William Stoughton
From MouserAncestry
William Stoughton was born about 1742 - 1745 in New York. He moved to New Jersey where in about 1770 he married "a Voorhees woman" who was also originally from New York. He was in the Revolutionar War, serving with troops from New Jersey. William and his wife had nine children, all born in New Jersey.
The older children were of marriageable age before the family left New Jersey. The oldest son, William Stoughton Jr., possibly married and stayed behind in New Jersey when the family migrated westward, as he has not been found in the records.
In about 1795, second son John Stoughton married Catherine Covert, the Coverts also a New Jersey family,but the marriage probably took place in the Lewisburg PA area, as the Covert family had lived there since 1790.
The William Stougnton family also resided for a time in Lewisburg (then in Northumberland County, now in Union County). 'William Stotan' is recorded as an inhabitant of West Buffalo Twp. in 1796.
The Stoughtons continued west in 1802 to Butler County, and by 1804 were in Middlesex Township. Members of the Voorhees family also migrated westward to Butler County, part of a migration of old English and Dutch families of New England, moving westward in search of land for their growing families. These included the Stoughton, Covert, Wigton, Vorhees, & VanZandt families.
William was a farmer, and a shoemaker, as was his grandson Barnard VanZant Stoughton. William died without a will in April of 1822, and an inquest of sudden death was held. Families besides Stoughton mentioned in his estate settlement were Timblin, Gilgrist, Badger, Thompson and Rose. Some of these names are possibly his sons-in-law.
(Click here for complete biography & Stoughton name background)
| Date | Location | Notes | Sources | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth | 3 Oct 1742 | New York, NY | [12] | |
| Marriage | ~1770 | NJ | To unknown Vorhees of Albany, NY of Dutch descent |
[12] |
| Military | Revolutionary War incl. Battle of Monmouth |
served w/ Washington | [12][14] | |
| Death | 1 Apr 1822 | Elora, Muddy Creek Twp., Butler County, PA | [3] |
Ancestry chart segment
Generation 7 Generation 8 Generation 9
+-- Timothy Stoughton
| (1703-????)
+-- William Stoughton --+
| (1742-1822) |
John Stoughton --+ +-- [unknown]
(1773-1833) | (????-????)
+-- [unknown] Vorhees
(????-????)
Sources: [7]
Children
(all children with [unknown] Vorhees)
| Name | Gender | Date of Birth | Birthplace | Spouse | Notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Stoughton, Jr. | M | ~1771 | NJ | [7][12] | ||
| John Stoughton | M | ~1773 | NJ | Catherine Covert | Direct line | [7][12] |
| Andrew Stoughton | M | 1780 | NJ | Rebecca [unknown] | [2][7][12] | |
| James Stoughton | M | ~1782 | NJ | [7][12] | ||
| Euphemia "Effie" Stoughton | F | 1785 | NJ | Jacob Rose | [2][7][12] | |
| Delilah Stoughton | F | 1787 | NJ | [7][12] | ||
| Sarah Stoughton | F | ~1790 | NJ | Joseph, Edward, or John Timblin? | [2][3][7][9][12] | |
| Ann Stoughton | F | ~1793 | NJ | Joseph, Edward, or John Timblin? | [2][7][9][12] | |
| Samuel Stoughton | M | 27 Aug 1795 "youngest" of children |
NJ | 1) Isabel [unknown] 2) Catherine McCune |
[7][12] |
Places of Residence
| Location | Dates | Notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | birth | [7][12] | |
| New Jersey | after Rev. War | married in NJ | [12] |
| West Buffalo Twp., Northumberland Co. PA, (Lewisburg PA area, present day Union Co.) |
by 1796 | [1A][12] [15] | |
| Butler Co. PA | 1802/1806 | [6][12] | |
| Center Twp, Butler Co, PA | by 1810 - 1822 | [1][3] | |
| possibly Clay Twp, Butler Co, PA | [11] |
Sources
| Ref. Num. | Description | Image of original | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1A | 1800 United States Federal Census, West Buffalo Twp., Northumberland Co. PA (now Union Co.), ancestry.com pg. 6. John Stotin household: 1 male under age 10, 1 male age 16-26, 1 female age16-26. William Stotin household: 2 males under age 10, 2 males age 16-26, 1 male 45 or over, 3 females 10-16, 1 female 16-26, 1 female 45 or over. |
 | |
| 1 | 1810 United States Federal Census, Center Twp, Butler Co, PA Page 2. Census is not dated. Lists family headed by W. Stoughton: 1 male 10-15, 1 male 16-25, 1 male >45, 1 female 26-44. Families headed by J. Stoughton, J. Timblin, and T. (or J.) Timblin also on page. May correspond to above William Stoughton, age 68, son Samuel age 15, son James ~28. All daughters are absent; youngest would be 17. The census does not appear to be for his son William, age 39 in 1810. |
 | |
| 2 | Estate File of William Stoughton, "Vendue paper", (this title implying a public auction), names Sally Timblin, Joseph Timblin, (Alexander) Gilgrist, Esther Badger, Ann Timblin, Andrew Stoughton, William Thompson, Jacob Rose, Edward Timblin, John Timblin,as recipients or purchasers of listed items, along with their value. |   (Transcript, Wm. Stoughton Estate 1822) | |
| 3 | Inquest re. sudden death of William Stoughton filed 4 Apr. 1822, Center Twp., Butler Co. PA. Document lists bill of costs of David Shannon, corroner, for inquest performed on 3 April 1822; William Campbell Prothonotary; John Coovert for making coffin; and John Timblin, administrator of the estate.
