THE STOCKTON FAMILY TREE

 

        Our LAREW side of the family is also descended from the Colonial family of STOCKTON from New Jersey.  My grandmother, Helen Esther VANHOOSER LAREW, was the daughter of Orlena America STOCKTON (1865-1955).  (Do any of my older relatives remember Orlena’s passing in 1955?  I’m sure it was hard on our grandmother Helen and her siblings.)  

The STOCKTON family has been in America since Richard STOCKTON, Sr.  (1630-1707) arrived in about 1656, landing on Long Island, New York, along with his son Richard II (1654-1709), from whom my STOCKTON lineage can be traced.  By 1692 they were residing in Burlington County, New Jersey.  Since there is a 20-year gap between the birth of his son Richard II in England, and his first child born in New Jersey, it is reasonable to assume that Richard, Sr. was a widower.  He and his wife Abigail had seven children born to them in New Jersey.

Richard II married a widow, Susanna WITHAM ROBINSON (? - ?), widow of Thomas ROBINSON (? - ?).  Richard II and Susanna had six children that I know of, all boys; we are descended from their third child, Joseph (1697-1770).  In 1701, Richard II purchased an estate of 6000 acres from William Penn, part of which became the city of Princeton, New Jersey. 

The mansion is described in the book “A History of the Stockton Family, 1881” by J.W. STOCKTON, written some 200 years after the first emigrant left England: 

    “The mansion is a two-story brick structure, and consists of a main
        building, with a portico over the entrance, and two wings, and contains
        in all fifteen rooms.  The parlor and dining-room are on the first floor
        of the main building.  The withdrawing-room and library are on the
        first floor of the right wing.  The kitchens are on the first floor of the
        left wing.  The second floor of the entire structure is divided into
        sleeping apartments.  The surrounding grounds possess great beauty.” 

The fifth son of Richard II and Susanna, John (1701-1787), became the father of probably the most prestigious individual bearing the STOCKTON name in America.  His son, also named Richard (1730-1781), was a Signer of the Declaration of Independence from New Jersey.  Since we are descended from John’s brother Joseph, that makes Richard the Signer our 1^st cousin 7x removed.  It is undoubtedly due to Richard the Signer that we know so much about the history of the STOCKTON name. 

In his book, J.W. STOCKTON writes that it was the wife of Richard the Signer, Annis “Amelia” BOUDINOT (1736-1801) – daughter of another Signer, Elias BOUDINOT (1740-1821) – who gave the mansion the name “Morven.”  Although the house was burned during the Revolutionary War, and the vast library destroyed, the house still stands and is now a museum.  (See www.morven.org)    

Julia STOCKTON (1759-1848), the daughter of Richard the Signer, married Dr. Benjamin RUSH (1745-1813) who was the only physician to sign the Declaration of Independence.  Rush-Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago, Illinois was named for Dr. Rush.  I’m not sure if there is any other family that can boast three signers of the Declaration of Independence in their extended family tree! 

         Another Stockton went on to play prominent roles in American history;       Stockton, California is named for Robert Field “The Commodore” STOCKTON (1795-1866), grandson of Richard the Signer.  He was instrumental in the deal with Mexico that made California part of the United States.

Commodore Robert Field STOCKTON, 1840

As I stated, our line is descended from Joseph (1697-1770), the third child of Richard II and Susanna STOCKTON.

Joseph STOCKTON and Elizabeth DOUGHTY (? – ?) were married in 1726 and had 8 children; we are descended from their firstborn, Daniel STOCKTON (1727-1804), who moved from New Jersey to Stokes County, North Carolina.  He married Mary CLAYTON (1735-1818); they were Quakers.  Daniel and Mary had 8 children.

