Peter Staley [III], b. 1794, (s/o Peter [II], m. Eve ___), m. Hannah Hall, of Pickaway and Allen Counties, Ohio

RELATIONSHIP: Peter Staley [III], b. 1794, m. Hannah Hall and is a third great-grandfather, paternal side, of Sherlene Hall Bartholomew (shb hereafter). Peter and Hannah are also ancestors of Jim Staley (his e-address in Peter Jr.’s blind file). He is also an ancestor of Charles Glenn Petersen, who writes 27 Feb 2005, to tell me he has posted some Staley information on his website. –shb

THE NAME: Peter Staley, father of Elizabeth, was called “Peter Jr.” in Pickaway, but called “Peter Sr.” in Allen Co.,–so we might assume that the father Peter was dead in Allen County or perhaps stayed in Pickaway. Sometimes, however, “Sr.” designates an older non-relative of the same name and same community, who has the same name. –shb [Note Three Peter Staleys, of three generations, lived in Jackson township, Allen County, at the same time–see father Peter Sr.’s notes for more detail.] –shb 8 Sep 2003

NAME: “Stehly Report,” prepared for the Historical Society of York County, Pennsylvania, by Edith Beard Cannon, researcher, Number 19 – “Evidences of the STEHLY Families of York County Before the Year 1850, Prepared in the Year 1948, File 3262,” forwarded to shb, Nov 2006, by Katherine Staley, p. 30: “Miscellaneous Notes . . . 9. Variants of the Surname – Staehley, Staehli, Staehly, Staely, Stäheli, Stähely, Stahle, Stähle, Stahley, Stähley, Stahli, Stähli, Stählii, Stahly, Stähly, Stailey, Staily, Staley, Stäle, Staley, Stally, Ställy, Staly Stäly, Stayley, Stayly, Steahle, Steahly, Stealey, Stealley, Steally, Stealy, Stechli, Stegli, Steheli, Stehle, Stehley, Stehli, Stehly, Stele, Steley, Steli, Stelley, Stelly, Staly, Stiley, Stilly, Stehli, Stöhly.” –shb 3 Dec 2006

STALEY FAMILY TRAITS: See notes of Patricia Row’s grandmother Grace Pearl Staley, RIN 25684, and also of Isaiah Staley’s daughter Eve, RIN 25683, along with other family descendants, to learn that the Staleys were good looking, intelligent (even “genius” level), good mathematicians, skilled woodcrafters, artistic, creative with needlework, great at sports, and witty. –shb 10 Jul 2000

BIRTH/PARENTS: According to the Ancestral File, version 4.18, Peter Staley’s birth was 16 Apr 1794 [I just had “Apr 1794”], his parents were Peter Staley, born 28 Nov 1766 in Virginia, d. 10 Jul 1844 in Jackson, Allen, Ohio, and his mother was Eve, born 4 Sep 1763 in Virginia, d. 4 May 1851 in Jackson, Allen, Ohio. The only child listed is Peter. This needs additional verification. Note: Since then Katherine Staley has provided more complete information, including a birth date of 19 Jan 1794 in Berkeley County, Virginia [all I had was “Virginia”] per her report, “Descendants of Peter Staley 1767-1999,” sent shb 16 Mar 2000. –shb 3 May 2000 [Note: If the 1830 Census is enumerated correctly, saying that Peter was aged between 40 and 50 (actually another check found him as age 30-40–more near Hannah’s age), then he would have been born between 1780 and 1790 (how about 1790-1800?), making his birth year more nearly 1784 than 1794–a typo in the IGI? I am hoping so, because Peter, my RIN 24229, was born 24 Jul 1784 at Chanceford, York, PA, and this would be a fit, finally–shb.] –shb 23 Apr 2002 [Note: A double check with the other censuses and Peter Jr.’s tombstone record confirm 1794 as the appropriate year–shb.] I notice that on Roscoe J. Dearth’s site at RootsWeb’s WorldConnect Project site, he gives Peter Staley Jr.’s birth as “16 Oct 1794 in Virginia,” whereas I have it as 19 Jan 1794, in Berkeley County, Virginia. –shb 28 Jul 2004

1794, APRIL 16–BIRTH? The IGI lists Peter Staley Jr.’s birth as 16 Apr 1794 [I had it as 19 Jan 1794–shb], in Virginia, and that he d. 16 Jan 1854 [matches my date–shb].

1803–FATHER PETER, b. 1766-68, IS ON BOTETOURT COUNTY, VIRGINIA TAX LIST, WITH A PETER JR. Per e-letter by Katherine Staley to shb, 31 Oct 2006, in which she details which Staleys she thinks are represented on the Botetourt County tax lists, she suggests that the Peter Jr. listed, along with Peter Sr. is the Peter b. 1779, who would be

1810 CENSUS–TWO PETER STALEYS ARE LISTED IN CHANCEFORD TOWNSHIP, YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA (AGE 16-25) AND IN UPPER CHANCEFORD TOWNSHIP, YORK, PENNSYLVANIA (AGE 44–WOULD FIT FOR PETER’S FATHER, WHO MARRIED EVE). HOWEVER, THE AGES OF THEIR CHILDREN DO NOT APPEAR TO BE A MATCH. (See 1810 notes of Peter’s father, Peter, who married Eve __). –shb 12 Dec 2006

1810 CENSUS–All 1810 censuses in Ohio were lost, except for Washington County. Thanks to brother-in-law, Barry D. Wood, for forwarding, 6 Nov 2006, 1810 Census tables for other places we have been looking for our Staleys and for outlining some research avenues we might take:

“In case it helps flesh this out for anyone else to whom you may forward (or have forwarded) some of the Staley research to, I’m attaching a table I made of the 1810 census entries. Obviously, Katherine is right — there’s no Melchior Staley anywhere in sight. I would attribute this to his being in Ohio, whose 1810 census as you know was lost in the War of 1812, except for Washington County. But presumably he might be found on the land entries or tax lists.

“The Botetourt connection is interesting, and indeed one sees there many names in common with those of earler settlers of the area within 50 miles of Harpers Ferry. Not a few Simmons, for instance.

“My several great granduncle Casper Hufford (Hoffarth) lived in Rockingham County, Virginia late in the 18th cent following his youth in Frederick County, Md. From there, circa 1806, he moved to southeastern Ohio… so it’s almost the same migration pattern.

“The Pickaway site on US GenWeb doesn’t have much information. However, I read the very thoughtful diary, through a link there, of a woman who lived there in the 1820’s through about 1834, when she moved with her family to “the Maumee River” (Defiance?). While in Pickaway, she lived in Deer Cr. Township, southwest of Jackson Twp., so she may or may not have known the Staleys.

“I included a few neighbors on the Jeff. County extracts. Of these, the most notable would be Wm and James Buckles. My secretary, who lives in Jefferson County, rents a farm house from a Mr. Buckles, still alert at age 105. He’s one of probably very few WW I veterans still alive. (He lied about his age in order to enlist; also served in WW II.) I’m told that the farm has been in the family for generations. Based on this census, it just may lie very close to the ancestral Staley plantation.

“I should think that something could be gained by running the tax lists for the period from 1775 or thereabouts to 1810. It’s a little tedious, to be sure, but we don’t have a great deal of other sources from which to work. I find that the best value in these lists is linking sons with fathers. When the sons (at age 16) are first listed as tithable, they’re normally enumerated with or immediately under the father’s name. So that could help in sorting out the various Peters, Jacobs and Stephens. Of course, the first Peter Staley poses a problem in that he wasn’t around any more when his sons hit their 16th birthday. But maybe the widow will be listed on her own.

“I know that the estate papers on Peter Staley Sr. (d. 1777) identify him as “late of York County, Pennsylvania,” but I reserve the possibility that he might have started the move to Berkeley/Jefferson before his death. He could still be referred to in that way even if he was spending a big chunk of his time pionieering in Jeff. County. It’s also possible that the land sale was effectively accomplished much earlier than the date of the deed through a land contract, wtih the deed following as a formality at the conclusion of the deferred payments on the purchase price. BW”:

“Jefferson County 1810 census
http://ftp.us-census.org/pub/usgenweb/census/wv/jefferson/1810/pg0081.txt

