John Stoughton

John Stoughton was born about 1773 in New Jersey, the second of nine children of Williams Stoughton and his wife, born a Voorhees. John grew up in New Jersey in a community of English and Dutch families, and married Catherine Covert there in about 1795. John was about 22 years old, and Catherine was 18 when they married. By the following year Catherine's father, Lucas Covert, had migrated west to the wilds of Butler County, PA. John and Catherine had 2 sons born in New Jersey, the first being born in 1797, when Catherine was 20. At some point John and Catherine along with John's parents and siblings (with the possible exception of his oldest brother William) moved west as far as Lewisburg, PA, in what was then Northampton County. By 1802 they settled in Butler County, PA, and their third son was born in Butler County in 1802. John and Cathering build a home and cleared a farm. John appears on the 1804 tax list with 100 acres, 2 cows and 2 horses. John and Catherine had a total of 5 sons and 4 daughters. They were members of Muddy Creek Baptist Church. Their children married into the families of Wick, Glenn, Boyle, Logan, and Patterson. John Stoughton died in 1833, with a will. Catherine outlived him, and is listed as 72 years old in the 1850 census. Their burial site has not been located.

	Date	Location	Notes	Sources
Birth	1767	NJ
Marriage	~1795	NJ	To Catherine Covert
Death	8 May 1833	Muddy Creek Township, Butler County, PA	Will signed on 8 Apr 1833, filed on 11 May 1833
Burial	1833	site unknown	were members of Muddy Creek Baptist church See Research Notes

Ancestry chart segment

 Generation 6           Generation 7         Generation 8
 
                                         +-- William Stoughton
                                         |   (1742-????)
                    +-- John Stoughton --+
                    |   (1773-1833)      |
 Andrew Stoughton --+                    +-- [unknown] Vorhees
 (1802-1867)        |                        (????-????)
                    +-- Catherine Covert
                        (1778->1850)

Sources:

Children

(all children with Catherine Covert)

Name	Gender	Date of Birth	Birthplace	Spouse	Notes	Sources
Luke Stoughton	M	1792-93 Or 1807		Margaret Wick	res. Worth Twp.; Vet Wat of 1812; died~1838/39
William Stoughton	M	1796-1797	NJ	Mary Elizabeth Wick	farmer, res. Clay Twp. Butler Co.
Jacob Stoughton	M	~1800	NJ	-never married-	died ~1841
Andrew Stoughton	M	1802	Butler County, PA	Mary Glenn	Direct line
John Stoughton	M	1805		Nancy Boyle	res. on portion of homestead
Euphamia Stoughton, "Effie"	F	1810		Robert Logan, died in Civil War
Hannah M. Stoughton	F	26 Oct 1815		John Patterson	res. Worth Twp; died ~1845
Barnard VanZant Stoughton	M	1817		Susan Myer	farmer, died in Kansas
Jane Stoughton	F	6 Dec 1821		Thomas Boyle
Mary "Polly" Stoughton	F				not in will;died young

Places of Residence

Location	Dates	Notes	Sources
NJ	1773- after 1795	married in NJ
Lewisburg Northampton Co, PA	after 1795 until ~1802
Middlesex Twp Butler Co, PA	by 1803	from tax records; may not indicate residence
Center Twp Butler Co, PA	by 1810-after 1820
Muddy Creek Twp Butler Co, PA	by 1833-death

