52 Ancestors, week 43 writing prompt is dig a little a deeper. When looking at my Stafford ancestors, and digging much deeper, I came upon mistakes and a major correction that needed to be made on who exactly was the root Stafford ancestor. I had noticed that in my Stafford lines, all the DNA descendants were mostly from my direct line with a handful from a known sibling of my ancestor. Although it made for a family line having a large amount of known DNA descendants that I shared, I realized there may be an error in exactly who is the root Stafford ancestor, and after correcting it, it became a line with even more shared DNA matches and descendants.

Also, you will notice how very important it is to truly study hints and record matches provided on Ancestry.com and other genealogical sites, to make sure it is truly a record tied to your ancestor(s).

My 4th great-grandmother is Mary Ellen Stafford, she married Peleg Rogers. You may discover more about him and my Rogers ancestors here. She is pictured above with her granddaughter, my 2nd great-grandmother, Cynthia Ann Barrett Doughty. I looked back on the research of my Father’s 1st cousin Ruby, who completed invaluable research on our shared lines, much of it before the invention of the Internet. I noticed she did not identify her parentage, only lists Unknown Stafford as the father, so she could link her known siblings. Then I noticed that many later on decided to link her as the daughter of an Arthur or Charles Arthur or Charles Arthur Gorden Stafford, most listing him born in Nottinghamshire, England. Where the name Arthur or Gorden came from I have no idea, I think I came upon a military record from the 20th century that included the name Charles/Arthur Gorden Stafford, which obviously has no connection to a man living in the 18th century. But Ancestry will give record suggestions like this one that you have to be careful it is actually a correct link, and the correct time period. Some link it to a Charles Stafford who’s found in a baptism record in England (not in Nottinghamshire), but there is no proof of any connection to this Charles Stafford, and none is provided. Some also list her father as a Samuel Stafford, the reason why is to be found in who they list as her mother. They list her mother as Nancy, most often as Nancy Hastings. A Samuel Stafford and a Nancy Hastings, who were Quakers, did marry, but they are not the right ages, they are more the age of Mary Ellen’s generation, they also do not live anywhere near where she was born or later lived.

I could find no other records or reasons as to why they decided to link up my Mary Ellen Stafford as a child of Arthur/Charles Arthur/Charles Arthur Gorden Stafford and Nancy ____/Nancy Hastings or Samuel Stafford and Nancy Hastings.

So, I decided to see what DNA had to say and also, I looked at the few trees that listed some of the known proven siblings of my Mary Ellen Stafford, but gave a different parentage. These few trees listed their parents as Zorababel Stafford and Elizabeth Smith. This led to me spend some days researching this possible link to my line.

My research into family naming patterns as well as DNA, did show that my Mary Ellen Stafford was the daughter of Zorababel Stafford, and the granddaughter of Henry Stafford and his wife Elizabeth _____. Zorababel was married to a woman named Elizabeth Smith. She appears to have been his 2nd wife and the mother of his later born children. The date of birth of Elizabeth is based on the 1850 census where she is listed as aged 70, born about 1780. DNA has strongly suggested his first wife’s maiden name was Hester / Esther McLin, the daughter of Hugh McLin and Charity ____. She is not listed in the will of her father. He made his will in November 1800, and she died prior to this date. She died after March 1796 and before 1798 in what is now Lee County, Virginia. My guess is she may have died in childbirth or of complications after the birth of her son Dr. James Stafford.

Lee County was the final front on the Kentucky Trace, now known as the Wilderness Road and The Trail of the Lonesome Pine. During the 1780s and 1790s, fortified buildings called “stations” were built along the trail for shelter from Indian raids as the settlers followed Daniel Boone’s path into the Kentucky frontier. Lee County was founded on 25 October 1792.

I am a DNA match to numerous descendants of Zorababel’s children. His name was based on the Biblical name Zerubbabel, but he spelled it Zorababel. Zorababel is the Greek form of the name Zerubbabel. I also am a DNA match to the McLin family and their descendants.

His daughter Anna “Ann” Stafford (who married Benjamin F. Davis) named a son Zerubabel Davis. I have several DNA matches to the descendants of Ann Stafford Davis, as well as the fact that she lived in Washington Court House, Fayette, Ohio, near my ancestor Mary Ellen Stafford Rogers. She also named a daughter Hester/Esther after her mother. She is a proven sibling.

His son Young Stafford (who married Mary “Polly” Heath) named a son Zorobabel “Babel” Stafford. Young Stafford is a proven sibling of my Mary Ellen Stafford Rogers, he also lived in Fayette County, Ohio.

