Stinson Family Biographies
Little information is
known about Andrew Stinson prior to his migration to Butler County, Alabama.
It has been said that he once lived in Aiken, South Carolina.
This community is located near the current Georgia state line east of
Augusta, Ga. It has also been
suggest that he may have come to America through the port of Savannah, Ga.
According to other researchers, there are several references made to
1825 landmarks that did bear the Stinson name in Aiken County, Ga.
Andrew married Elizabeth Stringfellow in Chester District, South Carolina in 1811. Esq. Simmons, JP, was judge who married them. Andrew volunteered for military service in Chester District on October 1, 1814. During his service in the War of 1812, he was assigned to Captain Chestnut�s Company of the South Carolina Militia. Records indicate that he was discharged from the militia on March 15, 1815.
The exact year in which this family came to Butler County is unknown. It appears that Andrew applied for land grants which were approved about 1847. The first recorded date of their presence in March 4, 1848 when he was granted 40.06 acres of Cahaba land.
In 1850, census records lists Andrew Stinson as being 58 years old. He was listed as a farmer with real estate valued at $300. His household included his wife, Elizabeth, and five children: Mary, Celia, George, John and Elizabeth.
By 1860, Andrew was
apparently in very bad health.
On April 13, 1860, his wife Elizabeth filed a motion with the Butler County
courts to have him declared mentally incompetent.
It was also signed by his sons, Reuben and Joseph H. Stinson.
The petition asked that his son Joseph be appointed as his legal
guardian and manager of his affairs.
The census of 1860 showed Andrew and his daughter Elizabeth living in the
household of W. Kirkpatrick.
Kirkpatrick was listed as a 70 year old farmer
born in North Carolina.
He is believed to be William P. Kirkpatrick
whose name is found in the Cahaba land grants.
Others listed in the Kirkpatrick household
include: C. J. Kirkpatrick (30, female, AL), W. T. Brewer (7, male, AL), M.
Cooper (45, female, NC, seamstress), and E. J. Brook (5, female, AL). C.
J. Kirkpatrick and M. Cooper are believed to be the daughters of W.
Kirkpatrick. Elizabeth, Andrew�s wife has not been located on the 1860
census.
Elizabeth Stringfellow Stinson was born in 1791 in South Carolina.
Nearly twenty years after her husband�s death,
in September 1871, at the age of 80, Elizabeth filed applications to receive
a pension awarded to the widow�s of soldiers of the War of 1812.
She was awarded a pension in the amount of $8 on
July 5, 1872.
Information on the pension applications state that Andrew died in 1857 in Butler County, however this is in contradiction of the 1860 census. It is possible that he died in 1867 but not exact date of death has been determined. Witnesses for Elizabeth on the pension applications were James Parks, C. M. Beasley and E. J. Beasley. Each of them signed affidavits regarding knowledge of Andrew�s military service.
Because no legal documents or church records from South Carolina attest to
the marriage of Andrew Stinson and Elizabeth Stringfellow, statements were
required from family members with knowledge of their marriage.
Signing testaments were her brother, Alexander
R. Stringfellow (age 64 in 1871) and Mary E. Sims (age 76 in 1871). Ms. Sims
is thought to be a sister.
A. F. Posey, Clerk for the Criminal Courts of Butler County, AL, state that
in 1871 Elizabeth Stinson was �so mentally and
physically imbecile, or to make her execution of the declaration on mere
matter of form; in fact, her mind is almost entirely gone, and the case is
made out more from the assistance of others than of her own recollection.�
In June 1872, Alexander Stringfellow filed an affidavit in Elizabeth�s
behalf.
He stated that Elizabeth was
�over 80 years old and totally mentally imbecile and
bed-ridden." This statement was sworn to before
acting Justice of the Peace, James M. Nettles, Calhoun County, MS, where he
was residing when the statement was made.
Another statement made by Mary E. Sims was sworn to before the same courts
in MS. where she was a resident.
Confirmation of relation to Elizabeth or
Alexander hasn't been proven, but it is believed she was a sister, possibly
Mary Elizabeth Stringfellow who married Edward Sims.
Leander Stinson was known as Lee.
Most of his military records list him as L.
Stinson, but a few show the name Leander.
For many years his full name was believed to be
George Leander. This
was based on the fact his grandson and great-grandson was named George
Leander Stinson.
However, after more than 36 years of research,
it is now believed that his name was actually
James Leander. Neither
name has been confirmed.
As a farmer, Leander lived in the Beat 2 area at the time of the 1850
census.
He was listed as the head of his household, and was
shown to have real estate but the dollar value is not clear. Included
in the household at that time were his wife, Nancy, and two sons: John and
James.
By 1860 Leander was listed as residing in the Starlington Community. He
held real estate valued at $1600 and personal property valued at $1000.
At home for the 1860 census were his wife,
Nancy, and several children listed only by initials: J. C. (John Cooper), J.
L. (James Leander), E. D. (Iven Devell), M. E. (Mary Elizabeth) and Joel.
Leander owned quite a bit of property in the Starlington Community. Most of it was acquired through Cahaba Land Grants. Records show that he was granted 319.775 acres in Butler County through the Greenville Land Office. Authority for the grant is dated April 24, 1824. Title transfer date is shown as September 1, 1858.
