Daniel Stafford

Daniel Andrew Stafford and his wife Ellen "Ella" Hewit

No picture is available at this time of Daniel A. Stafford -

This is his signature on his homestead proof form when he was 50 years old.

65. Daniel⁴ Stafford (William¹ Robert² Andrew³) Born about 1843 in Indiana, probably in Morgan County;¹ death information unknown at this time. The earliest evidence naming Daniel Stafford is the 1850 census showing Daniel in Mary Stafford neé Lang household.¹ She is presumed to be his mother, although no direct evidence states his mother's name. Daniel also lived in her household in 1860² and 1870.³ This census was the last listing him in her home.

Major changes occurred for Daniel and his family during the five-year period of time from 1870³ to 1875.^4,5 They left Indiana and went to Harrison County, Missouri. On 15 December 1874, Daniel was married to Ellen Hewit in Harrison County.⁴ Evidence in the census records^6,7 suggests that Ella Hewit was the daughter of Richard and Rachel Hewit. Other evidence is needed to make a firm conclusion that they are her parents.

It is unknown if the newlywed couple remained for any time in Harrison County, however, by 1880 they were enumerated in Warren County, Iowa in a small town called Carlisle.⁸ Daniel worked when he could as a day laborer and he and Ella were the parents of three children by this time.⁸

Apparently, Ellen and Daniel were not suited to each other. Although, no divorce record was found for Daniel and Ella in Warren County, Iowa or nearby surrounding counties, the couple apparently did not remain together. Mrs. Ella Stafford married Millard F. Shepherd in Albia, Monroe County, Iowa in June 1884⁹ and Daniel left Iowa to seek a home for him and his son in western Kansas. According to Daniel's testimony for his homestead claim, he and his son established their home in Decatur County, Kansas on 24 August 1886.¹⁰ He and his son, lived on the 40-acre claim described as the NW 1/4 of the SE 1/4 of Section 18 in Township 1 South of Range 26 West.¹⁰ Daniel left very few records during the time that he lived in Decatur County. Besides searching at the Recorder's Office, Probate and Civil Courts in Decatur County, a search of the newspapers for that area and time period was made and not one brevity mentioned his or Clayton's name. The only records found for them were the homestead claim record,¹¹ deed for the sale of the land to Van B. Wiggins¹² and school records documenting Clayton's attendance at the Starr School.¹³

Daniel's whereabouts after the sale of his homestead are not known. Research is continuing to try to document the remainder of his life. An extensive search in county records where his two children lived at the turn of the century has not uncovered any evidence that he was there too. Search in the census indexes also has not produced a record for him. Extensive research was done and records were found to demonstrate the connection between Dan and Barbra E. Stafford listed in the 1880 Warren County, Iowa census with the Morgan County, Indiana family. This research was published in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, 93 (September 2005):177-191.

There is much evidence to link Ella Shepherd to her son, Clayton A. Stafford. For details please see Clayton's page. Ellen or Ella as she was sometimes referred to in records left more records than her husband. She married again after she and Daniel separated⁹ and divorced at least one time¹⁴ and possibly twice in her lifetime.

More information is available regarding Ella Stafford - Shepherd nee Hewit. If you are interested please contact me.

Further Research:

This is one of the direct line families for my Stafford research project. I have researched this family and descendants extensively, but welcome any other information anyone has and would like to see posted to this website. Additional information about Andrew is needed as well as any other pertinent information about this family or their descendants.

