wood County, Area, during the period 1870-1930, and many descendants still live in the area today.

Mary Stafford Ridgley

Mary was born in 1834 in Hampshire County, Virginia.  She married William Ridgley 28 April 1851 in Allegany County, Maryland, where they lived until the 1860s.  At that time, they relocated to Fairmont, Marion County, West Virginia.  In 1892, William Ridgley was elected first mayor of the village of West Fairmont.  Their children included Charles, born 1853; Amanda, born 1855; David, born 1858; Emma, born 1861, Lloyd, born 1863; Mollie, born 1865; Frank, born 1867; William, born 1870; Elizabeth, born 1873; Cora, born 1876; and Charles, born 1880.  Of these, Charles1, Amanda, Emma, Mollie, and Charles2 did not live to adulthood.  Most of the others can be found with their families in Marion County, West Virginia, in the period 1870-1930.

 

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

What About John and James?

Richard and Catharine Brobeker Stafford had two "middle" sons--John and James--who have eluded my exhaustive search for Stafford descendants.
 
John Fletcher Stafford was born 07 July 1786 and James Bruce Stafford was born 11 October 1788, the fourth and fifth children of Richard and Catharine, as recorded in the Family Bible.  Since the records show Richard Stafford's business dealings exclusively in Hampshire County, Virginia, for that time frame, we suppose John and James were both born there.  John was named for the English theologian of early Methodism John Fletcher.
 
When their father's estate was appraised on 27 October 1808, it was noted that John Stafford had in his possession a bay horse belonging to his father, valued at $55.  From the estate, James purchased one horse valued at $51, one colt valued at $31, 1/2 of his father's wheat valued at $117, 250 bushels of corn valued at $71, two stacks of hay valued at $17.02, and fourteen bushels of buckwheat valued at $3.92.
 
On 15 October 1809, John Fletcher Stafford married Hannah Cresap in Allegany County, Maryland, and since he is recorded in the 1810 Census for Allegany County and never appears on the Hampshire County tax rolls, it can be assumed they never lived in Hampshire County.  Though the Cresap family of Allegany County, Maryland, is fairly well documented in various genealogies, Hannah's place within that family is not known at this time.  The 1810 Census shows John Stafford with a wife and an unidentified male age 16-26 in his household, near the families of James B., Thomas, Edward, Hannah, and Joseph Cresap.  The unidentified male could be his brother James Bruce Stafford.
 
John Fletcher Stafford witnessed the will of his mother Catharine Stafford on 23 July 1810.
 
A U.S. Seaman's Certificate was issued in Philadelphia to a James Stafford in 1804.  The applicant was eighteen years of age, five-feet-four-and-a-half-inches tall, with brown complexion, dark hazel eyes, and light brown hair.  He had a large round scar on his left leg, a scar on his right leg near the knee, and had the letters J.C. tattooed on the back of his right hand.  He said he was born in Baltimore.  James Bruce Stafford would have been only fifteen at the time, and there is no evidence that Richard and Catharine Stafford ever resided in Baltimore.  Nevertheless, this is a possibility.
 
James Bruce Stafford appears on the tax rolls for Hampshire County, Virginia, in 1809, 1812, 1813, & 1814.  According to the research of Feliciano Gamez Duarte, he was sailing with his brother William Josephus Stafford, the Baltimore privateer, during the period of 1818-1819.  One of the prizes they took was placed under his command with instructions on how to unload the booty in Baltimore and Savannah.  It
is possible he is the unidentified male in William J. Stafford's Baltimore household in 1820.
 
In 1823, their brother Joseph Stone Stafford filed a law suit over the estate of their youngest brother Washington Stafford who died in 1810.  In a sworn statement, Joseph named John and James among the other siblings and stated they did not live in the state of Virginia.

Friday, May 6, 2016

Richard Adams Stafford

Richard Adams Stafford
1784-1823
Coshocton County, Ohio

RICHARD ADAMS STAFFORD was born 31 July 1784, in Frederick County, Virginia, the third of ten children born to Richard and Catharine Brobeker Stafford.  Allegany County, Maryland, marriage records show he married Mary Ann Walker 23 May 1809, but Family Bible records record the date as 15 June.  Ann was born 27 Sep 1791 in Virginia, probably the daughter of Henry Walker.  Richard and Ann had at least five children—three sons and two daughters.  Richard died in the spring of 1823 in Coshocton County.  Ann Walker Stafford moved to Zanesville, Muskingum County, Ohio, and died there 11 Oct 1869.  She is buried in the Greenwood Cemetery, Zanesville.  His burial place is unknown

His full name and birthdate are recorded in the Family Bible of Richard and Catharine Stafford, copies and transcriptions of which were provided by Rita Kay Stafford Fawcett of Lake Alfred, Florida.  Richard’s marriage to Ann Walker and the birth of his first child are also recorded in the Family Bible.  Their marriage record is on file in Allegany County, Maryland. 

Like his brothers William and James, Richard Stafford went to sea as a young man.  In 1806, he swore to his citizenship while in the city of New Orleans and was given a U.S. Seaman’s Protection Certificate.  At the time, he was about 22 years of age, six-feet-one-inch tall, with sandy hair, brown eyes, and light complexion.

