The Life of Richard Stafford
about 1755
- Birth of Richard Stafford, Wexford County, Ireland
about 1775
- Richard Stafford arrested in London, charged with stealing and subsequently convicted; given choice between hanging and 14 years of military service, he chose the military
1776
- June-July: A British fleet of 30 battleships and 300 supply ships under the command of General William Howe and Admiral lord Richard Howe arrives in new York harbor carrying 1200 cannon, 30,000 soldiers, and 10,000 sailors. It is conceivable that Richard Stafford was part of that invasion.
- Taken prisoner by Continental forces, marched into the wilderness of Northern Virginia and released.
1780
- 15 March: Marriage of Richard Stafford to Catharine Brobacker.
1781
- 12 September: Birth of first child, William Josephus Stafford
1782
- 22 November (or December): Birth of second child, Francis Asbury Stafford, in Frederick County, Virginia; named for Methodist Episcopal bishop Francis Asbury.
1783
- 21 April: Richard Stafford of Frederick County, Virginia, purchased land from Lewis & Mary Stephens fo Frederick County, Virginia, a lot of two acres near the town of Stephensburg (now Stephens City) by the side of the road leading from Winchester to Stephensburg, for the consideration of 10 pounds. (lot still referenced as belonging to Richard Stafford in 1793, but belonging to John McCowens in 1795).
- 23 December: Richard Stafford referenced in the purchase of 100 acres on the North Branch of the Potomac by Mathias Brandenburg; “assigned by Richard Stafford to Timothy Peyton.”
1784
- 31 July: Birth of third child, Richard Adam Stafford, in Frederick County, Virginia.
1785
- Richard Stafford living at Fort Ashby
1786
- Richard Stafford paid personal property taxes for himself, 2 horses, and 3 cows.
- 16 February: Richard Stafford of Hampshire County, Virginia, purchased land from John Kellar, a lot of ground (99 square feet) in New Frankford, a town in Hampshire County on Patterson Creek.
- 07 July: Birth of fourth child, John Fletcher Stafford, in Virginia
1787
- 08 May: Richard Stafford paid personal property taxes for himself, 1 horse.
- 05 December: The General Assembly of Virginia adopted An Act to Establish a Town in the County of Hampshire, set aside 139 acres for the town of Frankfort, and named Richard Stafford one of eight trustees.
1788
- Richard stafford paid personal property taxes for himself, 1 horse
- Richard Stafford purchased from the State of Virginia 400 acres near crossroads on south Branch; land was formerly Fairfax land, which was sold 1788-1819 for taxes.
- Richard Stafford and three others appointed to view the road from Frankfort to Cresaps Warehouse and report the situation therof at the next court.
- 03 March: Richard Stafford witnessed the will of Richard Williams
- 11 October: Birth of fifth child, James Bruce Stafford, Hampshire County, Virginia
- 30 December: Richard Stafford witnessed a land transaction from John Keller of Hampshire County to Ezekiel Whiteman of Hampshire County, 1 ½ acres in Frankfort
- 31 December: Richard Stafford of Hampshire County purchased from John Keller of Hampshire County 2 acres in Frankfort; recorded 11 Jun 1789; witnessed by James Clark, Ezekiel Whiteman, John Mitchell, Andrew Wodro.
1789
- 12 November: Richard Stafford and 10 others summoned to appear at the next quarterly court to show cause why they should not be fined for their non-appearance as grand jurors
1790
- Richard Stafford paid personal property taxes on himself, 1 horse
- 19 June: Richard Stafford of Hampshire County purchased from the Trustees of Frankfort ¼ acre in Frankfort, recorded 14 October 1790, witnessed by Andrew Wodrow, Abraham Jones, M.A. Wodrow.
- 03 September: Birth of sixth child, Joseph Stone Stafford, Hampshire county, Virginia
1791
- 15 July: Richard stafford paid personal property taxes on himself, 2 horses
- 16 August: Richard Stafford and wife Catharine of Frankfort sold to John Littlejohn of Leesburg, Virginia, ¼ acre in town of Frankfort, recorded 15 December 1791; witnessed by John Mitchell, Solomon Jones, Alex King.
- 17 September: Richard Stafford witnessed a land transaction from Rev. Danny Fairfax of Kent County to John Madden of Hampshire county, 186 acres on North River.
- 24 October: Richard Stafford referenced in a survey of Thomas Anderson property on the west side of Knobley Mountain, between the mountain and the Potomac.