“89 18 Thornburg John . . 1 . 1 1 1 . 1 . . 1
89 19 Belmire Martin 4 1 4 1 . 2 3 1 1 1 . .
89 20 Staley Peter 2 1 1 . 1 4 1 1 1 . . .
89 21 Malory Grace 2 1 1 . . 1 . 2 . . 1 .
89 22 Shineberger Michael 3 2 . . 1 4 1 . 1 . . .
89 23 Staley Jacob 2 . . 1 . 3 . 2 1 . . .
89 24 Staley Stephen 2 2 2 . 1 1 1 2 . 1 . .
90 1 Stipp Susanna . 1 . . . . . 2 . 1 . 1
90 2 Burkett Michael 1 1 . 1 1 1 1 . 1 . . 4
90 3 Hill Abraham 1 . . 1 . 1 . 1 . 1 . .
90 4 Staley Jacob 1 . . 1 1 2 . . 1 . . .
90 5 Bires Isaac 1 . 1 . . 1 . 1 . . . .
90 6 Swan James 2 . . . 1 3 1 . 1 . . .
90 7 Buckles William 1 1 . 1 1 4 . 1 . . . 14
90 8 Buckels James 2 . 1 1 . . 2 1 1 . . 2
90 9 Osburn David 1 . 1 1 . 2 2 . 2 . . 2
90 10 Lafferty Thomas . . 2 1 1 . 2 1 . 1 . 3
90 11 Osburn William . . . . 1 . 1 . . 2 . 10
90 12 Osburn David . . . . 1 . . . . 2 . 25
90 13 Engle Michael 1 . 1 1 . 3 . 1 1 . . .
90 14 Gibson Francis 1 1 . . 1 1 . 1 . 1 . .
90 15 Glenn James . . . . 2 . . . 1 1 . 24
90 16 Hendricks James . 3 . . 1 . 1 . . 1 1 1
90 17 Snider John 2 2 . 1 . 2 1 . 1 . . .
90 18 Strother Athony 3 . . . 1 1 2 . 1 . . 10
90 19 Morgan Richard . 3 1 1 . . 1 . 1 . . .
90 20 Moore David . . . . 2 . . . . 1 1 3
90 21 Boyde William . 1 1 . . . . 1 . . . .
90 22 Robinson Joseph 3 1 . 1 . 1 . . 1 . . .

“104 2 Sheetz Jacob 1 1 2 . 1 . . . 1 . . 1
104 3 James Thomas . . 2 3 . . . 1 . . 1 1
104 4 Staley Stephen . 1 3 1 1 . . 2 . . . .
104 5 Conner Peter . . . 1 . . 1 1 . 1 . .
104 6 Unsild John . . . . 1 . . . . 1 . .

“Berkeley County:
Pg 545 line 12 – James Staley age 26-45; 1 female under ten; one 16-25; one over 45
Pg 547 line 6 – Cath[erine] L. Strayer two males 10-15; four males 16-25; one fem ale under ten, one 16-25; one over 45″ –shb 6 Nov 2006
————————
1816–VIRGINIA LAND RECORDS INVOLVE JACOB FISHER/MALACHI STALEY/JOHN BAKER/DANIEL, PETER STALEY CONNECTIONS: Deed Book 10, p 4, 2 Nov 1816 – Between Jacob Fisher [see note at end–shb] and Elizabeth his wife (the said Elizabeth being one of the children and heirs of Stephen Staley, deceased, of Jefferson Co. Va.) of the one part and Malachi Staley also of Jefferson Co. Va. of second part. In consideration $100.00 all that undivided eighth part of share in a house in Shepherdstown, on German St., known by Lot No. 17, is hereby conveyed. – Jacob Fisher – Elizabeth Fisher – John Baker” John Baker’s name was off to the left, as though he were a witness or clerk or other official. Following this deed was typed the following: (“note-CB- By this deed we know Stephen Staley had eight children, Eizabeth being one and probably Malachi was her brother”). Since these Staleys were found in the same county where the William Halls originated, there is a good chance they are relatives. Note: Mark D. Gierhart of The Gierhart Family Inn (A Genealogy Research Site, http://allencounty.tripod.com), in an e-mail to shb of 21 Mar 2000, graciously provided a “look up” of the Staley family plot in the Lafayette Cemetery and detailed that “There is also a Jacob FISHER buried between Eve & P[eter Staley Sr.] and Children. No date, just GAR marker.” Katherine Staley writes shb, 21 Mar 2000: “I agree there were Staleys and Bakers in PA. I have those notes as well from PA. (I had sent her notes about Bakers and Staleys with the same names in PA and thought I was providing her with a migratory connection she already had–shb) County history and PA census records. Both migrated to VA because of Indian raids or the fact that VA offered land with no taxes for 5 years, or land was becoming scarce in PA. No room to expand their farms. This does not mean they are related although I do find a Christopher Baker married to a Catherine Staley in I believe Berkeley Co., VA. This again does not make them members of our family line. Closer to Glenda Strayers lines, I believe.” TO DO: Check out the Fishers, as well. (Note: Since writing this, I have come to believe that the Jacob Fisher buried by Peter and Eve Staley in Lafayette Cemetery was a father of Jethro Fisher, with whom the widowed Eve Staley was living in the 1850 Census, who probably buried his parents together–but this of course needs additional verification. And it sure did–I have since learned, per Katherine Staley and the internet, that Jethro’s parents were a John Fisher and Elizabeth Petty) –shb 27 Apr 2000

OTHER POSSIBLE STALEY FAMILY ORIGINS: See end of these notes. –shb 29 Mar 2000

1820 VA CENSUS–SON PETER JR. IN JEFFERSON COUNTY, WV? In the 1820 Virginia Census Index are found a Peter Staleigh Sr., living in Washington Co., p. 230 N. Twp L (fellow Staley researcher Katherine Staley does not think these are our people) and a Daniel and Stephen Staley, both listed on p. 087 of the census living in Shepherdstown, Jefferson County. A Peter Staley is listed on p. 090 in Hall Town, also Jefferson Co. (now West Va–is this possibly Peter Jr., son of RIN 459, who m. Hannah Hall?) On p. 086 are listed a Jacob Stealey of Tyler County, a John Stealey, and a Thomas Stees (those clerks got quite creative with spellings). Note: If this 1820 Census Peter is our Peter Jr., he would have had to move to Ohio by the next year, where his marriage to Hannah Hall is recorded in Pickaway County (perhaps he was there finishing up business so he could get married). — shb

1821, APRIL 5 or MAY 26? –MARRIAGE TO HANNAH HALL IN PICKAWAY COUNTY, OHIO: A worksheet family group compiled by my mother, Ida-Rose L. Hall, says the license for the marriage of Peter Staley, Jr. and Hannah Hall was taken out 5 Apr 1821, but they were actually married 26 May 1821. However, the acting minister is given by the 5 Apr date, according to FTM CD – Pickaway County Marriage Index: Ohio 1789-1850 (CD#400), entries sent shb by Jane Hall, 31 Mar 2002: “Hall, Hannah – Peter Staley – 5 April 1821 (by Rev. Joseph Hays).” –shb 1 Apr 2002 [Note: Pickaway County, Ohio Marriage Records as posted on http://www.scioto.org/Pickaway/marriage/1800-1850/H.html, accessed 9 Nov 2002 by shb: “Hall, Hannah – Staley, Peter, Apr 5, 1821.”]

MARRIED IN 1817? Another marriage alternative Roscoe J. Dearth compiled for the marriage of Hannah Hall and Peter Staley is listed on his RootsWeb’s WorldConnect Project site: “Married 1817 in Greene County, PA.” –shb 28 Jul 2004

TO DO: CHILDREN: There are gaps in birth years for children of Hannah and Peter that need finding or explanation. Look for Staley children between the years 1822-1825 and 1830-1835. –shb

1826–A PETER STALEY TAVERNKEEPER DIES IN HALLTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA: See notes of RIN 27138. –shb 3 Jul 2003

1826–JAMES A. HALL DIES IN PICKAWAY COUNTY OF THE COLD PLAGUE: It is my hope to soon prove James A. Hall, father of William C. Hall (m. Eliz. Oulrey) as also the father of Peter Jr.’s wife Hannah Hall. James left wife Keziah (Kain) with –shb 16 Jul 2003

1830 CENSUS, [Note: This is the wrong family, but leave for record–shb]: Brush Creek Township, Highland County (came from Adams Co.), OH, lists a Peter Staley household with 1 male “40 and under 50” [This, if accurate, would place Peter Jr. as being born 1780-1790–see “BIRTH” tag above–shb] and one female “40 and under 50.” Lived near a John Staley with 1 male under 5, 2 males five and under 10, one male 10 and under 15, one male 15 and under 20, and 1 male 30 and under 40; and females: 1, five and under 10, 2, 10 and under 15, and 1 30 and under 40, probably the bro. of Peter and the John found living near Peter in Lima Co. in 1850 census, Allen Co., OH. Since RIN 50, Peter Jr., was b. in 1794, he would have been 36–four years off from census. Census wrong? Perhaps they rounded it off to nearest decade, especially since Hannah was nine years younger than Peter, age 27, which should have put her “between 20 and 30.” Perhaps there was another Peter Staley family, and this enumeration did not apply to our Peter–check out. [Wrong census, wrong Peter Staley–see below] –shb