At the time of his father’s death in 1808, Richard took from the estate a watch valued at $25 and 100 bushels of corn valued at $29.

Richard is recorded in the 1810 Census for Hampshire County, Virginia, next to his brother Joseph S. Stafford, his household consisting of himself, a wife, and one son.  Bible records show that son to be James Madison Stafford, born 13 June 1810.

About 1812, Richard brought his family to Coshocton County, Ohio, settling near his brother Francis Asbury Stafford Sr.  Early Ohio Settlers:  Purchasers of land in Eastern and East Central Ohio 1800-1830, shows a land purchase of r08 t04 s14 near his brother Francis, dated 25 August 1812.  He enlisted in Russell’s Battalion of Ohio Militia during the War of 1812.  A History of Coshocton County states that he was a wagon maker and early justice of the peace.  He is recorded in the 1820 Census for Coshocton County with a household consisting of himself, his wife, two sons and two daughters, and an unknown male born 1794-1804.

Richard died in 1823.   HIs estate papers are on file in the Coshocton County Court House, Will Book I.  Court proceedings commenced 17 April 1823.  Guardianship of his four children—James, Henry, Eliza, and Mary—was granted to John McBride in August 1823.  Henry, Eliza and Sally Stafford (probably their cousin) are recalled as being part of the local school in 1825 in the writings of William Culbertson of Zanesville.  An additional son may have been the Stafford boy killed by a lightning strike in 1814.

Ann moved her family into Zanesville after Richard’s death, where she is recorded in the census from 1830-1860.  The 1830 and 1840 census shows a household consisting of Ann and two daughters, with an additional unidentified female in 1840.  Thereafter, Ann Stafford is recorded in the home of her daughter Eliza Wilkins.

Nothing further is known of James Madison Stafford or Mary Stafford.  Eliza Stafford Wilkins and her family are well documented in Muskingum County, Ohio, and Henry Walker Stafford we have traced to Alabama and Florida.

Eliza Stafford Wilkins
Eliza Stafford is the easiest to identify after her father’s death, as she remains in her mother’s household, or Ann lives with her, until Ann’s death in 1869.  Eliza was born 1818 in Coshocton County, Ohio.  She married Cornelius “Neil” Wilkins 05 September 1843 in Muskingum County, Ohio, and they had two children—Ann in 1845, and John in 1847.  Neil Wilkins was an apprentice gunsmith with Elijah Ross in Zanesville, and was killed in an accidental shooting in the gun shop in 1848.  Eliza’s only great-grandchild died as a child, thus ending the line.
Henry W. Stafford
In searching the 1850 and 1860 census , there is only one possibility that matches a son of Richard and Ann Stafford.  There is a Henry W. Stafford in Greene County, Alabama, living in Choctaw County, Alabama, in 1860, with his family moving to Putnam and later Duval County, Florida, after his death.  He was born 1814 in Ohio, presumably in Muskingum County.  He was likely raised in the home of John McBride in Zanesville, but on 10 June 1841 he married Nancy M. Hall in Greene County, Alabama.

Land records for Choctaw county, recorded in the land office at St. Stephens, show him making purchases in 1854, 1859, and 1861.  In 1855, he was the postmaster at Bladen Springs, Choctaw County, Alabama.

Henry and Nancy Stafford had seven children—James R. Stafford, born 1843; Ann R. Partridge, born 1845; Mary J. Stafford, born 1847; William A. Stafford, born 1850; Sarah E. Stafford, born 1852; Henry W. Stafford, born 1854, and Ida Stafford, born 1858.

Henry died between 1860-1870, though the exact date and place of his death is currently unfound.


SAGA OF THE PARTRIDGE WELL DRILLING COMPANY
by Ada LeBaron Partridge

 I never heard my father-in-law, Mr. Hugh Partridge, speak his father’s name or refer to any of his father's family.  According to my mother-in-law he parted company with his father, Mr. Benjamin S. Partridge, the night his mother, Annie Rebecca Stafford Partridge died.  That was in June 1892.  She said he only stayed with the family for his mother's sake, to whom he was devoted, and when she was gone he left.  When I asked why, she said, "Because he felt his father was unkind to his mother."  She also told me that the night his mother died Hugh came to see her and that was the night she promised to marry him.  What a comfort that must have been to him!  They were married a year later in Jacksonville, Florida.

So, Mr. Benjamin Partridge, as far as is known is the 1st generation of well drillers.  All I know about Benjamin that is authentic can be found in the Partridge family Bible.  This Bible was started at the time of his marriage.  There are two entries and they read:

Births
Benjamin S. Partridge
born April 18th, 1841, in Mobile, Alabama

Annie R. Stafford
born October 14th, 1844 in Warsaw, Alabama

Marriages
Benjamin S. Partridge and Annie R. Stafford
Married November 9th, 1865 at Clinton, Alabama, by Rev. A.P. Silliman.