Leander served the Confederacy in Company A, 1st Alabama Artillery. He was captured by Union troops at Fort Morgan, AL. His CSA records data card indicates that he was on the roll of prisoners of war at Fort Columbus, N.Y.H. (New York Harbor) before being transferred to the Union prison camp at Elmira, N. Y. He was received at Elmira on December 4, 1864. He died at the camp on February 11, 1865, suffering from chronic diarrhea. Leander's body was never returned to Alabama. He is buried in Elmira's Woodlawn Cemetery beneath a simple white cross inscribed, "2058 Stinson, L.-Private-"A"-1st Infantry-AL."
John Andrew Cooper Stinson was called Cooper most of the time. He
was born near Mt. Pisgah Church in the Starlington Community.
Cooper is listed as a private in Company A, 1st
Battalion, Alabama Infantry, CSA.
Enlistment records indicate that he joined the
war in the fall of 1863 at Fort Morgan, AL.
He was captured there, along with his father,
Leander, by the Union Army.
Transferred to Elmira, N.Y., he was released
from military service on June 11, 1865.
Almost two years after his release, John A. C. Stinson and Annie Elizabeth
Smith were married.
Justice of the Peace, A. M. Kellar performed the
wedding ceremony.
On May 28, 1894, Cooper filed for a pension based on his military service to
the Confederacy.
The application states that he was 48 years old,
farming land valued at less than $400 with less than $400 annual income,
this being that he had contracted a disease during the war.
It doesn�t indicate the name of the disease. Another
application was filed on March 17, 1896, showed he was farming 85 acres of
land with one mule.
A third application was filed on May 7, 1897
showing 80 acres of poor land which was mortagaged. A
fourth attempt to receive a pension was filed April 13, 1898, stating that
he had no assets.
At the time of his death, no pension had been awarded. Elizabeth continued to file for the right to receive a pension based on his military service. As of January 22, 1930, no pension had been approved. No records have been found to indicate otherwise. He was buried at Providence Cemetery.
George
Leander Stinson was named for his grandfather, Leander, who died in a Union
prison camp.
He was a farmer and worked
as a laborer for the L&N Railroad.
John Jason was called Johnny.
He was engaged to be married when World War I
began.
He enlisted in the Army in 1918.
Having already purchased a gold wedding band, he
gave the ring to his bride to be to keep until his return home.
After he returned from he Army, Johnny and Esther Black were married in the
home of her father, W. S. Black.
The wedding ceremony was read by D. L. Harrison,
J. P.
Witness to the marriage was J. L. Blackburn.
Johnny worked as a logger after returning home from the military. On
October 5, 1926, he was killed in a logging accident near Pine Apple, AL.
He was cutting timber when a tree fell on him. He
was buried at Providence Cemetery.
Charlie Watson Stinson was only 3 years old when his
father died. He
was named after his mother�s brother, Watson Black.
One of his early childhood memories includes the
burning of his mother's house.
He said that his only pair of shoes were lost
during the fire.
That is about the only thing he can remember.
He enlisted into the US Army on July 19, 1944 at Fort McClellan, AL. At
that time he was described at 5 ft. 5 in., black hair, blue eyes, ruddy
complexion.
His occupation was listed as a light truck
driver.
From Alabama, he was transferred to Camp Walters at Mineral Wells, Texas.
He was trained as a guard.
From there, he was assigned to the
Transportation Corps.
The rank of Technician Fourth Grade (Tech-4) was
obtained on November 15, 1945.
At the time he was assigned to TSU-TC Shops
Compl (Beach Det), Naples, Italy.
His first tour of duty ended while he was
stationed in Naples.
On November 30, 1945, he
reenlisted as a member of the 373rd
Harbor Craft Company.
After returning to the
states, Charlie was assigned to the 6901st
ASU Service Detachment, Camp Stoneman, CA.
In April 1950, Charlie, his wife, and daughter, moved to the West Texas oil
fields in order to gain employment. His
work relocated the family to numerous places in West Texas and then to New
Mexico in 1961.
Mostly, he was a truck driver, hauling butane or
crude oil.
On Memorial Day of 1963, the family relocated again to North Central Texas. Charlie and Lucile lived in Bridgeport for almost 40 years.
They have recently relocated to the Piney Woods of East Texas. He is now retired and lives in Elkhart, Texas.
Although she was born at Stabler Infirmary in Greenville, Mildred grew up as
an �oil field child� in West Texas.
Traveling from place to place was not unusual.
She was often uprooted 2-3 times during a school
year.
She was in the 6th
grade in Pecos, Texas, before she completed a full school year at one
school.
The last 3 years of high school were completed
in North Central Texas.
Mildred enlisted into the US Army at Kerrville, Texas in 1975 and was sent
to Fort McClellan, AL for basic training.
Following basic, time in specialized training at
Fort Jackson, SC, AIT at Fort Gordon, GA, she was returned to Fort Hood,
Texas.
There she was part of the 142nd
Signal Battalion, 2nd
Armored Division. Division
commander at the time was Brig. Gen. George Smith Patton, son of WWII
General George S. Patton.
In 1998, Mildred married Kenneth Bruce Brown at Centerville, Leon County,
Texas.
Currently they reside in Palestine, Texas where both
are retired.