| Sources:
1. Marriage Record:
2. Family Data Collection (online at Ancestry.com):
| Name: |
Joseph S Stong |
Mary Stagers |
John C Stong |
Joseph Stong |
- |
| Birth
Date: |
28 January 1789 |
23 December 1806 |
30 Jul 1832 |
4 July 1834 |
- |
| Birth
Place: |
Montgomery,
Worchester (sic) Twp, PA |
Lancaster,
PA |
Chester,
Lower Oxford Twp, PA |
Chester,
Lower Oxford Twp, PA |
- |
| Death
Date: |
20 March 1859 |
11 September 1864 |
1 December 1879 |
16 February 1906 |
- |
| Death
Place: |
Lick Creek Twp,
Van Buren, IA |
Lick Creek Twp,
Van Buren, IA |
Centerville,
IA |
Fairview,
OK |
- |
| Father: |
Jacob Stong |
Jacob Stager |
Joseph S Stong |
Joseph S Stong |
- |
| Mother: |
Christina |
Barbara |
Mary Stagers |
Mary Stagers |
- |
| Spouse: |
Mary Stagers |
Joseph S Stong |
Margaret Finley |
Emily Almira Godown |
- |
| Marriage
Date: |
1825 |
1825 |
29 Dec 1859 |
12 December 1861 |
- |
| Marriage
Place: |
Lancaster Co,
PA |
Lancaster Co,
PA |
Business Corners,
Van Buren, IA |
Van Buren,
IA |
- |
| : |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
These are patron submissions, so caveat emptor.
3. 1820 Census Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com, Image
#1 of 5; extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):
| 1820 |
PA |
Chester Co. |
Lower Oxford Twp. |
Roll M33_96 |
p. 346 |
Ln. 7 |
Joseph Stong |
100020-10001-1-000 |
These data indicate:
| No. & Sex |
Age Class |
Therefore Born |
Individuals Inferred |
| 1 male |
9 or under |
1810-1820 |
= Son A |
| 2 males |
26-44 |
1775-1794 |
= brother? (b. 1790-1800)
= Joseph (b. 1789) |
| 1 female |
9 or under |
1810-1820 |
= Daughter A |
| 1 female |
45 or over |
in or bef. 1775 |
= Christiana (b. ca. 1760) |
| 1 |
foreigner not naturalized |
Listed one line below brother-in-law, Samuel LEFEVER (220001-23010-0-000).
Joseph's mother, Christiana, has recently been widowed; she's apparently
not living with her daughter, Elizabeth (STONG) LEFEVER, so she is almost
certainly the elder woman in Joseph's household. Joseph appears to
be a widower with two young children. The other young man appears
to be the brother who was in his parents' household in the 1800 census.
Joseph is the only STANG/STONG in Chester County.
4. 1830 Census Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com, Image
#9 of 12; extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):
| 1830 |
PA |
Chester Co. |
Lower Oxford Twp. |
Roll 148 |
p. 57 |
Ln. 7 |
Joseph Stong |
001 111 - 000 020 |
These data indicate:
| No. & Sex |
Age Class |
Therefore Born |
Individuals Inferred |
| 1 male |
10-14 |
1815-1820 |
= Son A
= ? |
| 1 male |
15-19 |
1810-1815 |
| 1 male |
20-29 |
1800-1810 |
= ? |
| 1 male |
30-39 |
1790-1800 |
= Joseph (b. 1789) |
| female |
20-29 |
1800-1810 |
= Mary (b. 1806)
= ? |
It appears Joseph and Mary have recently married, with no children yet.
It's hard to say just who else is in the household at this point, but it
appears that another couple is living with them, along with Joseph's son
from his first marriage. Joseph is the only STANG/STONG in Chester
County. Listed two lines below brother-in-law, Samuel LEFEVER (011
020 100 - 001 110 100).