The Benjamin Partridges moved to Florida some time between Oct. 1868 and March 1878 for the Bible entries under births are:

Hugh Partridge, born Oct. 28, 1868 in Greene County, Alabama.
Edith M. Partridge, born Mar. 28, 1878, in Georgetown, Florida
Florence M. Partridge, born Mar. 15, 1879 in Georgetown, Florida
Dottie Partridge, born Jul 6, 1881 in Jacksonville, Florida; died Dec 30, 1881, Georgetown, Florida
Nanny Partridge, born Jul 2, 1883 in Georgetown, Florida; died Dec. 6, 1883, in Georgetown, Florida

Harry Eugene Partridge, born Oct. 9, 1886, in Jacksonville, Florida.

These were all the children listed and I have often wondered about the lapse of almost ten years between Hugh and Edith.

Judging from these entries, the family spent time between Jacksonville, and Georgetown, which is a small city on the St. Johns River about 70 miles south of Jacksonville.  I visited Georgetown many years ago and drank water from the well there which we were told was drilled by Benjamin Partridge.  Benjamin also drilled a number of wells in and around Jacksonville, and probably some for the city but I have not been able to find any records of them.  What other type of work he may have done I have no way of knowing.  Nor at what time he left this city.  There is an entry in the Bible in Mrs. Hugh Partridge's handwriting which reads:  Benjamin S. Partridge died in California.  There is no date.

The second generation of Partridge well drillers.
Mr. Hugh Partridge was 24 years old when he left his father's home in 1892.  At that time he was working in a hardware store.  I am not sure when he first drilled wells.  In the Florida Geological Survey, 3rd Annual Report 1909-1910, published in Tallahassee, Florida is listed, "Well #1 in St. Augustine, Florida was drilled in 1897 by Mr. Hugh Partridge."  Also in Artesian Water in the Florida Peninsular, a publication fo the US Department of the Interior, 1936, are listed several wells drilled by him.  one for the city in the Ortega section, one at the Venetia Yacht Club, one in Yukon, across from the Naval Air Station, one in Bayard, Fla., and one in Orange Park, Florida.  There are many more, but I do not have the locations.  Most of these wells are still being used.

Hugh was a very intelligent man as well as a capable one and he did other contracting work such as bulkheading and small bridges.  He also was a recognized inventor and in the late 1800s he worked on automobile improvements, even designing a car.  He had one of the first cars in Jacksonville.  Later he designed a farm tractor and the family lived for a few years in Safety Harbor, near Tampa, Fla., where the tractor was being built.  This was about 1917 or 1918.  He also invented a low pressure water sprinkler called the RIP (Rosborough, Ingles & Partridge) for the three men who formed a company to manufacture it.  This sprinkler is still on the market under other names.  Hugh also perfected a special type of interlocking cement bulkhead pile and used it on most of his bulkheading jobs.  This was never patented so others have used it too!

Mr. Hugh Partridge was well known and respected in business circles in Jacksonville.  He was loved by his family and he maintained a fine home for them.  He was devoted to his younger sister, Florence and they saw each other often but he saw very little of Edith, his older sister, or of Harry, his younger brother.

Hugh's mother was a Stafford before her marriage to Benjamin Partridge.  The Staffords were from Alabama, and some of them were living in Jacksonville at the same time the Partridges lived here.  I don't know when they moved here but according to the letter (which Cousin Abbie so kindly sent me) written by Mrs. Ben Partridge (Annie Rebecca Stafford Partridge) to her sister-in-law, Mrs. George T. Lyndall (Martha Jane Partridge Lyndall) dated Feb 22, 1892 from Jacksonville, Fla, her mother, sisters and brother had been here "20 years".  Mrs. Ben's mother was Nancy Malvina Hall, daughter of James Roddy Hall and Rebecca E. Norris, of Alabama.  Mrs. Stafford had just passed on when the letter was written, February 1892.  Twenty years previous would have been 1872.  According to the Bible entries I figured Ben moved his family here between 1868 and 1878.  They may have all moved at the same time.  Three of Mrs. Ben's sisters and one brother lived together with her mother next door to the Partridge home.  None of the four ever married.  Their names were Mary Jane 1847-1924, Sarah Eugenia 1851-1911, Henry W. Jr. 1854-1934, and Ida 1858-1938.  Perhaps they helped take care of the little family after Mrs. Ben's death in June 1892, for Edith was only 14, Florence 12 and Harry 6 years old.  However, Mr. & Mrs. Hugh Partridge were in constant touch with them and cared for them during the last days of the Stafford family.  Aunt Ida lived to the age of 80.  I can remember her very well.

When my husband, Merritt Ingersol Partridge, was about 17 years old insisted on leaving Florida Military Academy where he went to school because he wanted to work with his father, Hugh Partridge.  This he did, drilling wells and putting in bulkheads along the St. Johns River.  I met him shortly after this and I can remember going out to the job with him.  At that time the well drilling rig consisted of a wooden scaffold about 30 feet high rigged with a gasoline engine and tackle in the scaffolding with which they drilled the hole and drove down the pipe.  It was very hard work and also set and muddy.  Later Mr. Partridge bought a well drilling machine.  It was a Keystone and this was used for many years, until my husband sold it and had a more modern well drilling machine made.  My husband, nicknamed Pat by his friends, continued working with his father and they had a very fine relationship.