Sources

Ref. Num.	Description	Image of original
1	1810 United States Federal Census, Center Twp, Butler Co, PA Page 2. Census is not dated. Lists family headed by J. Stoughton: 3 males <10, 2 male 10-15, 1 male 26-44, 1 female <10, 1 female 26-44. Family headed by W. Stoughton also on page. This appears to correspond to sons Luke, John & William under age 10, Jaocb & William G. age 10-15, daughter Eupahme under 10; William age 37 & Catherine age 32.
2	1820 United States Federal Census, Center Twp, Butler Co, PA Page 4. Census is not dated. Lists family headed by J. Stoughton: 2 males <10, 1 male 10-15, 2 males 16-25 1 male >45,, 1 female <10, 1 female 10-15, 1 female >45. This corresponds to John Stoughton age 53, wife Catherine Covert age 52. Children: 2 males under age 10 are Barnard age 3,& Luke, age ~13; 1 male age 10-15 is John age 15; 2 males age 16-25 are Andrew age 18,& Jacob age 20; 1 female <10 is Hannah age 5; 1 female age 10-15 is Effie age 10. (Son William age 23 not enumerated here; possibly working & living elsewhere; married in 1822).
3	1830 United States Federal Census, Muddy Creek Twp, Butler Co, PA, page 13. Census is not dated. Family headed by John Stoughton: 1 male 10-15, 1 male 15-20, 1 male 20-30, 1 male 40-50, 1 female 5-10, 1 female 10-15, 1 female 50-60. This corresponds to John Stoughton,age 53, & wife Catherine Covert, age 52. Children: 1 male 10-15 is Bernard age13; 1 male 15-20 probably John, Jr. age 25; 1 male 20-30 is Jacob age ~30; (Luke, age 23,is listed separately on next line of census; Andrew married by 1826, family enumerated in Center Twp); 1 female 5-10 is Jane age 8; 1 female 10-15 is Hannah age 14. (Euphemia age 20 is not enumerated here).
4	1803 Tax List Middlesex Twp., Butler Co. PA: John Stoughton, 100 Acres, 2 cows, 2 horses or oxen, Valuation 144, Tax 0.43 1895 History Butler Co., p. 58
5	Deed Transfer from John Stoughton to William Stoughton, dated 10 Feb. 1820. Witnesses George (P___), and John Timblin. Recorded 14 Feb 1820,Butler County, John Timblin, Esq.	(Transcript)
6	Deed Transfer from John Stoughton to William Stoughton, dated 7 Apr. 1824. Centre Twp., Butler Co., PA, Deed E-222. 50 Acres for $75.00.	(Transcript)
7	Will of John Stoughton, Estate File # S-40,Muddy Creek Twp., Butler Co. PA. Signed 8 Apr. 1833. (Microfilm, Butler Public Library, Vol. A, p. 264, 1833) Lists wife Catherine; sons William, Luke, Andrew, John, Jacob, Bernard; daughters Eufame Logan, Hannah Stoughton, Jane Stoughton; executors: son Jacob Stoughton, & William Stoughton(Sr.?); witnesses: Samuel Stoughton & Robert Hemphill.	(Transcript)
8	Jeanne Bortmes Eichelberger, correspondence, 2006.
9	Covert Family of New York by Robert Thorton Covert. Notes that John Stoughton married Catherine Covert; lists her parents as Lucas Covert and Cornelia Van Zandt, who were cousins; lists the children of Lucas And Cornelia Van Zandt Covert. (This source noted by Jeanne Bortmes Eichelberger; not seen by this researcher.)
10	Personal correspondence from Elizabeth Wilson Williams, granddaughter of Bert Winfred Wilson.	N/A
11	Abstracts of the wills of 5 sons of John Stoughton received from correspondent Dolores Swaney. Will of Andrew Stoughton of Clay Twp., Butler Co. PA; Book D, pg. 452; filed 2 Jan 1867, written 4 Dec. 1866. Lists wife Mary; sons Jacob, John; daughters Rachel Campbell, Effie Jane wife of Miller Cornelius, Hannah wife of John A. McCandless, Catharine Amanda wife of Robert Davis; grandson Oliver Stoughton; granddaughter Mary Isabella Stoughton; witness William S. Wick. Will of William Stoughton of Concord Twp., Butler Co. PA; Book D, pg. 206; filed 28 Aug. 1863, written 15 July 1863. Lists wife Mary; sons John, A. J., Luke, Elisha, Thomas; daughters Elizabeth Shoaf, Catharine Thompson, Adella Bortmass; witness William Wick. Will of John Stoughton of Muddycreek Twp., Butler Co. PA; Book C, pg. 219; filed 6 July 1852, written 19 Apr. 1852. Lists wife Nancy; sons Thomas, Jefferson, William; daughters Catherine, Martha Jane, Euphany, Hannah, Manervy. Will of Jacob Stoughton of Muddycreek Twp., Butler Co. PA; Book B, pg. 195; filed 25 June 1841, written 2 Apr. 1841. Lists mother Catherin; brothers William, Andrew, John, Barnard; 2nd cousin William Stoughton; nieces Eleana Logan, Catherin Boile; nephews Thomas Patterson, Jacob Stoughton. (Note: "2nd cousin William Stoughton" may be a grandchild of one of his brothers?) Will of Luke Stoughton of Muddycreek Twp., Butler Co. PA; Book B, pg. 98; filed 11 May 1839, written 16 Dec. 1838. Lists wife Margaret.
12	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 (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. 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.
13	1880 United States Federal Census, Lake City Twp., Barber Co., KS, Enum. Dist 316, pg. 1. Date of census 1 June 1880. Lin3 4-5: Barned (sic) V. Stoughton, white male, age 61, farmer, b. PA, parents b. NJ. Susan, white female age 66, wife, b. PA, father b. Holland, mother b. PA. Line 6-8: Thomas B. Hagan, white male age 45, farmer, all b. PA; Thomas, age 14, son, all b. PA; Jenmi, age 12, daughter, b. MO, parents b. PA. See "Source Notes" below. Contributed by James Voltz.
14	Genealogical and personal history of western Pennsylvania, Vol. 3, Editor-in-chief: John W. Jordan. Author: Jordan, John W. (John Woolf), 1840-1921. Pages 1272-1274. From the Historic Pittsburgh Full Text Collection. Collection is searchable; policy re. use on websites is ambiguous; may prohibit reproduction of text. See web address below for full text http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=pitttext;cc=pitttext;q1=catherine%20covert;rgn=full%20text;idno=03aee8434m;didno=03aee8434m;view=image;seq=0247 Abstract: Jane Stoughton, wife of Thomas Boyle, was a daughter of John Stoughton and Catherine Covert. Catherine Covert was of Holland descent; her mother's maiden name was Van Zandt, a family that settled on Manhattan Island, NY. John Stoughton, of English descent, was a farmer and owned 350 acres of land in three farms. His brother Samuel Stoughton was a Baptist minister, and the entire family was strict in its religious observances. Children of John and Catherine Covert Stoughton were: William, Luke, Andrew, Jacob (died unmarried), John, Barnard, Jane (married Thomas Boyle), Hannah (married John Patterson),Effie (married Robert Logan),Polly (died young).
15	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. See RootsWeb's World Connect Project: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=hollykat&id=I474 William Stoughton was born~1742/43 presumably in New York State; from there he enlisted the War of the Revolution, serving with Washington in the battle of Monmouth. After the war he moved to New Jersey where he married a Miss Voorhees from Albany New York, of Holland Dutch descent. Their children were William, John, Andrew, James, Effie, Delilah, Sarah, Ann, and Samuel the youngest, who was born 27 Aug 1795. William Stoughton moved to Lewisburg, PA, then in 1802 to Butler Co. PA. He was a shoemaker by trade.