His proven son Dr. James Stafford (who married Susan Ward) also named a son Zorababel Stafford. He did not come to Ohio, but I do have a DNA connection to his descendants. He named a daughter Hency (Hester).

Even though my ancestor Mary Ellen Stafford Rogers did not name any of her known children Zorababel, the name was passed down to her grandson Zora Babel Rogers. She did name a daughter Hester/Esther after her mother.

Siblings Ann, Mary Ellen, John, and Dr. James all named daughters Hester/Esther after their mother, and Dr. James named a son McLin.

Children of Zorababel Stafford and first wife Hester / Esther McLin:

1. Anna “Ann” Stafford born about 1784 in Virginia, and died 27 August 1854 in Washington Court House, Fayette County, Ohio. She married 15 March 1801 in Rowan, North Carolina, to Benjamin F. Davis. (I have several DNA matches to their descendants).
2. Mary Ellen Stafford born about 1786 in North Carolina, and died 1867 in Edgar, Edgar County, Illinois, she married 26 July 1806 Highland City, Highland County, Ohio, to Peleg Rogers (the son of Shadrach Rogers). They are my 5th great-grandparents.
3. Charles Stafford born 15 July 1788 in North Carolina, and died 16 September 1866 in Fayette County, Ohio, he married 23 January 1808 in Highland City, Highland County, Ohio, to Nancy Ann Leverton. (I have DNA matches to their descendants).
4. Young Stafford born about 1789 in North Carolina, and died after 1861 in Fayette County, Ohio. He married Mary “Polly” Heath on 6 October 1818 in Fayette County, Ohio. He lists in the census he was born in South Carolina; I believe he was mistaken, or the census taker made a mistake. (I have DNA matches to their descendants).
5. John Stafford born about 1790 in Lee County, Virginia, and died 1840 in Overton, Tennessee, he married Keziah ___.
6. Dr. James Stafford born 6 March 1796 in Lee County, Virginia, and died 13 March 1853 in Bloomfield, Stoddard, Missouri, he married Susan Ward about 1816 in Kentucky. Many link him as being from the 2nd marriage, although that would make Elizabeth 15 when she got pregnant and 16 when she gave birth, not impossible, but I believe he was from the first marriage. He named his last child McLin Bennett “Mack” Stafford. (I have DNA matches to their descendants).

The next known child of Zorabable Stafford was Isaac Stafford and not born until 1800. But we know Isaac Stafford was from the 2nd marriage and that his mother was Elizabeth Smith. She is found living with her son Issac Stafford and his family in the 1850 census for Pike, Stoddard County, Missouri.

Children of Zorababel Stafford and 2nd wife Elizabeth Smith:

1. Isaac Stafford born 1800 in Virginia, and died 1880 in Bloomfield, Stoddard County, Missouri, he married about 1828 in Tennessee to Susan ____.
2. Robert William Stafford born 18 December 1801 in North Carolina, and died 13 December 1880 in Clarinda, Page County, Iowa, he married in Tennessee to Sarah ____.
3. William Nathan Stafford born 1803 in Overton County, Tennessee, and died 5 June 1854 in Weakley/Carroll Tennessee, he married in Tennessee to Phoebe “Pheby” Carter. (I have DNA matches to their descendants).
4. Susan Stafford born about 1804.
5. Elizabeth Annice “Annie” Stafford born 1806 in Tennessee, and died 1849 in Mansfield, Wright County, Missouri. She married Auburn “Albin” Davis. (I have DNA matches to their descendants).
6. Joab Arwin Stafford born 9 May 1808 in Cumberland County, Kentucky, and died 14 January 1853 in Trezevant, Carroll, Tennessee, he married Nancy Ezell Quinn. (I have DNA matches to their descendants).
7. Sarah Stafford born about 1809.
8. Henry Stafford born about 1810 in Overton County, Tennessee, and died 20 September 1864 in Bloomfield, Stoddard Missouri, he married about 1831 to Margret Singleton. (I have DNA matches to their descendants).

His children were born in Virgina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky! All over the map! A bit of information about where Zorababel Stafford lived:

Prior to 1807 he lived in Virginia and North Carolina, and it’s thought they migrated by 1807 to Kentucky, but he was in Tennessee by 1830, although some of his younger children list their place of birth as Tennessee as early as 1803. Zorababel and his brother Nathan settled for a time near their sisters in Rowan and Guilford Counties, North Carolina. In 1784, Zorababel Stafford obtained 170 acres of land in Rowan County, North Carolina, which is adjacent to Guilford County. In 1787, Zorababel and Nathan are listed as insolvent in records in Guilford County, North Carolina.

Some of the Stafford family migrated from North Carolina to Tennessee and Kentucky.