 Mr. Hugh Partridge passed on in March of 1930.

The Third generation of Partridge well drillers
Mr. Merritt Ingersol Partridge became the third generation of the Partridge family to drill wells.  At the passing of his father he continued with the work on hand.  All went smoothly for several years.  My husband was capable and work was plentiful.  I helped with the office work and kept the records.  We drilled deep artesian wells, 750 feet, just as Benjamin and Hugh had done.  However, Merritt or Pat, as I called him, saw a need for small water systems to supply homes and small businesses, so he had a small well drilling machine built and we began to specialize in rock well, from 60 to 250 feet deep, and pumps to give the system pressure.  Rock well do no flow under their own pressure as the artesian wells do.  This little rig paid for itself over and over again.

When the depression came, about 1933 in Florida I believe, there was no contracting work of any kind for several years.  The machinery sat in the back yard and we soon were financially at rock bottom.  Pat found enough odd work to keep us in food but not enough to pay other bills.  Our needs were modest but bit by bit we lost everything but the home, and we almost lost that.  There was no sale for the machinery so that was saved.  At last Pat got a job with the Motor Transit as a mechanic.  It paid about $60.00 to $80.00 per month depending on the hours worked.  In about a year there began to be a little business so he worked at the Transit Co. at night and took care of the little business in the daytime.  After about a year of this he was able to give up the night work and devote all his time to the business.  Gradually business picked up and we took on a partner, a Mr. French, who had drilled oil wells and was used to large equipment.  He ran the big rig and my husband the small one.

There was a good bit of government work to be had.  This was the time of President Roosevelt and the WPA.  We branched out to include concrete work and Mr. Hugh Partridge had done.  The business was going very well and we were making sufficient profit for both families.  However, Mr. French was never quite happy working with our deep well drilling machine.  He was used to very large machines that could drill oil wells.  So he left us for a Jacksonville firm that drilled larger water wells than we did.  He also left us with contracts to fill which we had bid on with his abilities in mind and with no experienced person to take his place.  But we managed.  And business continued to improve.

In 1940 the Florida National Guard was mobilized by the government.  My husband had been a member of the Coast Artillery Corps of the National Guard for many years.  The men were given the choice of being discharged honorably or being inducted into the army.  My husband enjoyed the military and would have loved to go with his outfit.  We talked it over carefully for there were three things he could have done.  He could have gone with his outfit and leave me to run the business, or I could have gone with him, or he could resign and stay home.  We had two boys, Donal who was ten years old and a new baby boy, Hugh.  His choice was to stay home.

In February 1941 while completing a wall in Middlesburg, Florida, a piece of the equipment broke and fell on my husband, causing his death.  I was left with the two boys to support and no trained skills with which to apply for a job.  We had contracts to fill so the next Monday morning, March 2, 1941, I sent the men out on the job.  One of our workers was a trustworthy black man, Frank Stokes, who had worked for Mr. Hugh Partridge and was a skilled driller.  I decided to continue the work each day and solve my problems as they arose.  I dropped the concrete work as I did not know how to figure the materials needed and I concentrated on the well drilling, which consisted of artesian wells up to four inches in diameter and rock wells and pumps.  I had a lot of practical knowledge in that line as my husband had included me in the business and always told me about each job including the problems that arose.

The work went along satisfactorily and I cleared enough to encourage me.  Also people seemed to have confidence in me when I made contacts with prospective customers or when I visited the job.  However, there was a national problem which caused me some concern.  Our country was on the brink of war.  I had no assurance that the business could continue as well drilling supplies such as pipe, gasoline, and tires were also war needs and would be hard to get.  Also contacts might be scarce.  As a precautionary measure I enrolled in adult classes in business, which were being held in the old Duval High School building.  I hoped to become skilled enough to be able to find a good job if necessary.  I learned a great deal but after short four months the business demanded my full time.  When war did come water was considered a necessity.  People could not live without water!  Anything connected with water was given top priority.  The rating given our business was one of the highest and it enabled me to get all the materials needed.  This was a miracle for metal, gas and rubber were the most critical war needs.

During the war years the business flourished.  We did a great deal of work for the government, some of which was so guarded that I was not even allowed on the job site.  Some of this work was out of town along the ocean front.  I was grateful and derived a certain amount of satisfaction from having "made good" in the business world, but I never lost the feeling that I should be prepared in some way to do something that would bring in a good living salary.  In 1944 I enrolled in the Jacksonville Junior College for night classes.  They were housed in the old Garner residence on Riverside Ave.  Since that time they have become the Jacksonville University and have a beautiful campus on the St. Johns River in the Arlington section of this city.  I had nothing particular in mind as this was my first college level work.  I attended whenever possible for several years.  I earned almost two years credit.