1830 CENSUS LINEUP: Jackson Township, Pickaway County, Ohio Federal Census (Roll 138, searched 7 Apr 2000 by shb at the HBLL, BYU), p. 89, lists (in order) . . . Nancy Ellis, John Fisher Jr., Absalom Fisher [Evick, Renick, or Rerrick?– as confused about name as Clarinda?–shb], Peter Steely Sen. [RIN 459, m. Eve–Melcher’s parents and my ancestors–shb], Peter Steely Jr. [RIN 50, m. Hannah, Melcher’s brother–also my ancestors], and next Melchor Steely (1 male aged 10-15, 1 male 30-40, 2 females 5-10, 1 female 10-15, 1 female 30-40), Joseph Hall [RIN 7353, m. Sarah or Sally, Melcher’s sister], Peter Richardson [see RIN 44271]. –shb 4 May 2000

1830 CENSUS FOR PETER II, Pickaway County, Ohio Federal enumeration (Roll 138, searched by shb 7 Apr 2000 at the HBLL, BYU), p. 89: “Peter Steely Jr.” family household is listed with 1 male (age under 5–this fits for Peter III, b. 1828), 1 male (5-10–this fits for first son William, b. 1820), 1 male 20-30 [who is this? Peter II would have been older than this–shb] 1 female (0-5–this fits for Elizabeth, b. 1829) , 2 females (5-10–I have no daughters for Peter and Hannah at this age) , and 1 female (20-30–this would be my ancestor Hannah Hall, b. 1803). –shb 5 May 2000

1831, JUNE 6–IN ALLEN COUNTY, OHIO–JACKSON TOWNSHIP IN ALLEN COUNTY WAS “STRUCK OFF” OF EAST SIDE OF BATH TOWNSHIP (See 1831 note below).

AREA DESCRIPTON: LOCATION: Per Roscoe J. Dearth, e-letter to shb, 31 Aug 2005:

“Orange Township is just north of Liberty Township; Candler cemetery is just south of Hog Creek, in Liberty Tp; and the Hancock -Hardin county line is one-half mile north. Evick cemetery is just north of Hog Creek, and the Allen-Hancock line is one mile east.

“My cousin,Thomas Dearth, is the pastor of the County Line Church of the Brethren, which is at the intersection of the three counties. A lot of the Staleys lived just west, down the road from the church. The east-west road is the Sanducksy Pike, which was an Indian trail from the site of Upper Sandusky to Lima. It vaguely followed Hog Creek (at least in Hardin & Allen County). Hog Creek is Hog Creek, until it meets up with Little Hog Creek, NW of Lafayette. Then they become the Ottawa River (never have figured out why it’s called the Ottawa – it was Shawnee Indians that lived alongside of it. The Ottawas were nor exactly friendly, either to the Shawnees or the white settlers).” –shb 7 Sep 2005

1831–PETER STALEY HELPS ORGANIZE BATH, ALLEN, OHIO SCHOOLS: Apparently Peter II (m. Hannah Hall) didn’t buy land in Jackson, Allen, Ohio until 1832, but a record for organizing the schools in nearby Bath, Allen, Ohio, would seem to indicate that a Peter Staley helped with that in 1832, as follows: A History of Bath Township from its beginning, by Frank M Hackman (Lima, Ohio, April 12, 1976), copied out by Kathryn Lones Pyles at the Auglaize County Public Library, Wapakoneta Ohio, forwarded to shb 28 Nov 2003: Page 61 – “BATH TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS – The early settlers of Bath Township lost no time in providing schools for their children. Looking at the record it seems that this often took priority over clearing the land and building cabins. At first schools were held in the cabin homes of those already established. ‘Subscription’ schools, however, were the most popular and were established early, and one of the first in Bath Township was organized May 23 1831 in District five where the householders built a log school house northeast of the Lafayette settlement at about the same time that the township of Jackson was “struck off” from the east side of Bath Township (June 6 1831). Following is the contract they made with Mary E Richardson, which was typical of those early days: Page62 ‘…The said Miss Richardson doth herby agree to teach school in said district for the term of three months for the sum of twenty dollars & boarding; to take up school at nine o’clock A.M. & dismiss at four o’clock P.M. allowing reasonable time for exercise. Term to commence on Monday the 2nd June next, and the undersigned agree to furnish said teacher a house wherein to teach & fuel, board her and pay her at the expiration of said term the said twenty dollars. [Paragraph] We further agree to pay in proportion to the number of scholars by us subscribed and sent to said school & further authorize Thomas H Young, Peter Staley [I believe this is RIN 50, but it could be his father–shb], & Wm Akerman [I believe this is my RIN 23108, b. 17 Apr 1810 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, who m. 9 May 1833 Keziah Carroll–shb] to pay over to said teacher her hire as aforesaid…” –shb 28 Nov 2003

1832–OCCUPATION/BOUGHT LAND: “Peter was a farmer and in 1832 he bought 40 acres in Section 21 of Jackson Twp., Allen Co., Ohio.” (Per Katherine Staley Report sent shb 16 Mar 2000). –shb 3 May 2000

A REAL HALL HAM FROM HOG CREEK COUNTRY: As a Thanksgiving gift, Kathryn “Kathy” Louise Lones Pyles (who lives in Wapakoneta, Allen, Ohio, and who has been sending Sherlene all kinds of information about the family that she has researched in local records) and her husband Michael sent us a huge “Amish Pepper-ham” from a local factory where Kathy sometimes works. We served up this delicious ham at a special Thanksgiving dinner we held in honor of my parents (H. Tracy & Ida-Rose L. Hall) at my sister Nancy Mecham’s home (across the street from my parents), at which much of the family gathered. I bragged to all the family about how we were eating a genuine Allen County Hall hog,” but Kathy corrected me in a subsequent letter: “I did want to make a note to you . . .there aren’t any Amish in Allen County. Those Amish hams come from the real Amish country Holmes County–‘just so you know!” Well, I wrote back and told her that if it was processed, packaged, and mailed from Allen County, that’s close enough for me! We thoroughly enjoyed this flavorful ham (and, today, the leftovers, in a butter-bean stew–my niece Hannah Weight claimed the hambone for a split-pea soup she’s making her finance and her parents–my sis Charlotte, who came in for this Thanksgiving feast, as did also my sister Liz, her husband Marty, and son John). Of course this ham was all the more delicious, as I thought on the Pyles’ kind thoughtfulness. –shb 28 Nov 2003

A HOLMES COUNTY CONNECTION: In response to Kathy’s letter (above), saying the Amish Pepper-Ham she sent us for Thanksgiving from Allen County was actually raised in Holmes Co., my brother-in-law Barry D. Wood responds, 29 Nov 2003, with a bizarre story: “FYI, I’m related to some of the Amish of Holmes County. Last summer the locals were indulging in their local custom of pelting passing cars from cornfields with tomatoes. This has been going on for many years, always taken as good clean (messy) fun until 2003. One irate motorist, furious over a tomato hit, broke out a shotgun and fired into the cornfield, killing my distant cousin Stephen Keims / Kimes, age 23 or thereabouts. If the murderer has been found out, I haven’t heard about it.

“The Keim / Kimes family descend from Johann Keim, a German Baptist who came to Berks County around 1722 from somewhere in the Rhine Valley. Elizabeth Keim married Christian Hoffarth about 1745; their oldest son Christian Jr. was my mother’s gg grandfather. The family alternated back & forth between German Baptist Brethren and Lutheran down to my great grandfather John B. Hufford, who was part of the Brethren. Barry” –shb 29 Nov 2003

HOG CREEK SETTLEMENT: See notes of our ancestor William Hall (m. Sarah Francis). –shb 5 May 2004

ABOUT HOG CREEK: As forwarded by Kathy Pyles to shb, 29 Nov 2003: IT HAPPENED HERE,
by Frank M Hackman, Portraits of the Great Black Swamp, Book Two, second in a series on the History of Lima, Allen County & Northwestern Ohio, (Shawnee Historical Publications, Lima, Ohio. Auglaize Co Library, Wapakoneta, Ohio): [Page31] – “How Hog Creek Was Named – The naming of Hog Creek (Ottawa River) is associated with one of the many historic landmarks of Allen County. The story of ‘McKee Hill’ as it has been called since pioneer days, explains much of the historical background that made the region we now know as Allen County, important in the early history of our country. It is the story, also, of how ‘Hog Creek’ came by it name.

“This spot, named for Alexander McKee, deputy Indian Agent for the British government, during and after the Revolutionary War, is located about a mile northwest of Lafayette in Section 20 of Jackson township near the Ottawa River just east of the Napoleon road.

“Henry Howe, in his Historical Collections of Ohio, makes a brief mention of the story. He says: ‘…McKee, who resided at the Machachac (Mac-o-chee) town on the Mad river, during the incursion of General Logan in 1786, was obliged to flee with his effects. He had his swine driven to the borders of this stream and the Indians thereafter called it Koshko Sepe, which signifies Hog River.’
[Page 33] “The trail left Route 117 at the Allen County line and continued northward over present-day county roads through Harrod to Lafayette. It was known as the Black Swamp Trail and follow closely the present-day route of the Napoleon road.