5. 1840 Census Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com, Image
#21-22 of 68; extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):
| 1840 |
Iowa Territory |
Van Buren Co. |
Roll 102 |
pp. 269A-269B |
Ln. 20 |
Joseph Stong |
121 010 010 - 100 001 |
0300000 |
These data indicate:
| No. & Sex |
Age Class |
Therefore Born |
Individuals Inferred |
| 1 male |
4 or under |
1835-1840 |
= Jacob (b. 1836) |
| 2 males |
5-9 |
1830-1835 |
= Joseph (b. 1834)
= John (b. 1832) |
| 1 male |
10-14 |
1825-1830 |
= ? |
| 1 male |
20-29 |
1810-1820 |
= Son A |
| 1 male |
50-59 |
1780-1790 |
= Joseph (b. 1789) |
| 1 female |
4 or under |
1835-1840 |
= Sylvania |
| 1 female |
30-39 |
1800-1810 |
= Mary (b. 1806) |
| 3 |
persons employed in agriculture |
Can't find Samuel LEFEVER.
6. 1850 Census Every-Name-Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com,
Image #1 of 20 indexed "Stering"):
Lick Creek Twp., Van Buren Co., IA, Roll M432_189, p. 336A, 3/3, enumerated
25 Nov 1850, official enumeration date 1 Jun 1850 (extracted by Diana Gale
Matthiesen):
| Joseph Stong |
60 |
M |
|
Farmer |
3000 |
Pa |
| Mary |
42 |
F |
|
|
|
" |
| John |
18 |
M |
|
|
|
" |
| Joseph |
17 |
M |
|
|
|
" |
| Jacob |
15 |
M |
|
|
|
" |
| Sarah |
10 |
M |
|
|
|
Iowa |
| Susanah |
7 |
F |
|
|
|
" |
Listed three households from widowed sister, Elizabeth (STONG) LEFEVRE
(æ 65, b. PA).
7. 1860 Census Every-Name-Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com,
Image #9 of 38): Keosauqua P.O., Lick Creek Twp., Van Buren Co.,
IA, Roll M653_342, p. 287, PN 49, 280/288, enumerated 7 Jun 1860, official
enumeration date 1 Jun 1860 (extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):
| Mary Stong |
54 |
F |
|
Farmer |
1680 |
750 |
Pa |
| John " |
30 |
M |
|
Farmer |
|
|
Do |
| Joseph " |
26 |
M |
|
Do |
|
|
Do |
| Jacob " |
24 |
M |
|
Do |
|
|
Do |
| Sarah " |
20 |
F |
|
|
|
|
Iowa |
| Susanah " |
16 |
F |
|
|
|
|
Do |
| Margaret " |
20 |
F |
|
|
|
|
Md |
I have no idea who Margaret is, and as she is not found anywhere in 1850,
I'm inclined to think her surname here is a mistake (i.e., that
she's not a STONG). So, is she adopted? Mary's sister-in-law,
Elizabeth (STONG) LEFEVER (æ 76, b. PA) is in Village Twp., Van Buren
Co., IA (p. 263).
8. Anon. 1890. Portrait and Biographical Album
of Jefferson and Van Buren Counties, Iowa. Lake City Publ. Co.,
Chicago (online at the Van Buren County IAGenWeb site; posted by Fran Hunt):
This biographical sketch is of our subject's son, Jacob B. STONG (1836-1896).
Obvious errors are that he descended from an "early New England family"
and that his father was born in 1790 in Chester County (he was born in
1789 in Montgomery County). There is also good reason to doubt that
his mother was born in Lancaster County (see above). I don't know
which of Joseph's death dates is correct, the one here or the one apparently
on his tombstone.
JACOB STONG
Jacob Stong, a pioneer settler of Van Buren County, is engaged
in general merchandising in Kilbourn, where he is doing a good business,
his sales amounting to $7,000 a year. His enterprise and thrift have
won him a place among the leading merchants of the community and his business
is an important addition to its mercantile interests.