The fourth generation of Partridge well drillers
Now enters the fourth generation of well drillers.  When my sons Donal Merritt Partridge graduated from High School at the age of seventeen all he wanted to do was to drill wells.  No amount of persuasion could get him to go to college.  So I put him to work.  He worked hard and did well.  He loved the business.  It occurred to me that now was the time for me to do that "something" I had held onto for so long.  In 1950, I enrolled at the University of Florida in Gainesville, to complete my college work going into education.  This would give Donal and opportunity to prove his ability to run the business.  If he was successful, I planned to sign over the business to him when he reached the age of 25, which would be in 1955.  In the mean time I was preparing myself for a teaching career.  Don became a fine young business man and did well with the work.  When I graduate din February 1952 I started teaching.  At the age of 25 Don became sole owner of the Partridge Well Drilling Co. and the fourth generation of well drillers in Jacksonville, Florida.  (I continued with my career in education and earned a master's Degree in 1965, going into Library work in the public schools).

Through the years Donal has earned for himself an enviable name as a fine businessman and a skilled and knowledgeable well drilling contractor.  He has built up the business from a small two rig outfit employing 2 to 4 men as needed, to a company operating six rigs and employing 18 to 20 men.  He can drill rock wells and install and service the pump.  He can drill artesian wells two to six inches in diameter and from 700 to 800 feet deep.  He also can do test borings which are often needed by the government or by companies to determine the ground formation to a certain depth.  Don has also taken an active interest in the problem of water supply and conservation.  He has been a member of the Florida Water Well Drillers Association for many years, having served as president and also as treasurer.  Several times he visited the Florida Legislature in Tallahassee in connection with possible regulation of well drilling operations and in the interest of water source conservation in the state.  Other operators consult him in regard to drilling procedures and companies consult him for correct information in regard to water needs.  He is a member of the National Water Well Drillers Association, attending their yearly convention in order to keep up with the latest drilling techniques and drilling equipment improvements.  He has many business and personal friends through the state.  I am not only proud by impressed with what he has accomplished in the past 25 years.

Donal has a fine family.  His wife Margaret helps with the office work and bookkeeping.  He has two daughters, Diane and Linda.  His son Donal Merritt Partridge Jr. is called Pat for his grandfather.  Pat has completed two years of college and spends all his spare time and vacation working with his father.  He also enjoys well drilling and is now operating one of the rigs.

So the saga of the Partridge Well Drilling Company will go on into the fifth generation.

Addendum 
Perhaps you have wondered what happened to the other boy.  Hugh Partridge, born August 2, 1939 showed definite musical talent at an early age.  When he was 10 years old he selected the viola as his instrument.  by the age of 16 he was playing in the Jacksonville Symphony.  From time to time he worked with his brother.  Donal gave him the opportunity to become a partner in the business and handle the pump and pump servicing part of the work, which was a very generous offer.  After much serious thought, Hugh decided to make music his career.  He has been first chair viola in two large Symphony Orchestras and is first chair viola in the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra each summer.  He has taught in two universities, Wichita State University being the last, and is very well known in his profession.

Hugh has three sons:  Hugh III, Merritt and Miles.  At present he is living in Cary, NC, and playing in the North Carolina State Symphony.  Next year he plans to teach again.

Monday, May 2, 2016

Francis Asbury Stafford Sr.

Chalfant Church, built 1811, Washington Township, Coshocton County, Ohio
 
Francis Asbury Stafford Sr.
1782-1868
Coshocton County, Ohio
 
Francis Asbury Stafford Sr. was born 22 December 1782 in Frederick County, Virginia, the second of ten children born to Richard and Catharine Brobeker Stafford.  He married Elizabeth Mounts Henshaw 27 February 1805 in Allegany County, Maryland.  Elizabeth was born 1782, and died 08 November 1836 in Coshocton County, Ohio.  She was the widow of Jonathan Seman Henshaw of Berkeley County, Virginia--mistakenly identified in the Henshaw genealogies as Elizabeth Stafford--and brought a daughter Rhua Ann Henshaw into the marriage.  Francis and Elizabeth Mounts Stafford had seven children, two sons and five daughters.  Francis Asbury Stafford Sr. died 06 September 1868 in Coschocton County, Ohio, and they are buried in Chalfant's Cemetery. 
 
His full name and birthdate are recorded in the Family Bible of Richard and Catharine Stafford.  Additional Bible records and their headstones corroborate the dates.  Their marriage record is on file in Allegany County, Maryland.  Names and dates for their children are also listed in various Bible records, confirmed by the marriage and census records for Coshocton County, Ohio.

It is said they came to Coshocton County, Ohio, in 1808, settling in Washington Township.  Land records compiled in Early Ohio Settlers:  Purchaser of land in Eastern and East Central Ohio 1800-1830 show that Francis A. Stafford bought land in Muskingum County 27 September 1809.  His land, located at r08 t04 s20, was in what would become Coshocton County in 1811.  He purchased more land in 1816 and 1824, s 13 and s9 respectively.  His brother Richard bought s14 in 1812.

According to the history of Chalfant Church in Coshocton County, Ohio, Francis Stafford was one of the earliest members of the church in 1808, along with Mordecai Chalfant, the Youngs, Reasoners, Peter Camp, Eli McClain, and Daniel Johnson, a freed slave.  Chalfant Methodist Episcopal Church is the oldest religious society in Coshocton County.  According to Coshocton County Sesquicentennial, Francis Stafford was among the most prominent keepers of public houses.  He apparently ran a hotel and tavern in Virginia Township in addition to his farming.