“It was here, near Lafayette, on the banks of the Ottawa river at its confluence with Little Hog Creek, that McKee was said to have lost many of his possessions, including the drove of hogs, because of high water. The first settlers in the county tell of the Indians hunting the hogs that survived and ran wild in the woods in that region.

“The exact location of the rise of ground which became [Page 34] known as McKee’s Hill is a matter of controversy. That it was somewhere in Section 20 seems likely, and at the present time the confluence of Little Hog Creek is in the northeast corner of the Hall farm north of Lafayette.

[Page 34] “It is believed that these Indians of the Mac-o-chee clan of the Shawnee, were those whose later descendants lived on the Shawnee reservation south of Lima in 1817.

“CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE [Page 34]

“1784 Families of Christopher Stark Wood and James Turner ‘land’ at Maysville Kentucky December 31, 1784. Town of Wahsington, Kentucky founded. [Note: See notes of Christopher S. Wood, RIN 24870, for more on early history of the area and his role in it–shb.]

[Page 35] “1786 Mac-o-chee clans of Shawnee believed to have established permanent villages on Hog Creek during this period.

“1824 Christopher Stark Wood. first clerk of Bath Township, founds Sugar Creek Settlement in Allen County April 14, 1824 [Page 24]:

“Christopher Stark Wood married eighteen year old Mary Ann Turner October 6, 1797 at Washington, Kentucky

[Page 25]: With his two sons Albert and Joseph and his son in law Benjamin Dolph, the husband of his dauther Sarah, Christopher Wood left Logan county in April 1824

[Page 26]: Within the year, six families shared the pioneet harships of this new Northwestern Ohio frontier. These were Chris Wood and his wife Mary Ann and her twin sisters Nancy, wife of Morgan Lippincott, and Elizabeth, with her husband Samuel Jacobs. There were Sarah, daughter of Christopher, and her husband Benjamin Dolph; Samuel Purdy and his family, and the newly weds, Christopher’s son Joseph and his bride.

[Page 27]: It happened when Morgan Lippincott, Joseph Wood and Ben Dolph were out hunting in the early summer of 1826 and lost their way in the dense forest south of Sugar Creek. While backtracking along the Indian trail that followed the banks of Hog Creek east of recent day Lima, they [Page 28] discovered the cabin of Samuel McClure and learned for the first time of the tiny Hog Creek settlement. Here they found the families of Samuel McClure, Joseph Ward and Joseph Walton, who had built cabins and were clearing land along Hog Creek, less than five miles southeast of the Sugar Creek settlement.

“Township Three was ‘growing up’ fast with two pioneer settlements and nine families within its six mile square boundaries. Christopher Wood became the first resident officeholder on September 16, 1826, when he received his commision as Justice of the Peace from Governor Jeremiah Morrow while the area was still attached to Shelby county.

“FIRST LOCAL GOVERNMENT [Page 28]

“‘Records of Bath Township, Page 1. On the 2nd day of March 1829 the Trustees for the Township of Bath and County of Allen met; present Samuel A Jacobs, William Watt and John Cochran; and made the following orders to wit; that the Township of Bath should be divided into three Road Districts to wit; the Settlement of Sugar Creek to comprise the first district; the settlement of Hog Creek to compose the 2nd and of Wapaghkonnetta the 3rd and one Supervisor for each district and laid a tax of one fourth county rate done by order of the Trustees and adjourned. Attest, Chris S Wood, Clerk’

[Page 29]: On April 6th an election was held in the house of John G Wood and the following persons, besides Christopher Wood and the three trustees already named, were elected: Treasurer Abner Kelsey; supervisors: John G Wood, Samuel McClure and Robert Brodreck; Overseers of the poor: Joseph Walton and Morgan Lippincott; fence viewers: Jacob Hawk and Joseph Lippincott; constable William Johnson.” –shb 28 Nov 2003

1832–Original Land Entries of Allen County, Ohio, compiled by Peggie Seitz James (Ann Arbor Michigan 48106 (Edwards Brothers, Inc.), 1971, p. 119:

“Section 21 – [Listed in order, as given, with my RIN nos., as I have tried to identify them–shb]:

HALL, Joseph – [where from] Allen Co, O – [tract] E 1/2 NE 1/4 [date purchased] 30 Apr 1832
[I think this is Joseph, RIN 7353, who m. Sally Staley, dau. of Peter Sr. and Eve ____–shb.]
STALEY, Peter Sen Allen Co O W 1/2 NE 1/4 30 Apr 1832
[I think this is Sally’s brother, Peter, RIN 50 (m. Hannah Hall), who had a son Peter, b. 1828.]
(Stanley) SW 1/4 SE 1/4 1 Jun 1833
E 1/2 NW 1/4 30 Apr 1832
PLUMMER, Jesse Highland Co O N 1/2 SE 1/4 10 Nov 1835
[Not in my database–I have a Nancy Hall of NC, who m. ____ Plummer. I asked Katherine Staley if she knew if Jesse was related. Her response, 16 Jul 2003: “Jesse Plummer not related far as we know. I find a James in the 1850 Allen Co., OH. census . James age 80, born VA. living with his son Golahan Plummer Allen Co. web site census page 265A.”–shb.].

STALEY, Melcher Logan Co O SE 1/4 SE 1/4 10 Aug 1833
[According to old hist. this is RIN 24120, who followed his bro. Peter to Allen County–shb.]

HALL, James Pickaway Co O W 1/2 NW 1/4 3 Aug 1832
[Katherine Staley indicates, e-letter to shb of 16 Jul 2003, that this is the James F. Hall, son of my ancestors William Hall & Sarah Francis, who married Maximilla Fisher 13 Sep 1832–hope he got their home up in time for the ceremony–shb.]

NASH, Thomas Morgan Co O W 1/2 SW 1/4 24 Apr 1833
[I think this Thomas is my RIN 35472, m. Rebecca Akins–no relationship documented.]

STALEY, John Allen Co O E 1/2 SW 1/4 10 Apr 1833
[I think this John is RIN 653 (brother to Peter, RIN 50), who m. Arah Kirby–shb.]

Note: Section 22 (also 24) lists Thomas Hall, also identified by Katherine Staley, e-letter to shb of 16 Jul 2003, as a son of my ancestors William Hall and Sarah Francis–so he would have been close to his brother James in Section 21. –shb 16 Jul 2003

1834 JACKSON TOWNSHIP ORGANIZED: 1834–Historical Sketch of Allen County, Ohio–Jackson Township, as posted on http://www.ourfamilygenealogy.com/historical_sketch_jackson.htm – “The present township was organized in 1834. John Jameson was the first justice of the peace; the first trustees were: Thomas Nash, William Reece, and William Watt; and the first clerk, Joseph Hall.” –shb 25 Mar 2002

1834 TAX LIST, JACKSON, ALLEN, OHIO: History of Allen County, Ohio (Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co., 1885), p. 233, lists tax-payers, arranged alphabetically under township headings, including “Jackson, 1834.– . . . John Hall, Anthony Hall, Richard Hall, Joseph Hall, James Hall, James W. Hall . . .”; also listed, same 1834 list in Jackson, are “John Staley, Jacob Staley, Peter Staley, Jr. [RIN 50, age 40–shb], Melchoir Staley, [and] Peter Staley [RIN 459–age 68–shb]” –shb 8 Sep 1999 [Note: See notes of father Peter for complete list of heads of household assessed in Jackson Twp., 1834.] –shb 25 Mar 2002 [See full 1834 Assessment LIst, below]:

1834–ON JACKSON TOWNSHIP, ALLEN, OHIO ASSESSMENT ROLL: Information forwarded to shb by Kathryn Lones Pyles, 29 Sep 2003: “The following assessment roll made in 1834 by Samuel Black, Auditor of Allen County is selected for the reason that it is the oldest record of assessments which Auditor Poling was able to discover among the old books in his office.

“JACKSON 1834 [full caps mine–shb]”
“Alex Allison, Mathew Allison, Jacob Bresler, George Balsinger, George Barber, Hector Carlisle, John Carlisle, John Claybaugh, James Carter, Chancey Curtiss, Jacob Elder, Eyre Edgecomb, Urich Edgecomb, Jeremiah Evans, Tethro [Jethro–shb] Fisher, Silas Faurot, Jacob Hawk, Anthony Hall, Richard Hall, Joseph Hall, James Hall, James W Hall, John Jamieson, Samuel Jamieson, Elijah Jones, Samuel McCafferty, Benjamin Meek, Joseph Marsh, Samuel McClure, Moses McClure, George May, William Neeley, Elizabeth Neeley, Thomas Nash, Silas Osman, Enos Paulin, Samuel Patterson, James Prosser, John Robinson, William Rumbaugh, David Rumbaugh, William Reese, William Roberts, J. Rumbaugh, James Rumbaugh, William Raines, John Staley, Jacob Staley, Peter Staley Jr, Melchoir Staley, Peter Staley, Robert Snodgrass, David Sasseton, Lemuel Tucker, William Watt, James Watt, Adam White, Tobias Woods, Samuel Watt, Joseph G Walton, Daniel Woolett, Abram Ward, William Ward, John B Walton, Joseph Ward, Phillip Woolett, George White.