- 12 December: Richard Stafford of Hampshire County purchased from Denny Fairfax of Kent County, 124 acres on North Branch River, recorded 24 April 1793; witnessed by Arthur O’Hara, Patrick Rilley, John Woodcock, Andrew Wodrow
1792
- Richard Stafford granted 33 acres on Patterson’s Creek, Book VI, page 126
- Richard Stafford granted 103 acres, adjacent to T. Lauton, Book VI, page 137
- 03 May: Richard Stafford paid personal property taxes on himself, 2 horses
- 26 May: Birth of seventh child, Westley Stafford, Hampshire County, Virginia; likely named for John Wesley.
1793
- 26 July: Richard Stafford paid personal property taxes for himself, 2 horses
1794
- 18 June: Richard Stafford paid personal property taxes for himself, 1 horse
1795
- 10 June: Richard Stafford paid personal property taxes for himself, 5 horses
- 14 September: Richard Stafford and 2 others appointed processioners for Hampshire County, 3rd District.
1796
- Richard Stafford granted 100 acres on Knobley Mountain, Book IX, page 67
- 04 March: Richard Stafford witnessed the will of Leonard Eckstine
- 10 May: Richard Stafford paid personal property taxes for himself, 5 horses
- 15 October: Richard Stafford referenced in land transaction for George Gilpin
1797
- 07 March: Birth of eighth child, Mary Stafford, Hampshire county, Virginia; she died 14 March, 7 days old.
- 13 April: Richard Stafford paid personal property taxes for himself, 4 horses
- 24 Jun: Richard Stafford referenced in land transaction for William Adams.
1798
- 04 June: Richard Stafford paid personal property taxes for himself, 5 horses
1799
- 11 April: birth of ninth child, Washington Stafford, Hampshire county, Virginia
- 02 May: Richard Stafford paid personal property taxes for himself, 1 male over 16 (William or Francis), 4 horses
1800
- Richard Stafford paid personal property taxes for himself, one white male over 16 (Francis), 7 horses, 1 slave
- 31 December: birth of tenth child, Sarah Stafford, Hampshire county, Virginia
1801
- Richard Stafford paid personal property taxes for himself, one white male over 16 (Francis), 10 horses, 1 slave, 1 stud
- 10 February: Richard Stafford received an account settlement from estate of John Turvey
1803
- Richard Stafford paid personal property taxes for himself, 1 white male over 16 (Francis), 14 horses.
- 08 August: Richard Stafford receives 13 barrels of flour from Richard Galloway, which Galloway charges to Stafford’s account. Later, Stafford will make a sworn statement that Galloway offered him the 13 barrels in payment of a debt Galloway owed him for his crop of wheat.
1804
- Richard Stafford paid personal property taxes for himself, 1 white male over 16 (Francis), 10 horses, 1 stud
1805
- Richard Stafford paid personal property taxes for himself, 1 white male over 16 (Richard), 11 horses
- 05 August: Richard Stafford named as defendant in a complaint filed by Richard Galloway for nonpayment of a bill of L38.0.3.
1806
- Richard Stafford paid personal property taxes for himself, 10 horses, 1 stud
1807
- Richard Stafford paid personal property taxes for himself, 1 white male over 16 (Joseph), 12 horses
1808
- 07 April: Richard Stafford died, Hampshire County, Virginia
1809
- Widow (Catharine) Stafford paid personal property taxes for 2 white males over 16 (Joseph & Westley), 3 horses, 1 slave
- Richard Stafford’s estate referred to in Book 5 index.
1810
- Widow (Catharine) Stafford paid personal property taxes 2 white males over 16 (Joseph & Westley), 4 horses, 1 slave
- 23 July: Catharine Stafford makes will naming children Washington and Sally Stafford as heirs; witnessed by Joseph Cresap, Nicholas Durbin, Dan Collins, John F. Stafford, Joseph S. Stafford.
- 05 September: Catharine Stafford died, Hampshire County, Virginia
- 09 October: Washington Stafford died, Hampshire County, Virginia
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ReplyDeleteQuestions:
ReplyDelete1) Is it possible the white males over 16 that Richard Stafford paid personal property taxes on were actually indentured servants, not his children? Wouldn't he only need to pay taxes on stuff he owned, such as a servant?
2) Why do you think Washington and Sally Stafford had to be named as heirs on Catharine Stafford's will? Since Washington was her son, wouldn't it be implied? And was Sally his wife? I don't see her listed as a child.
3) I had a couple more children on my original list of Richard and Catharine's kids. Nothing proved of course, but just wondering if you know who Amelia and one other would have been on my list? I went ahead and deleted them from my tree now.