Francis is recorded in every census from 1820-1860 for Coshocton County, Ohio, but the recording of his family has sometimes been a bit confusing.  Marriage records in Coshocton County list six Stafford marriages for the time period 1820-1850, all of them Francis and Eliza Stafford’s children.  Their children were William J. Stafford, born 1805; Mary Ann Stafford Compton, born 1807; Eliza Jane Stafford Wright, born 1810; Sarah Stafford Thompson, born 1812; Matilda Stafford Wood, born 1815; Adaline Hariet Stafford Loch, born 1817; and Francis Asbury Stafford Jr., born 1822.  In addition, they raised Eliza’s daughter Rhua Ann Henshaw Higbee, born 1800, and an unidentified boy born about 1805, who is recorded in their household during the 1820 & 1830 Census.

Francis Asbury Stafford Sr. may be the man who married Elizabeth Sheppard 22 February 1838 in Muskingum County, Ohio.  He also married Elizabeth McCulloch 12 April 1852 in Coshocton County, Ohio.  Lastly, he married Isabella McGraw 21 March 1861 in Coshocton County.  Isabella survived him.

William J. Stafford

William J. Stafford was born in 20 November 1805 in Allegany County, Maryland, or possibly Winchester, Frederick County, Virginia.  He married Maritta Thompson 11 January 1829 in Coshocton County, Ohio.  Maritta Thompson was born 1808 in Pennsylvania, the daughter of Joseph and Thankful Aldridge Thompson.  This is the family recorded in the 1830 census in Coshocton County, and in the 1840 census in Muskingum County.  In 1840, William and a neighbor George Hopkins got the “western fever” in response to Horace Greeley’s cry, “Go west, young men, go west!”  Waiting until after the November election so they could vote for fellow Ohioan William Henry Harrison for president, they made the move together to the wild Missouri frontier, settling in Osage County.  William has been recorded as both a farmer and a minister, probably Methodist Episcopal.

William and Maritta Stafford had eight children—Elizabeth Asbury Stafford Gibson, born 1829; Milton D. Stafford, born 1831; Francis Stafford, born 1835; Nancy Stafford, born 1838; William P. Stafford, born 1840; Charles Montgomery Stafford, born 1842; Josephine Stafford, born 1844; and Rhua Ann Stafford LaRue, born 1847.

Elizabeth Gibson had five children and was widowed at 40, but she and her children participated in the Oklahoma Land Rush in 1889.  Her son Billy ran with the Dalton Brothers and the Doolin Gang.

Milton died rather young, leaving one daughter who married a railroad engineer and moved back east to New York.

Charles fought for the Union during the Civil War, then married, raised three sons and a daughter in Johnson County, Missouri, and later moved the whole family to Walla Walla, Walla Walla, Washington.

Rhua Ann LaRue had eleven daughters and was widowed at 44.  She moved with many of her children to Oklahoma after 1900.

Nothing more is presently known about Francis, Nancy, William, and Josephine.

William J. Stafford died in 1867.  Maritta died in 1868 in Johnson County, Missouri.

Mary Ann Stafford Compton

Mary Ann Stafford was born 28 July 1807 in Winchester, Frederick, Virginia.  She married Andrew Compton in Coshocton County, Ohio, on 15 September 1827.  He was born in 22 February 1808 in New Jersey, certainly a descendant of Andrew Compton, but his relationship to Martha Matilda Compton Stafford is unknown.  They apparently lived in Ohio until about 1838, when they moved to Whitley County, Indiana.  Whitley County neighbors Kosciusko County, where Wesley Stafford’s family settled twenty years later.  Andrew died 29 October 1852 in Whitley County.  Mary outlived him by more than forty years, dying 22 December 1893 in Whitley County.  They are buried in the Richland Center (Compton-Norris) Cemetery.

Mary and Andrew Compton had ten children—Rhua Melvina Stafford Grimes, born 1831; Isaac Newton Compton, born 1832; Stephen James Compton, born 1835; Margaret Jane Compton Van Camp, born 1837; Phebe D. Compton Peddycord, born 1839; Matilda Ellen Compton Sickafoose, born 1842; Aaron Lee Compton, born 1843; and Celetta Compton Christian, born 1846; and Francis W. Compton, born 1850.  Another daughter, born about 1828, died in childhood.

Rhua married Mahlon Grimes and had one child, Cassius M. Grimes, who raised his family in Whitley County.  They are buried in the South Whitley Cemetery.

Isaac and Stephen both served in Company E of the 44th Regiment of Indiana Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War.  Stephen was a Second Lieutenant.  They both married and raised families in Whitley County, as did their brother Aaron.

Jennie Compton Van Camp was living in Texas in 1907, but nothing further is presently known about her.

Phoebe married Levi Peddycord and they raised their family in Kosciusko County, Indiana, before moving to Snohomish County, Washington.

Ellen married George Sickafoose, and though they lived in Burrien County, Michigan, and raised two sons there, they also did missions work among the Chinese in Portland, Oregon.

