Peter Stiffler Jr,
of St Clair Twp (later Napier), Orphan's Court records of 1808 identify a son
John still a minor, but of age 14 (what is age of
majority, 18 or 21?) If age of majority is 18, Peter's son John is born 1790-1794.
John Stiffler chooses Gabriel Hull as his guardian.
At this point, many genealogical records either have John (Peter, Peter) disappearing
with no further record, or moving to Delaware Co, Indiana,
where he married Jane Waldo in 1844.
Jacob Stiffler of Greenfield Twp died about the same
time as his nephew Peter Jr, and mentions a son John
several times in his will. Most people say
that this son John married Elizabeth Hull, and moved to Delaware Co, Indiana,
in the 1830's.
I have been trying to identify Elizabeth Hull's parents. It has been said that
John and Elizabeth married
concentrations of Hulls, in Napier and Bethel Twps. I
have been corresponding with Adrean Clawson on the
family of Samuel Hull of Napier
Twp.
"Samuel Hull will of 1808 mentions
that his dt Elizabeth has already received part of
her inheritance that would imply she was older... There is
an Elizabeth with a birth date of 1800 who married Rose in the Hull Farm Cem which Ruth Hull Robertson charted as the dt of Samuel Hull but gave no
other proof."
The 1810 census for Napier Twp has Eliza Hull with two girls
26-45, one 16-26 (none under 16). Samuel Hull had two sons, Gabriel (John
Stiffler's guardian) and Benjamin. I suggested that
the Elizabeth Hull who married Arthur Rose in the 1850's may be Gabriel's
daughter. Elizabeth Fronk
was born in 1752, so she would have been 48 in 1800, usually very late to have
a child. If
youngest daughter, but would reduce her mother's age to abt
42 at her birth. I believe Orphan's Court records for Samuel Hull might reveal,
in later
entries, the name of his daughter Elizabeth's husband. I believe it quite likely
that John Stiffler's wife, if her maiden name was
indeed Hull, may
have been the younger sister of Gabriel Hull, who was the guardian of Peter's Stiffler Jr's son John.
A look at
However, as mentioned above, Eliza Hull's youngest child in the 1810 census was
born 1784-1794 (age 16-26)
There is an adult John Stiffler in
Napier Twp, in the 1820 & 1830 census. In 1820, both the man and woman's birthdate is indicated as 1775-1794. In 1830, then man is
born 1780-1790, the woman 1790-1794. The woman's overlap of these two is
1790-1794, which agrees with the 1810 listing for Eliza Hull's family above.
If John Stiffler's wife Elizabeth was born in 1783,
she would have been married at age 31, and had her last child Daniel at age 53.
Is she was born
abt 1794, she would have
married at 20, and her last child at 42.
Census, 1820, Napier Twp, Bedford Co, Pa
page 20
STIFFLER, John 000110
- 30010 1m
man, woman 26-45 1 in manufacturing
boy 16-26
Census, 1830, Napier Twp, Bedford Co, Pa
page 97
STIFFLER, John 0100 001000000 - 0220
010000000
man 40-50, woman 30-40
2 girls 10-15
boy, 2 girls 5-10
John and Elizabeth's son John Francis Stiffler, was
baptized at the church in Schellsburg (Napier Twp).
He lived as an adult in Delaware Co, Indiana,
which would seem to confirm that the John Stiffler
family in
Census, 1840, Liberty Twp, Delaware Co, Indiana
page 300 line 8
STIFLER, John 1001 000100000 - 0001 200100000
man, woman 50-60
2 girls 20-30
boy, girl 15-20
boy 0-5
Census, 1850, Delaware Co, Indiana
page 314b house 308 family 308
STIFFLER, John 56 Pa farmer $1000 of land
Jane 53 Pa illiterate
Fanny P.W. 25 Ind
Daniel W 14 Ind
in school
In 1840, the man's birth stays 1780-1790, while the woman moves into that same
range. The numbers for the children match well with 1830.
The 1850 listing shows a John Stiffler married to
Jane Waldo (
which is consistent with the age of Peter Jr's son,
although at least four years older than the 1830 & 1840 census. His death
date, but not his
birthdate or age, is recorded on his tombstone.
There only seems to be one John Stiffler
in Delaware Co, having married Jane Waldo after the death of Elizabeth Hull.
This John Stiffler lived in Napier
Twp for the first 20 years of his married life.
I have yet to find any evidence for the claim that John Stiffler
of Delaware Co, Indiana, was the son of Jacob Stiffler.
I have info from the late Rose Marie Kiger, in a
letter she sent to Elaine Polancy in Oct 2001, where
she states John, born
younger brother of Elaine's ancestor Henry. But it is accepted that Henry was
born
If Jacob Stiffler's son John was the one who moved to
was Jacob's son, and does not leave any real alternatives.
If John born abt 1775 was Jacob's son, Jacob's
children would be:
1. Eve (Helsel) 1762 (88 in 1850)
2. Catharine (Dickerhoof) abt 1765 (26-45 in 1800, over 45 in 1810)
3. Jacob Jr abt 1767
4. Adam abt 1770 (1770-1780)
5. Peter
6. John abt 1775 (75 in
1850)
7.
8. Michael
9. Henry
10. Conrad abt 1787 (63 in 1850, 72 in 1860)
I find it too troubling to alledgedly have Jacob Stiffler's son John move from Greenfield Twp to Napier Twp,
marry the sister of the guardian of Peter
Stiffler's son John, have him born only 7.5 months
after Hnery Stiffler, and make
the other John Stiffler an orphan, while Peter Jr's son disappears.
All of these are removed if the John Stiffler who
moved to
and the John Stiffler who lived his whole life in
Greenfield Twp was Jacob's son.