“The assessed value of lands in Jackson in 1834 was $472, one steam-mill valued at $160, value of personal property $3,800. Total tax levied$57.53.” (Source: History of Allen County Ohio Chicago:Warner, Beer & Co 1885 Pages 233-234 Jackson Township Assessment Role of 1834 Wapakoneta Public Library, Wapakoneta Ohio.) –shb 29 Sep 2003

1838–A SON HENRY BORN? I have tentatively placed this Henry as a son of Peter and Hannah, since his age in the 1880 Census places him conveniently among children in this family group record and also because Henry’s family in 1880 is located very near Clarinda (Fisher/Evick) Hall, mother-in-law of Elizabeth Staley (Henry’s sister?). –shb 13 Jun 2001

1840 CENSUS–PETER STALEY “JR.,” AGE 40-50, LIVES WITH WIFE HANNAH, AGE 40-50, TWO SONS (JOHN T., PETER IV), AND TWO DAUGHTERS (EUNICE AND UNKNOWN), NEAR HIS PARENTS, PETER “SR.” AND EVE, IN JACKSON, ALLEN, OHIO. (See census detail, below.) –shb

1840 CENSUS of Jackson, Allen, Ohio. See notes of wife Hannah for full census lineup and more commentary–these two studies of the 1840 census, done separately, need to be merged–shb): This census lists: Peter’s father Peter Staley, Sr. [II, m. Eve __](home had 1 male aged 70-80 and l female 60-70 [our Hannah Hall, m. to my Legacy ID No. 50, Peter Staley, died at age 41 in 1844 when Peter was age 46–so this older Peter must have been Peter III’s father, ID 459], living near son Peter and also next to Joseph Hall [a Joseph Hall married Sarah Staley, sister of Peter Jr., Dec 1827). The household of Peter III, b. 1794, includes 1 male under 5 [this fits for son John T., b. 1839–shb; perhaps Jacob, b. 1840, still had not made his appearance when the census was taken], 1 male 10-15 [fits for Peter IV, b. 1828], 1 male 15-20 [fits for William, b. 1820], 1 male 40-50 [this would indicate that Peter Jr. [III] was born between 1790 and 1800, so fits for his birth date, 19 Jan 1794], 1 female under 5 [fits for Eunice, b. 1836], 1 female 15-20 [this would fit for one of the unknown female children born 1820-25, as indicated in the 1830 census, and since no other daughter in the same age range is indicated, another daughter mentioned in the 1830 Census, also b. 1820-25, may have died before 1840], 1 female 40-50–a bit off, but must be Hannah, b. 1803).

1840 NEIGHBORS: The following were among their relative neighbors (and probably some others I did not recognize): William M. Hall (grandson of Anthony and Rachel Simmons, m. Lydia Walton), Christian Evick, Absalom Evick (m. Mahala Staley, dau of Peter m. Sarah Ransbottom, son of Melchior, brother of Peter III, ID 50), Abraham H. Hall (ID 24392, grandson of Anthony and Rachel Simmons), Richard Hall (ID 24399, another grandson of Anthony and Rachel, m. Margaret and d. early), Anthony Hall [Jr.] (another grandson of Anthony and Rachel, m. Mary Candler?), Jacob Staley (ID 646–a Jacob Staley m. Eunice Fisher), William Hall (ID 48–son of Wm. and Sarah Francis, m. Clarinda Evick), James F. (Fisher?) Hall (ID 7314–son of William Hall and Sarah Francis, m. Maximilla Fisher, dau. of Jethro), and Jethro Fisher (ID 24291–married Catherine Staley, sister of Peter Jr, ID 50), Joseph Hall (ID 7353–son of William Hall and Sarah Francis, m. Sarah or Sally Staley, Peter Jr.’s sister), Melchior Staley (ID 22917–Peter’s brother, m. Sarah Camper who d. the next year, and father of Mahala Staley who m. Absalom Evick), John Staley (ID 653, Peter’s brother, who m. Anna Kirby), Anthony Hall (I think grandson of Anthony and Rachel Simmons), Joseph W. Hall (RIN ID–don’t know his parents–he m. Clarissa Jane Hall, dau. of Henry C. Hall, great-grandson of Anthony and Rachel, who m. Eliz. Staley, and his son Henry m. Eunice Staley, dau. of Jacob Staley and Eunice Fisher, dau. of Jethro), Thomas Hall (don’t know his parents), Henry Baker, Henry Baker. –shb

Jan 2004 Kathryn Lones Pyles copied out and forwarded to shb a printed chart of the 1840 Census, Jackson, Allen, Ohio, as compiled by H. Maxine (Gossett) Leis Computer Data Processing and Printed by Ronald Hanthorn Donated to The Allen Co Genealogy Society, OGS 620 West Market St. Lima, OH copyrighted 1998 Property of Auglaize Co Genealogical Society Wapakoneta Library. –shb 13 Jan 2004

1844–HANNAH DIES AT AGE 41–PETER IS A WIDOWER.

1850–LIVING WITH SON PETER/BIRTH/CENSUS: Our ancestress Elizabeth Staley, daughter of Peter Jr. and Hannah Hall, is enumerated as part of family #461, age 21, and the wife of Henry Hall, in the 1850 Jackson Township, Allen County, Ohio Census. A couple of doors away lives family #457–her father Peter Staley, Jr., aged 56 [which would fit his 1794 birth year], widower and farmer from Virginia, who is living with son, Peter [III], age 23. The next person listed is “Elizabeth,” aged 19, and the next, Unice, age 14. This was a source of confusion until I realized that this Elisabeth [Brown, per Katherine Staley] was the wife of Peter III, listed because Peter and she were living with widower Peter Sr., so she was not RIN 29, daughter of Peter Jr. (Elizabeth Staley Hall), who in 1850 was only a couple of years older than her husband’s sister, Elizabeth, and was living nearby with her new husband. A Heath family are their neighbors #455, and on their other side, family #457 is that of Abram Hall and wife Arvilla (Gilbert). Abram is the son of Anthony Hall (m. Mary/Polly Ward), son of our ancestors Anthony Hall and Rachel Simmons. –shb 4 Mar 2002

~The 1850 enumeration or this family in Jackson, Allen, Ohio, as posted on http://searches1.rootsweb.com/usgenweb/archive/oh/allen/census/1850/pg0257b.txt, is as follows: ” Start Fragment – Staley, Peter, 56M, Farmer, 1,500, Virginia; [next Line] 39 456 Staley, Peter, 23M, Farmer, Ohio; 40 456 Staley, Elizabeth, 19F, Ohio; 41 456 Staley, Anice [sic–shb] 14F, Ohio; 1 456 Staley, John 11M, Ohio; 2 456 Staley, Clammida [sic–shb], 6F, Ohio; 3 456 Meyer, David 22M, Laborer, Ohio; 4 456 Bross, William, 26M, Laborer, Ohio; 5 456 Hall, Abram, 38M, Farmer, Ohio [see RIN 24392].” –shb 8 Sep 2001

BEF 1854–MARRIES 2) ARA OR ANA? An Ara Hall, “Mother,” age 69, born in Virginia, is listed with the family headed by Henry Staley (age 42, born in OH, married to Rebeca) in the 1880 Census, Lafayette, Allen, Ohio. There is room for a child, b. 1838 on the Peter Staley Jr. family group record, so this could be a second wife. –shb 13 Jun 2001

FAMILY IN “CHRISTIAN CHURCH,” ALLEN COUNTY, OHIO: History of Allen County, Ohio (Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co., 1885), p. 438: “CHURCHES. Christian Church.–Among the original members of this society were Daniel Cloore and wife [Wm. and Clarinda Evick Fisher Hall had a dau. Hannah Ette who married a Wm. Cloore in 1860l–shb], William Ackerman and wife [see RIN 23116 (son of William and Keziah Carroll Ackerman, who m. Mary Jane Ransbottom in 1863–shb)], Nathan Hawk and wife (see RIN 452, m. Wm. & Clarinda’s dau. Elizabeth Ann Hall 6 Oct 1859 and 2) Mary Jane Ransbottom, 14 Dec 1871–shb], S. G. Heath and wife [1850 Census shows a Samuel Heath family living next door to my ancestor Peter Staley Jr., widower, age 56, who had been m. to the deceased Hannah Hall]; John Akerman [see RIN 2525–shb] and wife, J. L. B. Leatherman and wife [A Hiram Leatherman m. Elizabeth Hawk, b. 1824, dau. of Jacob and Elizabeth or “Betsy” Watt–shb], Solomon Binkley and wife, John Staley [RIN 463?–shb] and wife, Joseph Hall [see 1840 Census, above–Joseph m. 8 Dec 1829 Sarah or Sally Staley, dau. of Peter Sr. & Eve–shb] and wife, Wiliam Sudduth [See RIN 24513, William Suddeth m. 31 Dec 1829 Eve or Eva Staley, dau. of my ancestors Peter Staley Sr. and wife Eve–shb], James Evick and wife [see RIN 22591–shb]. The pastors of this church were Michael Martz, the first preacher and organizer, Samuel Hardesty followed him, then William Gander, G. B. Garner, M. W. C. Rimer, H. H. Holverstott, 1880-83, and the present pastor Mr. Rimer. In 1860 the society erected their house of worship. This building and lot are valued now at $2,000. The membership is seventy-five.” –shb 17 Aug 1999