Source notes

• 1790, 1800 census not found.

• 1800 Northampton Co. PA index of 5374 names (ancestry.com index) scanned for John or William Stoughton (Stoton, etc.) with no result.

• John Stoughton names as executors in his will of 1833 his son Jacob Stoughton and William Stoughton (Junior/Senior?). William's name is followed by what appears to be either "Junior", or "Senior" (written out, not abbreviated). John's father William was already dead in 1833. John's brother William, Jr. seems the likely candidate, although Jeanne Eichelberger believes he may have either died or married and remained in NJ as no further evidence of him has been found.
  In that era, the terms "senior" and "junior" were used to indicate an older and younger set of relatives, not necessarily a father/son relationship. John's son William Stoughton, although he has no son named William, could be addressed as William Sr. because his brother, John Stoughton (1805), has a son William. However, it seems logical that in writing the will, the wording in that case would have been "my sons Jacob Stoughton and William Stoughton. Another possibility is that William G. Stoughton may have been referred to as "junior" because his grandfather was named William.
  Even if the son of John Stoughton were known as William Stoughton Jr., he would not be the person named as executor; his age was ~5 years at that date.
  No other William Stoughton candidates are known at present. The executor is presumably either John's son William, or John's brother William, in which case the brother was indeed alive and residing in Butler County in 1822. It is possible that the word following William Stoughton in the will is neither junior or senior but something other.

Research Notes

• Research re. burial site of John Stoughton, with negative results: No gravestones found at various Butler County cemeteries visited in 2006-2007 by E. Wilson Williams (Mt. Zion Baptist Cemetery, Wolf Creek Cemetery, Muddy Creek Cemetery, Prospect's Emanuel Lutheran Cemetery, Prospect Presbyterian Cemetery or West Liberty Cemetery). No record found in the entire 5 volume set of the Cemetery Inventory of Butler County, searched by research staff of the Butler Area Public Library, Oct. 2007.
  This suggests burial without gravestones, or that their stones deteriorated beyond legibility by the time of the Inventory; or burial at a small private cemetery not included in the Inventory.

Research Wishlist

• Will abstracts of Andrew, William, John Bernard, Jacob, and Luke
• Will of John Stoughton Sr.
• 1803 Tax Rolls Middlesex Twp. Butler Co. PA