4) Have you looked more into Richard's roots in Ireland/England? Such as the original court docs for his stealing charge? Or any church records across the pond, etc?
Thanks for all the research!
All good questions.
ReplyDelete1) My understanding of the tax and tithe rolls is that they paid for each additional white male over 16 in the household. Richard owned slaves, and I've found nothing about indentured servants. Even though the records seem like an incomplete accounting of his household, I still think he was paying taxes on his sons.
2) A lawsuit filed in Frederick County Chancery Court by our ancestor Joseph Stone Stafford against his siblings shows that Catharine Stafford desired her estate be divided equally between her two minor children Washington and Sarah/Sally, since Richard's estate provided for their older children. When Washington died at age shortly after his mother, the entirety of her estate went to daughter Sarah/Sally. In 1820, Joseph Stone Stafford filed a lawsuit to have Washington's share of their mother's estate divided between the remaining 8 siblings. It was denied.
ReplyDelete3) All of the information found online or shared among descendants regarding Richard and Catharine Stafford and their children originated with me. Therefore, many of the mistakes found in that information are mine, and here's the explanation regarding the children of Richard & Catharine. I have personally seen the Family Bible Richard purchased in 1804 and taken pictures of the family records contained in it. He records the birth of ten children--William Josephus, Francis Asbury, Richard Adams, John Fletcher, James Bruce, Joseph Stone, Wesley, Washington, Mary, and Sarah. Also recorded are the deaths of infant Mary, and Washington at age 11. The aforementioned chancery court papers contain several lists of the surviving children (all still alive in 1823 and living outside the state of Virginia, except for Joseph).
ReplyDeleteTwo mistakes were perpetuated through my early research which included Elizabeth and Amelia as daughters of Richard and Catharine. The name Elizabeth Stafford appeared in a published Henshaw genealogy as the wife of Jonathan Seman Henshaw of Berkeley County, Virginia, who later moved to Coshocton County, Ohio. Since our Staffords were the only ones in the region for that time period, it seemed like a good assumption that Elizabeth was Richard's daughter. Further research, including Bible records of Francis Asbury Stafford and help form descendants, shows that Jonathan Seman Henshaw married Elizabeth Mounts. After the birth of their daughter Rhua Ann in 1799, Jonathan died; widow Elizabeth married Francis Asbury Stafford and they moved to Coshocton County, Ohio.
John and Amelia Giles were pioneers of Osage County, Missouri, in the 1840s, closely associated with William J. Stafford, oldest son of Francis Asbury Stafford. An Osage county researcher speculated to me that Amelia might have been a Stafford; I repeated the speculation as a question to another researcher, who then presented it online as fact, and thus Amelia is included in many online genealogies as a daughter of Richard and Catharine. I have tried repeatedly and unsuccessfully to correct that information whenever I find it, for the Bible records and Chancery court records prove that Amelia Giles was NOT one of their children.
4) All branches of the Staffords maintain the tradition that we are Irish--even though four generations of my ancestors marrying German women resulted in my gg grandfather being 15/16ths German and only 1/16 Irish! Washington Stafford reported in his biography for the History of Livingston County that his grandfather was "John Stafford" of Belfast, who came to America as a British soldier before switching sides; another source said the ancestor was from Dublin; and one branch of Staffords claimed their ancestors were from Wexford County, Ireland. There was indeed a branch of the noble British Staffords who moved to Wexford County in the 1400s. I've done enough research into the Wexford County family that makes me lean toward that origin for our family, but I have no proof as yet.
ReplyDeleteThere are records of a John Stafford being arrested in London on charges of thievery in the early 1770s. A Shubkagel descendant (Washington Stafford's daughter Lydia Stafford married John Shubkagel) believed to her dying day that this was evidence of our immigrant ancestor; I remain skeptical. Oral traditions in several branches also maintain that our immigrant was a Methodist lay preacher; there was a Methodist minister named John Stafford, who arrived in Baltimore in 1775. I have yet to find any documentation regarding either John or Richard during the Revolutionary War. Richard's Bible records show he married Catharine Brobeker in 1780; the first record I have for them is in Frederick County, Virginia, in 1783 (although Francis Asbury Stafford's descendants claim he was born there in 1782). So there is plenty of need for more research on the Irish-English connections of our Stafford forbears. I've been completely focused on descendants for so long; perhaps when I finish my current line-by-line examination of them, I can turn my attention to the ancestors.