TO DO: Find the records of this “Christian Church” in Allen County, Ohio and search for additional clues about our family. –shb

1854–DEATH/BURIAL: His gravestone in La Fayette Cemetery, Allen, Ohio (according to notes of Ida-Rose L. Hall), states that Peter Jr. d. “Jan 16, 1854, age 59 and 9 mos.” That squares with the Jackson Township, Allen County, Ohio 1850 census that places him as a farmer b. in Virginia who was 56 years old, living with his son Peter, aged 23 and (wife), Elisabeth, aged 19. Hannah, Peter Sr.’s wife, had died six years previously in 1844 at age 41. Interestingly, they lived right next door to an Abram Hull from Ohio, whose first dau. was named Hannah. I am wondering if “Hannah Hall,” wife of Peter Sr. was really Hannah Hull” and if this was a brother of hers. They also lived very near a John Staley (RIN 653), aged 49, a farmer from Virginia (undoubtedly brother to Peter Jr.), and doors away from Henry Hall, wife Elizabeth (our ancestors–Elizabeth was dau. of Peter Staley, RIN 50), and William Hall and Clarinda [“Evick” Fisher–shb], both from Virginia. –shb

ESTATE: “At the time of his death, he [Peter Jr.–shb] had 80 acres of land, and his farm stock consisted of 30 chickens, 30 geese, 8 cows, 11 sheep, 15 pigs, and 4 horses.” (Katherine Staley report, sent shb 16 Mar 2000). –shb 3 May 2000

PROBATE RECORDS: When my parents were doing genealogical research in Ohio, they found Allen County Probate records at Lima, Ohio. On 25 June 1976, my father wrote a note: “Peter Staley [Peter’s grandson, son of John?–shb] packet #554. I photocopied contents at cost of $11.00. – Clarinda Staley, minor packet #569. Isaac Staley was administrator for Henry C. Hall, dec’d, late guardian of Clarinda – copied 2 documents (didn’t copy receipts). – Peter Staleys Heirs, minors packet #568 (didn’t copy receipts). – William Staley, minor packet 556 (Jacob Staley, guardian) – I didn’t copy receipts.”

SOURCES, IDA-ROSE L. HALL, on her Peter Staley and Hannah Hall family group: l) Mg. records of Pickaway Co., OH, 2) 1850 census of Allen Co., Ohio, and 3) Cemetery inscriptions taken at LaFayette, Jackson, Allen Co., Ohio. According to her notes, Peter was buried in La Fayette Cemetery, Allen, Ohio. –shb

CIVIL WAR: Many descendants of Peter and Hannah fought in the Civil War. For a list of some of them, see notes of son John T., who was wounded in the War. –shb 25 Aug 2003

OTHER POSSIBLE STALEY ORIGINS:

VIRGINIA STALEYS–See notes of Peter Sr., RIN 459.

1720s–MARYLAND STALEYS: I have found on three brothers (presumably) named Jacob, Melchor, and Jacob the Younger, who settled in the 1720s in Frederick, Maryland. Nearby was a Peter Stilly (Pioneers of Old Monocacy, The Early Settlement of Frederick County, Maryland, 1721-43, by Grace L. Tracey and John P. Dern). Before finding this source, I had gone through early Frederick County deeds at the Hall of Records at Annapolis and had determined that there were two Staley families deeding those properties, who did not claim relationship and that did intermarry, adding to the confusion. See the lineage of a Peter Staley, whose records I documented on a research trip to Frederick, Maryland (RIN 1381). Peter’s father was Jacob whose father was Melchior (of Maschwandon, Zurich, Switzerland), and his father, Heinrich (Heini) Stehli(n), wife Maria Steinbruechel. That name Melchior makes me think these might be our ancestors, but I have not yet been able to prove the connection to our Peter Staley who married Hannah Hall or Hull. –shb 6/97 In an e-letter to Katherine Staley, Mar 2000, I described what interests me about this family, as follows: “In 1794 a Jacob Staley in these Frederick, MD records marries an Elizabeth Staley. This might be the couple I was investigating that I may have mentioned earlier–G. Jacob Stahle and Maria Eliesabeth Staehlin–if my birth dates are correct, this M. Eliesabeth would have been age 28 at the marriage to Jacob, age 43–a 15 year gap–not unusual for the Germans, but since the women often marry much younger, I would guess this is a second marriage. A son Peter is mentioned and G. Jacob’s father is Melcher–M. Eliesabeth’s father is a Jacob and a blacksmith, if I remember correctly. Though not listed on my FG, I am willing to bet they had a son Melcher. They DO have a daughter Catherine. Before that, they named a dau.Barbara. Of interest is the fact that they have a son, Capt. John, who was a prisoner of the enemy in the War of 1812 (shades of the John, father of Isaac in your Ohio history–also blacksmiths/gunsmiths. This is also the family with a daughter Susannah who m. a Reece. So IF the TWO Staley lines in this marriage of probable cousins (Mom says they did it all the time–laws then were not as strict as now) are our line, why would Isaac’s history name a different father, and he claim that P. & Eve came directly from Germany AFTER m., if they m. in MD? A few possibilities come to mind, but I think the most logical is that the history was simply wrong. It happens all the time–people did not keep good records in those days, and stories got garbled. However, I am not yet documented enough on the connection of this M. Eliesabeth and G. Jacob to make as good a case as I would like, so I put forth the indicators above, try to keep an open mind, and keep searching. [New paragraph] By the way, it is these same records in Frederick Co., MD that list a Peter Staley and Elizabeth Shafer, m. 24 Apr 1797, as mentioned earlier (no progres on that front, though it’s still on the burner). In response, Katherine reiterated that she does NOT think this is our line, but instead the Staleys in Glenda Strayer’s lines (she is another Staley researcher I had previous contact with on the internet). In reviewing Katherine Staley’s evidence, I think she is probably right that these Maryland Staleys are not our line, and that our Staleys came from Germany. –shb 29 Mar 2000

1764–LAND RECORDS, MARYLAND: Sharf (see former entry), p. 378, lists close together a “Stilley’s Chance” of 42 acres, owned by Peter Stilley in 1764, “Shaver’s Rest” of 189 l l/2 acres, owned by Henry Shaver in 1786, “Stony Hill” of 11 l/4 acres, owned by Ulrich Stuller in 1791, “Sherman’s Retreat” of 146 l/4 acres, owned by Jacob Sherman in 1791, and “Switzerland” of 10 acres, owned by Samuel Owings [Evick?] in 1788. Owings also owned 37 acre “Stony Ridge” in 1788. Not far away is land owned by George Steel (1785) and Jacob Staley (1798). On the same page is land owned by Absalom Hedges, Henry Griffith, Philip Price, Peter Baecker, Christian Shoup, Peter Shaver, Jacob Sherman, Daniel Arnold, John Brunuer, Thomas Franklin, John Norris, John Howard, Joseph Talbot. P. 379 lists a Wm. Hall owning “The surprise,” 35 acres, in 1784 (none of the nearby names sound familiar–there is a Samuel Toms, two Andrew Hulls, a Peter Erb [Evick derivation], a Jonathan Fry, a Joseph Staley (“The four partners,” 16 acres, 1798), John Thompson, Henry Baker “Trouble enough,” 1784, on the same page. Again, Katherine Staley is of the firm opinion that the Maryland Staleys are not our line.

1755–NEW YORK STALEYS: History of Herkimer County, including the Upper Mohawk Valley, by Nathaniel S. Benton (Albany: J. Munsell, 1856), p. 200, lists patents and tracts alphabetically: “Staley’s 1st and 2d Tract, 1755, 34,000 acres, with Rudolph Staley, Johan Jost Herchkeimer, Jr., Nicholas Herchkeimer, and fifteen others as original patentees. These lands were “granted by the crown before the commencement of the revolutionary struggle, and those grants were recognized as valid by the constitution of 1777” (201). Katherine Staley does not think these are our Staleys.