|
  (Transcription, Inquest papers, Wm. Stoughton) | |
| 4 | 1803 Tax List Middlesex Twp., Butler Co. PA: William Stoughton, 400 Acres, 2 cows, 2 horses or oxen, Valuation 360, Tax 1.08. 1895 History of Butler Co.PA, p. 58 | ||
| 5 | 1895 History of Butler Co., Brown & Co., p. 614 Chapter 59 Brady Township: "The development of coal deposits at Coaltown, begun some years ago ... the coal banks on the Hines, Boyd and Douglass, William Badger, William Stoughton and Louis Martsolf lands, and the old Cornelius, D.K. Graham and James Martin banks, now abandoned, are well known as fuel suppliers of the past and present. | ||
| 6 | Early Settlers of Butler County, PA. 1800-1806 ed. John F. Gall & David K. Webb. Chillicothe, OH 1934, p.4 Early Settlers - a list of names appearing in early Butler County records indicating residence: Stouton, Wm. 1806. | ||
| 8 | Personal correspondence from Elizabeth Wilson Williams, gr-granddaughter of Elizabeth A. Stoughton. | ||
| 9 | Deeds transactions of John Stoughton in which John Timblin serves as a witness. |  (Transcript)  (Transcript) | |
| 10 | Stoughton Family Genealogy and History research manuscript by Burke Stoughton, Apollo, PA, May-October 1996; G929.2 Butler Area Public Library, Butler, PA. (This source erroneously lists the father of the children on this page to be John Walker Stoughton (1767-1833), descended from a Jonathon Stoughton, Timothy Stoughton etc. family from E. Windsor, CT.) Notification by email Jan 2008 from the author, Burke Stoughton, indicates that the name John Walker Stoughton was erroneous, and that no connection to the Connecticut Stoughtons is presently known to us. He does however believe that such connection does exist. Burke Stoughton cautions that his now outdated publication at Butler Library should be used with caution, as it contains several errors. Samuel Stoughton, for example, was the son of William Stoughton(1745-1823) (not John Walker Stoughton), and was a brother of John W. Stoughton. Samuel Stoughton names a brother Andrew as an executor of his will. This Samuel Stoughton's 2nd wife's name was Catherine McCune, and would be the Catherine mentioned in his will. Burke Stoughton's research forward from this point (ie. the Stoughton family in Butler Co. PA) agrees with our findings and he has useful additions. He lists families co-migrating to western PA as Covert, Wigton, Van Zandt and Vorhees. For the children of John W. Stoughton he lists: Luke (died 1838/39), married Margaret unknown, resided Muddy Creek; his will mentions 6 minor children age 1-16. Andrew (born 1802); John (born 1805); Barnard (born 1817); Jacob (died ~1841); Euphama married unknown Logan; Hannah (died ~1845); Jane. We are in communication with Burke Stoughton, and anticipate additional new documentation per his research of this family. | ||
| 11 | Genealogical and Personal History of Western Pennsylvania, Vol. 3, ed. John W. Jordan, 1840-1921, pg. 1272-1274. John and Catherine (Covert) Stoughton, both born in Pennsylvania. Mrs. Stoughton was of Holland descent, her mother's maiden name being Van Zant, a family that had settled on Manhattan Island, New York. Mr. Stoughton was of English decent, became a farmer, and owned three hundred and fifty acres of land, in three farms. Mr. and Mrs. Stoughton had children: William, a farmer, lived in Clay township; Luke, a farmer in Worth township, was in active service in the war of 1812; Andrew, a wealthy and prosperous farmer of Clay township; Jacob, a farmer, who died unmarried; John, also a participant in the war of 1812, lived on a part of the homestead, and married Nancy Boyle; Barnard, a farmer, died in Kansas; Jane, who married Mr. Boyle, as above stated; Hannah, married John Patterson, and lived in Worth township; Effie, married Robert Logan, a farmer, who was killed during the Civil War; Polly, died young. | ||
| 12 | History of the Stoughton Family, written out by Eva Coulter Conlan from information given her by Nancy Stoughton Patterson at her home in Lawrence Co., PA, date unknown. Manuscript not published; now owned by Holly K. Anderson. (Family source: the introductory text on RootsWeb implies that Nancy Stoughton Patterson's great-grandfather was William Stoughton, born 1742-1743). See text at right). |
History of the Stoughton Family by Eva Coulter Conlan | |
| 14 | 20th Century History of New Castle and Lawrence County Pennsylvania and Representative Citizens, by Hon. Aaron L. Hazen, Richmond-Arnold Publishing Company, Chicago, Ill., 1908, pg. 939. William E. Patterson, grocer & resident of New Castle since 1894, was born Butler Co. PA in 1850. His grandfather Thomas Petterson and his maternal great-grandfather both served in the Revolutionary War. His mother was Hannah Stoughton, descendant of New England settlers including Dutch settlers of Manhattan. |