Celetta married Wesley Christian and they lived in Kosciusko County.  Their only son Clarence married but had no children.

Frank married and raised a family in Kosciusko County, Indiana.

Eliza Jane Stafford Wright
Eliza Jane Stafford was born 26 May 1810 in Muskingum County, Ohio.  She married Achor Wright 02 Jul 1829 in Coshocton County.  Achor Wright was born 26 October 1806 in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, the son of Nathan and Hannah Worley Wright.  Eliza and Achor Wright lived in Ohio until about 1841, when they moved to Bartholomew County, Indiana with the Thompsons and Lochs.
 
Eliza and Achor Wright had nine children—Amanda Wright Vickers Mitchell, born 1830; Matilda E. Wright Romine, born 1832; Francis Asbury Wright, born 1834; Cleora J. Wright Graves, born 1836; Hester A. Wright Fravel, born 1838; Absalom W. Wright, born 1840; Elizabeth Wright, born 1842; James K. Polk Wright, born 1844; John J. Wright, born 1846; Orlando Allen Wright, born 1850; and Hannah E. Wright Adams, born 1851.

In the mid-1850s, a cholera epidemic swept Bartholomew County, killing an estimated half of the population.  Achor & Eliza Stafford Wright, along with son Francis and daughter Elizabeth all died in the spring of 1854, perhaps during that epidemic.  Their minor children were left under the guardianship of Samuel Thompson and Stephen & Matilda Wright Romine.

Amanda Wright married first Thomas Vickers, then James Mitchell.  She had a daughter by each man before she died in 1866.  Both daughters married and had families in Bartholomew County. 

Matilda Wright married Stephen Romine and raised a family of nine children that remained mostly in Bartholomew and Brown Counties, Indiana. 

Cleora Wright married John W. Graves, had five children, and lived in Missouri and Iowa before settling finally in Kansas. 

Hester Wright went back to live with relatives in Coshocton County, Ohio, where she married William Fravel.  They settled in Knox county, Ohio, and had three children before their deaths in 1862.

James Knox Polk Wright also went back to Ohio, settling in Licking County, where he married and had two children.

John J. Wright was living with his maternal grandfather Francis Asbury Stafford in 1860.  He enlisted with the 16th Ohio Volunteer Infantry at age fourteen and served three years during the Civil War.  Afterward he went to Union County, Iowa, where he married and raised five daughters.

Allen Arlander Wright was living with the Romines during a short stay in Missouri in 1860.  He married in Jackson county, Indiana, and lived in Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Arkansas, Texas, and finally Oklahoma.

Hannah Wright married widower Amos P. Adams and had two daughters, living in Orange and Lawrence County, Indiana.  She is said to have died in 1889 in Barton County, Missouri, possibly while living with one of her daughters.

Sarah Stafford Thompson
Sarah Stafford was born 16 June 1812 in Muskingum (now Coshocton) County, Ohio. She married Samuel Thompson 12 December 1830 in Coshocton County.  He was born in 1806 in Pennsylvania, probably the son of Joseph & Thankful Aldridge Stafford and brother to Maritta Thompson (Mrs. William J.) Stafford.  They lived in Ohio until about 1841, when they moved to Bartholomew County, Indiana, with the Wrights and Lochs.  In the 1850s, they lived for a brief time in Carver County, Minnesota, before returning to Bartholomew County.  Sarah died about 1870, and the rest of the Thompsons went back to Hennepin County, Minnesota, where Samuel died before 1885.

Sarah and Samuel Thompson had seven children—William J. Thompson, born 1833; Maritta Thompson Snyder, born 1835; Robert C. Thompson, born 1839; Mary Thompson Snyder, born 1842; Martha Thompson, born 1844; Sarah Ellen Thompson, born 1848; and Samuel Thompson, born 1850.

With the exception of Maritta, who married James Snyder and moved back to Ohio, all of these lived out their lives in Hennepin County, Minnesota.

Matilda Stafford Wood
Matilda Stafford was born 01 January 1815 in Coshocton County, Ohio.  She married Absalom Wood 11 April 1830 in Coshocton County, and they are recorded the same year in the census for Franklin Township.  Absalom was born about 1810 in Fauquier County, Virginia, the son of Dickerson & Hannah Withers Wood Jr.  A Matilda Wood appears in the 1840 census for Coshocton County, Ohio, but none of the people in her household are the right age to be Matilda Stafford Wood.  One Wood family source says Absalom Wood died after 1836 in Montgomery County, Illinois, but nothing certain about them is known after 1830.

Adaline Stafford Loch

Adaline Hariet Stafford was born 04 April 1817 in Coshocton County, Ohio.  She married David Loch 04 August 1833 in Knox County, Ohio, and they resided in Crawford County, Ohio, until their move to Bartholomew County, Indiana, in about 1837.  It was their move that likely prompted the Wrights and Thompsons, families of Adaline’s sisters, to settle there a few years later.  Some records have supposed Adaline was born in 1822, leading some to believe that she was a twin to the Francis Asbury Stafford Jr., but Stafford and Loch family Bible records have cleared that up.  David Loch was born 14 April 1808 in Rockingham County, Virginia.  He was thought by many to be the son of John Loch (born 1752) & Mary Ann Raider, but Bible records have again corrected a false assumption; he was the son of John (born 1760) & Catharine Loch.