1762–DELAWARE STALEYS: “Melchior Stile and Cathrine Ziegleni (MRIN 4451), 18 Mar 1762” – found in m. records of Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church, Wilmington, Delaware (Historical Society of Delaware, 1890), p. 716. In these records I also find births for Jacob Stille (RIN 10257) and a marriage for John Stilley and plenty of other family names, such as Richardson, Hall, West, Pyle, Keys, Montgomery, Alexander, etc. In an e-letter sent shb of 21 Mar 2000, Katherine Staley says “My only interest in the Berkeley C., VA & PA Staley families is information on Melchior & Catherine who sold land to Peter Staley in 1803. The marriage you found in DE for Melchior STILE is most likely not him!” –shb 29 Mar 2000

1803–RANDOLPH, NORTH CAROLINA? I found a Peter Staley and other Staleys in 1803 tax records of Randolph County, North Carolina. The HBLL has very little on this county–check out at the FHL in SLC. –shb 2 June 1997 [Note: My sister Virginia Hall Wood, of Arlington, Virginia, sent me notes from an article, “John Jacob Staehly (2-13-1695 to 12-10-1765), which says “The following data was taken from the York County Historical Society Library file folder SDL-3262, consisting of a July 9, 1967 report by Charles Thomas Stahle, entitled ‘Some Ancestors of Charles Thomas Stahle.'” Says C. T. Stahle, quoting A. E. Staley: “‘My immediate branch of the family emigrated from Virginia to Randolph County, North Carolina, and the 3 brothers were buried in Richland Church graveyard, in Randolph County. There was a Lutheran Church located right where Guilford, Alamance, Chatham, and Randolph Counties meet. The church is located in Randolph County, but you can throw a stone into all four Counties from here without much effort.” At the bottom of the article, Virginia wrote: “Taken from book Ancestry of George W Stahle at York PA Historical Soc. 3262 Book 929.2 St 13, Aug. 31 ’91.” –shb 29 Mar 2000

ENGLISH STALEYS? Paragraph immediately following that by Charles T. Stahle, quoted above: “There is, in Cheshire, England, a Staley Hall built around 1580, about 2 miles above Staley Bridge on the Thames. There had been an earlier building on the site, and the Staley Chapel of Mottram Church is a monument known as Ol’ Roe and his wife, badly battered and believed to be Sir Ralph DeStaveley and his wife. Sir Ralph went to the Third Crusade with Richard I (Lion-Hearted) and was captured, as was his royal master, and arranged a ransom. The family lived here for many generations, but is supposed to have been scattered at the time of one of the changes of state religion in England. Dates of the Third Crusade, by the way, were 1189 to 1192. [Earlier in this report, p. 1-A.1, he writes]: “There is some grounds for thinking that the Stahle family came originally from Cheshire, England. A. E. Staley, of the corn starch branch of the family, had this to say: [New paragraph] ‘I will say this, so far as I know, the Staley family in this country originated at Staley Bridge, England, which is just outside Manchester, now a city of some 30,000 people. The old castle, or home of the Staley’s, still stands, and a stone church that was erected more than a thousand years ago, is still being used for public worship. [New paragraph] The Staley family seemed to get on the wrong side of religion and politics many years ago in England, and they were forced to leave their country in order to save their lives. They went over to Holland and lived there quite a good many years, inter-marrying with the Holland Dutch. Later on, when the United States was first being settled, they chartered a sailing ship and came across the Atlantic into Chesapeake Bay, and up Chesapeake Bay into the Potomac river, to the heart of navigation, which was then around Harpers Ferry, Virginia. There they disembarked, settling around Frederick, Maryland, some going down the valley of Virginia, others migrating into Pennsylvania, and later some of them into New York State.’

SWITZERLAND STALEYS/MANY NAME SPELLINGS: Charles Thomas Stahle, still quoting A. E. Staley, p. 1-A.2: “‘The distributive effect of the large armies of the Crusades, with numerous wounded, sick and stragglers, moving across Europe and the near east, as well as, later, that of numerous small bodies of religious dissenters moving from place to place to escape persecution, would easily account for the large play of currents with the family name. Wherever it originated, our branch of the family [this is not yet proved as ours–he is talking about the John Jacob Staehly, b. 13 Feb 1695 in Schluctern, West Germany, RIN 288–shb] certainly reached Switzerland, and probably was composed of dissenters of one sort or another. By way of example: In Switzerland in the Palatinate in Germany, the Mennonites in religion and, especially perhaps, because they did ot believe in war or fighting, refused to bear arms. In earlier times, if they had moved to more tolerant countries, such as Holland, which many did, they would have had to forfeit their belongings, but in 1711 the Mennonites of Bern were offered free transportation down the Rhine, permission to sell their property, and to take their families with them, on condition that they pledged themselves never to return to Switzerland. [New paragraph] Their friends in Holland urged them to accept this offer and join them in Holland. The Dutch ambassador to Switzerland gave untiring help, and the exportation finally occurred. One of the first families to go was named Stahli. There is no indication of our ancestors’ religious belief, but they certainly traveled this route from Switzerland down the Rhine in 1683. They stopped off in the Palatinate, but things there were no better than in Switzerland, and their son finally came to America. The Swiss German name Stahli is supposed to come from Stahal or Stahel which are old forms of Stahl (that is “steel”). The old English version was Staveley. Take your pick! It was at about the time of the exportation of the Mennonites from Switzerland that the settlement f Lancaster County by the Swiss Mennonites began, and undoubtedly many of these early exportees were among those settlers. Names given by Muller (307FF) are identical with those of the Lancaster County Swiss. [New paragraph] On arriving in America, various circumstances such as the phonetic spelling of Philadelphia court clerks, anglicization, etc. caused the original name Stahli to be changed to Stehly, Staley, Stahl, Steele, etc. I have actually counted 49 different spellings in the early records. In the records of one church, the First Reformed Church of York, Penna., the name is spelled in 7 different ways in recording the 12 children of Sara Small Stahle. Some, at least, of the early Stahles in Lancaster County became Steeles. Rupp (Lancaster, page 238) states that, among those who settled in Lancaster County before 1735 were the Steeles, and when, in 1717, settlements were made on the banks of the Octororo in Lancaster County, one of William Grinson’s neighbors was named Steele. Rupp (Lancaster, page 117).” –shb 29 Mar 2000

EARLY STALEYS MENNONITES? “Mennonites’ Simple Lifestyle Attracts Positive Attention,” by William Hamblin and Daniel Peterson, Provo, Utah Daily Herald, page C8, May 1, 1999: “‘Among the existing heretical sects,’ wrote the Catholic scholar Franz Agricola in 1582, ‘there is none which in appearance leads a more modest, better, or more pious life than the Anabaptists. As concerns their outward public life, they are irreproachable: no lying, deception, swearing, harsh language; no intemperate eating and drinking; no outward personal display is found among them, but humility, patience, uprightness, meekness, honesty, temperance, straightforwardness in such measure that one would suppose they have the Holy Spirit of God.’ Few communities have earned such praise. [Note: See RIN 2873, Richard Kirby–an Anabaptist ninth great-grandfather. Dan and I enjoyed visiting the Mennonite Hist. Soc. and Museum in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, June 4, 1999 and there purchased an interesting book, Through Fire & Water, An Overview of Mennonite History, by Harry Loewen and Steven Nolt, with Carol Duerksen and Elwood Yoder (Scottsdale, Pennsylvania: Herald Press, 1996). –shb 9 Jun 1999]

Note: For another source of Mennonite research see notes of Peter Stahl, RIN 21768. –shb 9 Jun 1999

THOUSANDS MIGRATE: Historic Background and Annals of the Swiss and German Pioneer Settlers of South-Eastern Pennsylvania, and of Their Remote Ancestors, from the Middle of the Dark Ages, Down to the Time of the Revolutionary War, by H. Frank Eshleman (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1982), Preface: “Southeastern Pennsylvania, during our colonial period was the prolific hive from which the swarms of Swiss and German settlers of America almost exclusively came, who, during the latter years of that period and during the first several decades of our national existence, migrated westward and planted the seed of the Teutonic element of our population in the middle west, the southwest, the northwest and the far West, and whose descendants in our later decades have sprung from them by millions and have largely moulded the character of that vast empire, down to this day.” [Skip a paragraph]: “These Annals record the outlines of a history of religious fervor and of tenacity of noble purpose stretching across a thousand years, as glorious as anything else that ever happened in the history of the world. As early as the year 900, strong men began to stand out as champions of religious liberty and the simple Gospel, against the great Romish Church, the only Christian Church of note then on the earth. They held fast to the faith, through fire and against sword. About the year 1150, Peter Waldo renounced the Romish Church and led the Evangelical Christians; and by hundreds of thousands they adhered to him. They held the faith nearly four hundred years more and went like lambs to slaughter. Then came the Reformation. Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and Menno Simon, led the movement in the heart of Europe. [Next paragraph]: Menno held to the Waldenseon beliefs (and especially to the doctrine of non-resistance) and his followers became the prey of militant faiths both Romish and Reformed. But neither fire, nor sword, nor drowning, nor prison, nor the galleys could turn them from their conviction; and while Zurich and Berne and other cities exterminated, imprisoned and deported them, they multiplied; and they were found by thousands everywhere. They obtained governmental favor in Holland by the year 1575 and thus they beheld that golden glow in the west and gravitated there at the close of nearly 200 years of suffering, holding on to their faith in all its simple purity. [Next paragraph]: Then they learned of America and in the next half century not less than fifty thousand embarked to reach the glorious land of Penn. Nearly twenty thousand who thus embarked died at sea; the remainder reached their happy goal.”