Mr. Stong is descended from an early New England
family. His grandfather Philip Stong was born in Germany
where he learned the trade of a millwright, and with his parents came to
this country locating in Pennsylvania. The father of our subject
was born in 1790, in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
In 1825, at the age of thirty-five years, he was married in Lancaster
County Pennsylvania to Miss Mary Stagers who was born in that country
in 1806. Twelve years later in 1837, he came to Iowa and entered
three hundred and sixty acres of land in Lick Creek Township, which tract
now comprises what is known as the Anson place. After making a contract
for the erection of a house, he returned to Pennsylvania in order to dispose
of his business interests in that state. He sold his farm for $20,000
and received an additional $5,000 for personal property. In 1838,
accompanied by his wife and four children, he again made the journey to
the Territory of Iowa and settled upon the land that he had previously
located. For two years they resided in a log cabin, surrounded by
many Indians while the wild game, which was quite plentiful furnished them
many meals. It is no easy task to transform the raw prairie into
a highly cultivated farm, but Mr. Stong and his sons performed that labor,
and at the time of his death he was the owner of two hundred acres of fertile
land, which yielded him a good income. He possessed business ability
of a high order, was sagacious and far-sighted and as the result became
a wealthy man. Many hardships and difficulties were endured by the
family during the early history of the county, for even wealth could not
always procure the necessaries of life for the markets and mills were so
far distant that it was often almost impossible to reach them. On
one occasion the family lived on boiled corn for a week and for a whole
year their bread was made of rye flour. Mr. Stong was a Democrat
in politics and filled a number of minor official positions. He was
a faithful and valued citizen and in the war of 1812 defended the stars
and stripes. His death occurred August 12,
1859, and his wife died in 1864. Six children, five growing
to mature years, were born unto them John who was born in Pennsylvania,
was killed at the coal bank of Centerville, in 1880; Joseph is now
engaged in farming in Kansas; Jacob is the next younger; Mrs. Sarah
Maxwell and Mrs. Susanna Shaffer are also residing in Kansas
and Sylvania died in infancy.
Our subject was but two years of age at the time of the immigration
to Iowa, where he has since made his home. While en route for the
West the boat on which they had taken passage exploded and his father was
knocked down although not seriously injured, but thirteen men on board
was killed. Jacob helped to clear and develop the homestead farm
and shared with the family the privations of pioneer life. He remembers
many incidents of interest concerning those early day, which if they could
be given in detail would make an instructive and exciting story.
On one occasion twelve chiefs in full Indian dress came to their house
and demanded entertainment for the night. They were accommodated
on the floor for the homes of that day usually had no spare beds. During
the night one of the children called for water several times but the hired
girl with whom the little one was sleeping was afraid to get up on account
of the Indians. The mother heard the call and arose to get the water
and in order to hand it to her child she had to reach over the girl, who
seeing the arm stretched across her, thought it was an Indian about to
cut her throat and screamed at the top of her voice; in fact, could hardly
be pacified. The Indians however gave no heed to the occurrence and in
the morning left for other scenes, having molested nothing.
The primary education of our subject was acquired in the subscription
schools, which he attended only in the winter season, as his services were
needed upon the farm in summer. This did not satisfy him however
and at the age of twenty-six with an earnest desire to overcome the lack
of education, he attended select schools at Mr. Pleasant and Ashland.
Subsequent reading, experience and observation have also added greatly
to his store of knowledge and he is now a well-informed man. He taught
two terms of school and then worked at the carpenters trade for some time.
On March 29, 1863, he was united in marriage with Miss Cynthia A. Ranard,
a native of Indiana, born March 5, 1844, and their union has been blessed
with eight children Myrtis, who was born March 7, 1864, and is
now the wife of D. Skinner of Lick Creek Township, Van Buren County;
Frances
A. born December 13, 1865, is the wife of James Elrick, a merchant
of Pittsburg; Alice, born February 28, 1868; is the wife of Oscar
Short of Lick Creek Township; Benjamin born March 29, 1870,
is employed as salesman in a store in Pittsburg; Emma J., born October
25, 1871, is the wife of Oscar Hootman; Jesse, born April
18, 1874; Ernest l., February 2, 1878, and Stephen, June
9, 1884 are at home.
Immediately after his marriage, Mr. Stong, embarked in business
as a cabinet-maker, opening a shop in Kilbourn, where he carried on operations
for twelve years. In 1875 he began his present business of general
merchandising, which he has since continued. His stock at the beginning
was valued at only $300, but now his annual sales amount to $7,000 and
a branch store in Pittsburg yields him $2,500 per year. Mr. Stong
carries only the best grades of goods, which in addition to his genial
and affable manner has secured him his liberal patronage. He is a
valued citizen and for three years served as Assessor. He cast his
first Presidential vote for Stephen A. Douglas, has since supported the
Democracy and has frequently attended the county conventions of his party
as a delegate. His wife is a member of the Methodist Church and is
a lady possessing many excellent characteristics. |
9. WorldConnect / Ancestry World Trees (online at RootsWeb.com/Ancestry.com). |