Charles and Young Stafford were among the very first settlers in Fayette County, Ohio, arriving in 1800. They were emigrants from North Carolina.  Ann Stafford with her husband Benjamin Davis also migrated to Ohio, we know they were still in North Carolina in 1802, but by October 1804 they were in Ohio. Mary Ellen Stafford Rogers also migrated with some of her siblings from North Carolina to Ohio. Some of the family eventually migrated to Iowa.

Brothers Charles and Young Stafford arrived in Fayette County at a time when the area was still largely a wilderness, primarily inhabited by Native Americans and wolves. They were noted hunters and known for their hunting skills. Both participated in the War of 1812. They both raised large families.

One of Charles’ sons, Charles Stafford Jr., continued to live in Fayette County. Charles Stafford had five sons (Robinson, Solomon, Waymon, Stephen, and Charles Jr.) who became farmers, millers, etc. He also had five daughters (Rachel, Rebecca, Nancy, Jane, and Hannah), all of whom married. At least two of Charles’ daughters, Jane and Rebecca, were living near Stanton in Fayette County as of 1872.

The rest of the Stafford family, after migrating from North Carolina to Tennessee and Kentucky stayed in Tennessee, with some eventually migrating to Missouri.

Regarding the parentage of Zorababel Stafford. He was born about 1756 in Delaware. He was the son of Henry Stafford and Elizabeth ____. Some list Elizabeth’s maiden name as Cook, based on a totally unrelated baptism record in England. Her maiden name is unproven. Her first name is proven as she is listed by name in the will of her husband. Their children are also listed in his will found in Sussex County, Delaware.

Some list Henry Stafford as Henry Nathaniel Stafford, this is based on a totally unrelated baptism record in England. He is listed by only the name Henry Stafford in confirmed records in the USA.

In his will, which was made on 21 May 1776, he is listed as Henry Stafford, Planter. The will was probated on 11 July 1776. His wife Elizabeth Stafford is listed as executor. Heirs listed are his wife, Elizabeth; and his sons Henry, Levi, Nathan, Zarobabel, Zadoc, and Roberton Stafford; daughters Elizabeth, Rachel, Lovey, and Delight Stafford, and Mary Pegg. The witnesses are Robert Clarkson, James Cooper, and Valentine Hager.

Stafford is an English surname. Henry Stafford may have been born in Delaware or Maryland, but his parentage is unproven.

McLin is an Irish surname, which is a variant of McGlynn. Macklin/MacKlin are surnames derived from the Irish Mac Giolla Eóin, which means son of the servant of Saint John. The McLin families that I have a DNA connection with were living in the Carolinas and Virginia, and some were originally from County Antrim, Ireland. The surname also has origins as a Scottish surname from the western coast of Scotland and the Hebrides islands. in this case the surname has the same meaning as in Irish, and it is derived from a devotion to St. John and is related to the surnames MacLean and MacLain.

Hester / Esther McLin married Zorababel Stafford about 1783 in Guilford County or Rowan County, North Carolina. Rowan County is adjacent to Guilford County, where Zorababel had land in 1784. Her brother Hugh McKlin/McLin, Jr., married 10 November 1783 in Guildford County to Elenor Jane Pickens. Some of her 1st cousins also married around this time frame in Guilford, North Carolina. She was the daughter of Hugh McLin and Charity ____. Hugh McLin is thought to have been born in Ireland about 1740, he died 1818 in Abbeville, Abbeville County, South Carolina. The family may be related to the Macklins of Lisburn, County Down, Northern Ireland and also of County Donegal, Ireland. He is thought to be the son of David McLin/Macklin. The maiden name of his wife Charity is unknown, some give her the maiden name of Wilson, but with no documentation or proof as to why they are giving her that name.

Dr. James Stafford in addition to naming his youngest son Mclin Bennett “Mack” Stafford, he also named other sons Larkin Milton Stafford, Jefferson Knight Stafford, Anderson Haywood Stafford, and James Milford G. Stafford. We know that his wife Susan Ward was the daughter of Elijah Ward. Nothing more is known about her father Elijah Ward or his parentage, the name of her mother is unknown. Some of the sons that were given surnames as first names could be in honor of her unknown named mother’s maiden name.

I have Larkin ancestors in my paternal tree but only ancestors that were living in County Clare, Ireland and never came to the USA and this is more recent ancestry. I did not find a strong DNA connection to Larkin families living in Colonial Virginia, or the Carolinas, etc. Bennett is a much more common surname, although I have DNA matches with the surname Bennett in their trees, there was no clear connection to my Stafford lines, same with the surnames Knight, Anderson, Milford, and Haywood.

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