STALEY MARTYRS, BERNE, SWITZERLAND: Eshleman (see above), p. 47: “1537–Berne Executions (Lancaster County and Pennsylvania Names): About this time among others the following people were executed for their faith, in and about Berne. In 1537 Bernard Waelti (now Welty)–John Sweitzer, Serf Hoffer, Ulrich Bichsel (now Bixler)–Barbara Willher (now Weiler)–Catherine Friedley, Berna Steli (now Sthely or Staley). In 1538 Peter Stecker, Ulrich Huber, Hans Willer or Weiler, Elizabeth Rupser or Rupp, Peter Bestmiller, Stephen Ricksecker and Rudolph Staley. In 1539 Lawrence Haberly, John Shumacker, Peter Unter–in 1543 Christian Oberlin, John Unter and Waldi or Waldo Garber. [Next paragraph]: Nearly all of these we recognize to be familiar Lancaster county and eastern Pennsylvania names of people living among us today; and our neighbors are no doubt relatives of these ancient martyrs for conscience sake. This shows again what a large number of our southeastern Pennsylvania families came from ancestry who 400 years ago lived in the mountains of Switzerland, before their later generations moved down the Rhine into the Palatinate. (Mueller, p. 78).” –shb 4 May 1999

DEPORTATION OF SWISS TO HOLLAND: Eshleman (see above), p. 187: “In the ship ‘Neuenburger’ were [many listed as Swiss arriving in HIolland–second column includes] also Jakob Stahli, husbandman, thirty-five years of age, of Hilterfingen, his wife, thirty-five years of age and one daughter; also Bevd. Stockli . . .[more listed]; also Peter Maier, shoemaker, of Siebenthal, htirty-eight years of age, Reformed”; p. 189: “1711–Swiss Leave Holland’s Shelter: The names of the heads of families and individual persons referred to above are: the families of Peter Lehner, Ulrich Roth, Jacob Stahli, Christ Stutzman, Niklaus Teuscher, Hans Tachabold, Peter Krahenbuhl, Hans Bauer,–and the single, Elsbeth Tachabold, settled at Saperneer. . . . in Vinklaus, Steffon Simon, with his family was located–the rest of the people were in and about Groningen, namely the families of Hans Meier, of Ulrich Frutiger [& etc.]”; p. 191: 1711 – Emigrants of 1711 Exodus Reach Lancaster County Eventually. We have in a previous article given a description of the transportation of the Berne Mennonites down the Rhine in 1711. Kuhns in his work (page 46), calls attention to the fact that the names of many of thosde Swiss emigrants are identical with our Lancaster County names and those who went down the Rhine in 1710 are identical with our Lancaster County prominent names also. Among them he mentioned Gerber, Gaumann, Schurch, Galli, Haldiman, Hurki, Roher . . . . Stahli, Rubi [& etc.].” –shb 4 May 1999

Hamblin/Peterson, continued: “The first ‘Anabaptists’ appeared in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1525, under the title ‘Swiss Brethren.’ That title, Greek for ‘rebaptizers,’ derived from their requirement of adult baptism and a serious covenant to forsake sin. (This, indeed, was the reason for their separation from the great Zurich reformer Zwingli.) Later, they were called ‘Mennonites,’ after a Dutch leader of the movement in the 1530s named ‘Menno Simons.’ They began to produce martyrs almost instantly. These heroes are still celebrated in ballads and recalled in a huge collection of stories, the Bloody Theater or Martyrs Mirror, published in 1660.

“Insisting on separation of church and state, Mennonites claimed that the leaders of the Reformation had not gone far enough to fix the problems of Christendom. Mennonites emphasize plain living, plain dress, and simple worship. They declare the Sermon on the Mount to be their creed. Most believe that the Bible forbids them to fight, swear oaths, sue one another, or hold public offices involving the use of force. They teach that Christ’s forgiveness of sins is inseparably connected with choosing to live rightly, even under suffering. Much less militant or confrontational than certain other forms of modern Protestantism, they feel called to quietly model the ways of peace. (The ‘Quakers,’ or Society of Friends, came to the same conclusion a century later.) Today, they are noted for their care for the aged, orphans, the sick, and the poor, as well as for those injured in wars and natural disasters.

“Although they rejected the hierarchical structure of the Catholic church–they still call one another ‘brother’ and ‘sister’ and avoid titles like ‘reverend’–Mennonites were actually closer on two vital points to catholicism than to Martin Luther. First, they expected good works of believers, and did not see that as denying God’s grace. One early Swiss writer reported that the Mennonites stressed the importance of good works even more than the catholics did. For this, they were accused again and again of trying to earn their way into heaven; they were labeled ‘work-saints’ and ‘heaven-stormers.’ Second, they believed strongly in missionary work, whereas, since Europe was already nominally Christian, Lutheran theologians de-emphasized the need for conversion. (Virtually every European had received infant baptism). ‘The church,’ one Mennonite writer says, ‘is the body of those who have been converted and have turned from sin to Christ, and in whom the spirit of God dwells. The church is not officers, boards, committees, and other structures.’ Accordingly, for Mennonites, no infant could be a member of the church, since no infant was capable of the conscious decision required for such membership.

“But Mennonites stressed the importance of the church, of Christians banding together to live in community, believing that only thus could they approach the kind of life they were called to live. (Some following John 13, even wash one another’s feet as an emblem of mutual service.)

“Fiercely persecuted, the Dutch Mennonites moved to northern Germany and Prussia in the 1600s and then fled to the Ukraine in the following century. In 1874, they moved again to Canada and the American Midwest. The Swiss Mennonites [I think this may have been our Staleys, Staehles, or Stahelis?–shb) settled in southern Germany and France, but accepted William Penn’s offer of religious liberty and moved to Pennsylvania in 1683. Decentralized church structure and enforced geographical dispersion, among other things, fractured the Mennonites into various groups, including the Amish and the so-called ‘Pennsylvania Dutch’ (who take the notion of ‘plain living’ to picturesque lengths that are not characteristic of most factions). There are, today, about 400,000 Mennonites, of whom roughly 320,000 live in North America. However, their service as missionaries and relief workers has begun to create a worldwide following. (William Hamblin is a professor of history [who now lives in Jerusalem near where our son Daniel H. Bartholomew lived before D. found a new apartment–they see each other in the Jerusalem LDS Branch all the time–shb, May ’99] and Daniel C. Peterson is a professor of Near Eastern languages at Brigham Young University.)” –shb 4 May 1999

1743–PETER JR. MARRIED AT AGE 77 TO SALLY RANSBOTTOM? [NO: This was, per Katherine Staley, the m. of Peter’s nephew Peter, son of Melchior. I leave the following discussion, to show some of the considerations before I learned that Melchior had a son Peter. –shb 29 Mar 2000] History of Allen County, Ohio (Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co., 1885), p. 269: “1843 – April.–by Rev. Abraham Doan, Peter Staley to Sally Ransbottom.” Interestingly, a Wm. Staley m. Eliza Whiteherst in the same county, in February of the same year–a brother of Peter? If this marriage to Sally Ransbottom applies to Peter II (RIN 50)’s father Peter I, the elder Peter would have been 77 years old. This marriage might apply to a first marriage of RIN 50’s son Peter III (RIN 460), who would have only been age 16 (this is not improbable, since the Germans often married young, and since Peter Jr.’s mother Hannah died the next year, there is a chance that Peter anticipated her death and felt a need to establish a family, in order to help his father on the farm, since he was oldest son and his next siblings (that we have been able to find) were our ancestress Elizabeth, age 15 when her mother died, and Eunice, age 7. At first I thought the Elizabeth in the 1850 census, aged 19, so b. abt 1831, was a daughter of RIN 50, Peter Staley–but it turns out that this Peter’s dau. Elizabeth (our ancestress) was m. 1849 to Henry Hall and lived nearby. The Elizabeth listed in the household of widower Peter Staley II, RIN 50, and right under his son Peter III (RIN 460, then age 23), was not Peter II’s daughter, but Elizabeth, wife of Peter III, who was only 19 years old, as a young bride, in 1850, when they lived with Peter III’s widower father, Peter II. The 1840 Census lists Peter I as age 70-80 and married to someone aged 60-70, so this wife would have had to have died between 1840-1843. This marriage might also have applied to some other Peter Staley in the county–bears additional verification, so for now I am entering this marriage of a Peter and Sally separately and unconnected to our Peter Staleys. –shb 19 Aug 1999

SOURCES: References listed for information provided on this family group record by Katherine Staley are given as follows: Pickaway Co., Ohio marriages, “Allen Co., Ohio History” book, Allen Co., Ohio Courthouse records, original Jackson Twp. land records, Ohio census and cemetery records. –shb 3 May 2000