Adaline and David Loch settled on land he had owned in Indiana since 1834, and raised a family of 10 children there:  Lyman Lansing Loch, born 1835; Francis Marion Loch, born 1837; Elizabeth Loch Dye, born 1841; John Milton Loch, born 1843; Sarah Ella Loch, born 1845; William Herod Loch, born 1848; Laura Matilda Loch Brown, born 1853; David Albert Loch, born 1855; Samuel Allen Loch, born 1855; and Cassius Marcus Loch, born 1858.  They also raised from childhood Ransom Loch, born 1834, but his biological parentage is unknown.  Many of their children used the alternate spelling of Locke for their surname.

David Loch ran the Rockford Flouring Mill in Bartholomew County, and later worked for the railroad which took him to Minnesota in the 1850s.  He filed a homestead on some land near Minnetonka, Hennepin County, Minnesota in 1855, but returned to Indiana where he was Superintendent of the County Infirmary during the Civil War.  In 1862, he bought 40 acres in Hennepin County but did not relocate until 1865.  He brought his family to Minnetonka in 1866, where Adaline died 17 July 1872.  David Loch died there 17 April 1877.

Ransom Locke married Lucy Ann Orcutt, had four children, and settled in Green County, Wisconsin, before moving to Smith County, Kansas in 1895.

Lyman, Frank & John Locke enlisted in the 22nd Indiana Volunteer Infantry in August 1861, but Frank & John died within days of each other before the year was out.  The trainmen stopped the train in the country near the County Infirmary and carried the bodies to the home of their parents, an act of kindness greatly appreciated by the citizens of Bartholomew County.

Lyman married Susan Carter and they had eight children.  They settled in Hennepin County, Minnesota, shortly after the Civil War.

Elizabeth married George Dye and had ten children.  They raised their family in Hennepin County, Minnesota, but later lived on the West Coast in California and Washington with several of their children.

Sara Ella Loch was an artist in Minneapolis who never married. 

William was a Methodist Episcopal minister educated at the University of Minnesota and Garrett Bible Institute in Evanston, Illinois.  He married Grace Brown and had two daughters, living in Illinois.

Laura married Dr. William Brown, and their son was a doctor in California. 

David Albert and Samuel Allen were both doctors, receiving their degrees from Harnnewain Medical College in Chicago.  They both practiced medicine in Minnesota until their deaths.  Albert never married, but Samuel was married to a woman named Grace, and they had two sons. 

Cassius was also educated at the University of Minnesota.  He owned and managed the Minneapolis Shade Cloth Company.  He married Roberta Pratt, and they had no children.

Francis Asbury Stafford Jr.
Francis Stafford was born in July 1822 in Coshocton County, Ohio.  He married Martha Matilda Compton 02 February 1843 in Coshocton County, Ohio.  Martha was the daughter of William and Phebe Compton, born in May 1821 in New Jersey.

Francis was a farmer and raised livestock in Coshocton County.  In 1872, he still owned three hundred acres of his father’s original farm in Washington Township, next to his brother-in-law Stephen D. Compton.  He was a member and director of the County Agricultural Society, which put on the county fair each year.  He also ran a tavern in the Wakatomika area.  (It may be that Francis Sr. never operated a tavern, only his son.)

Francis and Martha Stafford had ten children—a Son, born 1843; Matilda Stafford, born 1844; William R. Stafford, born 1845;  Mary Elizabeth “Libby” Stafford Huff, born 1846; Phoebe P. Stafford Stanford, born 1849; Leroy Holmes “Roy” Stafford, born 1850; Francis Montgomery “Mont” Stafford, born 1852; Sarah “Sadie” Stafford Johnson, born 1854; Ellen Stafford, born 1856; and Eliza Lydia “Lyda” Benton, born 1858.  The first son, Matilda, William and Ellen all died as children.  Most of the others and their families continued to live around Coshocton County, Ohio. 

Libby Stafford married George Washington Huff and had ten children.  They farmed near Wakatomika. 

Phoebe Stafford married James Stanford and had six children.  They owned a thriving business in Coshocton. 

Roy Stafford married Lucy Hamilton and had six children.  They farmed around Washington Township until 1900, when he moved to Dresden, Ohio. 

Montie Stafford married Alice Newcombe and lived at Coshocton.  They had no children.

Sadie Stafford married Eugene Johnson.  He worked for the railroad, and they traveled a lot in later years, keeping two homes in San Diego, California, and Dresden, Ohio.  They had no children.

Lyda Stafford married Lyman Benton, and they had no children.  They died in Charlevoix, Michigan.

Martha Compton Stafford died 06 December 1890 and is buried in the Hamilton Valley Cemetery, Coshocton County, Ohio.  Francis married secondly Elizabeth Buxton on 05 August 1897 in Coshocton County.  He died 23 April 1900 in Coshocton County, and is buried beside his wife.