(See complete text) | |
| 15 | Annals of Buffalo Valley, 1755-1855 by L. S. Hart, 1877, publ Harrisburg, PA, pg 304. See weblink: http://books.google.com/books?id=i5WeW5vIwlQC&pg=PA304&lpg=PA304&dq=ANNALS+of+BUFFALO+VALLEY+PENNSYLVANIA+%2Bstotan&source=bl&ots=d7TECrm9yt&sig=svmQbPsW6Uh8O8mMJKBsdsAffzg&hl=en
| ||
| 16 | Revolutionary War Record of William Stoten from U.S. Compiled Revolutionary War Military Service Records, 1775-1783 collection of Ancestry.com, p. 644, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1309/images/MIUSA1775C_116878-00644?pId=200160, noted to us by J. Voltz, Aug. 2021. Private Wm. Stoten served in Capt. John Sebring's Co. of Somerset (NJ) Militia of Col. Frelinghuysen's Battalion in General Lincoln's Brigade, stationed at Middle Brook. He appears on the company payroll from April 1 to May 1, 1777 for 15 days, at "1/8 pay" per day, for a total of 1 Pound 5 shilling. |
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Source notes
- Source 1A. In the 1800 census for the William Stotin family, 1st son William is not found; 2nd son John with wife Catherine and their son William are living nearby; the 2 males age 16-26 are sons Andrew (20) and James (18); the two males under age ten would include Samuel (age 5) and apparently a son who did not survive, or some non-family member; the 3 females age 10-16 would be Effie (15), Delilah (13), and Sarah (10). Ann (age 7) doesn't appear to have been marked, and the female in the 16-26 category is unknown. The family was known to have been in the Lewisburg area at this time.
- Can not find William Stoughton in 1790 or 1820 census.
- Do not find Joseph, Edward of John Timblin born before 1800 in 1850 census Butler Co. PA.
- Source 2. Photocopy of estate record received 2006 from Jeanne Eichelberger,with notation "Estate of William Stoughton, Dated 4-1-1822, No Will on record, filed 10-11-1822, Robert Scott, Recorder."
- Recipients/purchasers named in the estate sale record of William Stoughton include his son Andrew Stoughton, son-in-law Jacob Rose (husband of Effie Stoughton). Sons John, William and Samuel are not named. Preponderance of items to Timblin individuals (Ann Timblin, Sally Timblin, Edward Timblin, John Timblin and Joseph Timblin) suggest that perhaps two Stoughton daughters (Ann and Sarah (Sally?)) may have married Timblin brothers. Daughter Delilah Stoughton is not named. Others of unknown relationship: Alex'r Gilgrist, Esther Badger, William Thompson.
Photocopy of estate of William Stoughton, and of inquest papers, received from Jeanne Bortmes Eichelberger 2006. - The earliest Stoughton ancestors came from England in about 1591, settling in Connecticut, later in New York, and then in New Jersey. Our documented line came from New Jersey to Butler County, PA in 1802, settling in Middlesex township where William Stoughton appears in the tax list of 1804.
- 1895 History of Butler Co. Pa p. 614 reference to coal banks on land of Wm. Stoughton is unclear whether to original homestead, or to a Wm. Stoughton producing coal in 1895. If the latter, possibly William Stoughton born 1851, son of Andrew Stoughton per the 1860 census.
Conjecture
- Per P.K. Heckathorn, our William Stoughton was in the census of Greene Co. PA, Cumberland Twp. in 1800. This William Stouton is age 26-45, his wife age 16-26, and 2 daughters are aged under 10 years. There are no sons present. The age for William is within reasonable range, but the lack of sons is hard to overlook. We doubt that this is the same William Stoughton documented by this page; it could however be his son, William Stoughton, Jr.
Research
- Stoughton line from England: The Stoughton name is English, and ancestors of our William Stoughton (ca. 1745-1822), were English. William and his children lived for a time in New Jersey, then in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, finally in Butler County, PA. However, John Stoughton, the son of our William Stoughton, is NOT the same person as John Walker Stoughton. Our John Stoughton's son Andrew married Catherine Covert, her family also being from New Jersey. Note that there were more than one Andrew Stoughton in Butler County.
- Roland Stoughton, not identified by us, listed as on pg. 377 in Annals of Buffalo Valley, 1755-1855, but page unavailable. See instead, a transcription of this source at USGenWeb:
http://files.usgwarchives.net/pa/union/history/lynn/l369404.txt
"Of the daughters of Sheriff John Brady,... Jane married Roland Stoughton; her descendants, Mrs. Lyndall's children, still live in Lewisburg..." - 1790 census for Northumberland County (No township listed) gives a family of William Stoton: 1 male >16, 3 males <16, 6 females. We expect that William Stoughton and family were still in New Jersey in this year, but there are no census records for NJ in this year available.