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¹	Mary Stafford household, 1850 U.S. Census, Morgan County, Indiana, population schedule, Washington Township, page 28, dwelling 410, family 410; National Archives microfilm publication M432, roll 162.
²	William Cox household, 1860 U.S. Census, Johnson County, Indiana, Hensley Township, post office Trafalgar, page 18, dwelling 127, family 125; National Archives microfilm publication M653, roll 271.
³	Mary Cox household, 1870 U.S. Census, Morgan County, Indiana, population schedule, Clay Township, post office Brooklyn, page 15 / 374 [stamped], dwelling 111, family 111; National Archives microfilm publication M593, roll 346.
⁴	Stafford - Hewit marriage record (15 December 1874), Harrison County Marriage Record Book B:305; Harrison County, Missouri Recorder of Deeds Office, Bethany, Missouri.
⁵	Johnson - Cox warranty deed (04 March 1875), Harrison County Deed Record Book 6:389, Recorder of Deeds Office, Bethany, Missouri.
⁶	Richard A Hewitt household, 1860 U.S. Census, Monroe County, Iowa, population schedule, Cedar Township, Maryville post office, page 73, dwelling 561, family 508; National Archives microfilm publication M653, roll 336.
⁷	Richard Huet household, 1870 U.S. Census, Monroe County, Iowa, population schedule, Union Township, Albia post office, page 27, dwelling 197, family 196; National Archives microfilm publication M593, roll 412.
⁸	Dan Stafford household, 1880 U.S. Census, Warren County, Iowa, population schedule, Carlisle, ED 229, SD 3, page 9A, dwelling 49, family 49; National Archives microfilm publication T9, roll 368.
⁹	Shepherd – Stafford marriage record (19 June 1884), Monroe County Marriage Record Book 6:255.
¹⁰	Daniel A. Stafford, Testimony of Claimant, Homestead Application No. 13495, Certificate No. 5564, General Land Entry File; National Archives and Records Administration.
¹¹	United States - Stafford patent record, homestead certificate no. 5564, Decatur County Deed Record Book E:190 (bottom portion), Recorder’s Office, Oberlin, Kansas.
¹²	Stafford – Wiggins warranty deed, Decatur County Deed Record Book 20:22; Recorder’s Office, Oberlin, Kansas.
¹³	Starr School District No. 12 Census Records, Decatur County, Kansas, years 1887-1891; received from Decatur County Recorder’s Office, Oberlin, Kansas.
¹⁴	Shepherd vs Shepherd case No. 4570 (18 July 1902), loose divorce files in Box 454, Monroe County District Court, Albia, Iowa.
¹⁵	Stafford – Everts marriage record (13 February 1899), Thayer County Marriage Record Book 4:212; received from Thayer County Clerk’s Office, Hebron, Nebraska.
¹⁶	Stafford – Hahn marriage affidavit (10 January 1916), Mitchell County Marriage Record Book F:406, Mitchell County Clerk’s Office, Beloit, Kansas.
¹⁷	Stafford – Mason marriage record (05 February 1929), State of Colorado, Division of Vital Statistics, Marriage Record Report, No. 112011; FHL microfilm publication, film number 1690137E, Roll 89.
¹⁸	Gleason – Stafford marriage record (01 May 1900), Republic County Marriage Ledger E:355, Recorder’s Office, Belleville, Kansas; Kansas State Historical Society microfilm MF83.
¹⁹	George and Sophie Gleason tombstone, Eckley Cemetery, Eckley, Yuma County, Colorado; photographed by Sharlene Miller 17 April 2006.

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193	i.	Cora Stafford ^⁵ Stafford	b. about 1874 in Iowa;⁸ d. Not known at this time.
+194	ii.	Clayton Alonzo ["Charles Henry"]Stafford	b. 11 November 1876, probably in Missouri; d. 15 December 1944 in Denver, Denver County, Colorado; m. (1) Grace Everts in Thayer County, Nebraska;¹⁵ (2) Mrs. Francis Hahn;¹⁶ (3) Mrs. Elizabeth V. Mason.¹⁷
+195	iii.	Sophia M. Stafford	b. February 1880, in Iowa;⁸ d. 1962 in Yuma County, Colorado;¹⁸ married George H. Gleason on 01 May 1900 in Republic County, Kansas.¹⁹

Daniel Andrew Stafford
Census Records	1850 - Morgan County, Indiana 1860 - Johnson County, Indiana 1870 - Morgan County, Indiana 1880 - Warren County, Iowa 1900 - did not find Daniel Stafford in 1900
Marriage Records	Marriage to Ellen Hewit, 15 December 1874, Harrison County, Missouri, Book B:305
Homestead Records	Patent Record - United States to Daniel A. Stafford, Decatur County, Kansas, Decatur County Deed Record Book E:190 (Top portion of record; Bottom portion of record) Land Entry File - Homestead Certificate No. 5564 and Application No. 13495
Land Deeds	Daniel A. Stafford to Van Buren Wiggins, Decatur County, Kansas Deed Record Book 20:22
Death Record	Did not find date of place of death.

Ellen Hewit
Census Records	1860 - Cedar Township, Monroe County, Iowa 1870 - page 1 and page 2- Union Township, Monroe County, Iowa 1880 - Warren County, Iowa 1900 - Winterset, Madison County, Iowa
Marriage Records	Marriage to Daniel A. Stafford, 15 December 1875, Harrison County, Missouri, Book B:305 Marriage to Millard F. Shepherd, 19 June 1884, Monroe County, Iowa, Book 6:255
Newspaper Clippings (Available upon request)	Mrs. Ella Shepherd of Albia, Iowa visits her son, C. A. Stafford in Hubbell, Hebron Journal, Friday, 26 Jan 1900, page 8, column 2.
Divorce Records (Available upon request)	Shepherd vs Shepherd divorce file case no. 4570 (18 July 1902), loose divorce files in Box 454, Monroe County District Court, Albia, Iowa. [Page 1 / Page 2 / Page 3 / Page 4]
Miscellaneous	08 Dec 1906 - Mrs. Ella Shepherd is named as C. A. Stafford, inmate no. 2201, Lansing State Penitentiary, Leavenworth County, Kansas; Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka. Note: This is the latest date in records recorded for Ella Shepherd. She may or may not have been living at this time as the information was probably provided by C. A. Stafford.
Death Record	Need place of death - if you have this information please contact me!!
Burial

Direct Line:	Pedigree chart	William	Robert	Andrew	Daniel	Clayton
Siblings: [ James H. R. Stafford ] [ Rebecca Stafford ] [ Rose Ann Stafford ] [ Elizabeth Stafford ] [ Daniel Stafford ] [ Lafayette Cox ]

Daniel Andrew Stafford and his wife Ellen "Ella" Hewit

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