We are descended from their fifth child, Clayton STOCKTON (1768-1858).  He married Nancy PATTON (1770-1855).  They had 11 children.  Clayton STOCKTON’s father Daniel died in 1804.  In his will, Daniel designated his wife, Mary, and a friend, Joseph Mendenhall, as executors.  My dad told me that Mendenhall somehow cheated Mary out of her inheritance, and that this made her son Clayton so angry he went to his mother and told her he had no choice: "I must get out of North Carolina and go so far I will never see Joseph MENDENHALL again, or I am going to kill him." She said, "I know when you leave, I will never see you again, but you must go far away." 

Clayton did indeed leave Stokes County, North Carolina; he is found in Wayne County, Kentucky, about 350 miles west of Stokes County, NC in the 1810 census, and by 1825 Clayton had moved another 112 miles south of Wayne County, KY to Rhea County, Tennessee.  He was still living in Rhea County five years later when the 1830 census was taken.  He is found in Polk County, Missouri in the 1840 census and then in Dade County in the 1850 census.  Clayton does appear to be the first Stockton in Missouri.  He and Nancy are buried in the Stockton Cemetery. 

 

Clayton & Nancy STOCKTON graves, Stockton Cemetery

         Daniel Morgan STOCKTON (1793-1855) was the second child and firstborn son of Clayton and Nancy.  He married Sarah Goodnight MC GOWAN (1793-bet.1860-1870) in 1815, in Wayne County, Kentucky.  There are many accounts stating that Sarah Goodnight McGowan was a Cherokee Indian, and in the photo that identifies her, she does indeed look Native American.  However, as an Historian by degree and Genealogist by hobby, I need proof. Unfortunately, the proof has not show itself yet, so I have hired a professional genealogist to try to prove or disprove the claim. 

Daniel and Sarah’s son, Andrew Jackson STOCKTON (1832-1902) married Martha RAGAN (1831-1896).  I find it interesting that the son of a Native American, particularly a Cherokee, would be named for President Andrew Jackson whom many present-day writers consider a racist and who is largely blamed for the Trail of Tears.  Martha is found in the household of Andrew’s parents, Daniel and Sarah, in the 1850 Federal Census; she is listed as 19 years old, but no relationship to the head of the family is listed.  Family lore says she was a servant in the Stockton household.  Andrew and Martha were married in 1851 and had nine children.  We are descended from their sixth child, Orlena America. 

When the Civil War broke out, Andrew answered the call and served in Company E, 76^th Missouri Infantry.  He served from August, 1862 to March, 1863, and again June, 1864 to October, 1864.  He filed for a pension as an Invalid in July of 1890.  I was told years ago that Andrew’s Civil War bullet mold was in the possession of his grandson, Hugh VANHOOSER (1894-1976); I have no idea where that Civil War artifact is today! 

My great-grandmother Orlena America STOCKTON (1865-1955) was widowed four times!  Her first husband was Thomas D. KIMBLER (1861-1883); they had one child, Perry, who died in infancy.  I can’t imagine her heartache at the tender age of 18 to be both a grieving widow and mother.  Her second husband was Clayborn Samson VANHOOSER (1859-1899); they were married in 1888.  The had six children: Ethel Belle (1889-1989), Harry Homer (1891-?), Helen Esther (1893-1987), Hugh Elbert (1894-1976), Martha Golden (1896-1962) and Ralph Clayborn (1898-1992).  Clayborn was 39 years old when he died of pneumonia (as told to me by Ralph’s daughter Helene LAKE).  His oldest child, Ethel, was 2 months shy of her 10^th birthday and his youngest child, Ralph, was 3 months from his 1^st birthday.  Orlena married a third time, to Benjamin O’KELLEY in 1926.  He died in 1940, and she married Alfred James CARTER.  My mother Mildred met Orlena and Alfred when she and my dad Kermit visited Missouri after Dad returned home from World War II.

         My grandmother was Helen Esther VANHOOSER (1893-1987), she was the third child of Clayborn and Orlena.  See more about her in My Larew Family Tree post. 

 

Mildred & Kermit LAREW, Orlena & Alfred CARTER, 1945

 

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