The descendants of Revolutionary War soldier John Stufflebean are fairly well documented. John was born on 28 February 1756, the eldest of five children born to Johannes Stoppelbein and his wife, Eva Dingman, in Kinderhook, Columbia County, New York.

John had one sister, Geesje, and three brothers, about which I know the bare minimum. Second child, Jacob, was born 6 August 1758. The third child was sister Geesje, born 1 March 1761. Next came Michael, born 30 October 1763 and last was brother Valentine, born 9 February 1766.

Valentine Stoppelbein/Stufflebean married and had at least one son, Peter, who married Jane Teal, daughter of Abraham Teal. Peter apparently died between 1840 and 1850, but he had at least two sons and several daughters. The sons were Jacob, born c1819 in Ghent, Columbia County, New York and Cornelius E. born c1825, also in Ghent.

I’ve written about Jacob, born 1819, in the past as I am the proud owner of silver teaspoons that belonged to his family. It doesn’t appear that Jacob has any living descendants today.

However, Cornelius is another story and I would love to make contact with his branch of the Stufflebean family. My husband is a 2nd cousin, 4X removed from him. Cornelius married (1) Phebe Leach, c1850, when they appear to be newlyweds in the 1850 census living in Fairfax, Franklin County, Vermont. With them was 15 year old William Stufflebean, Cornelius’s likely younger brother.

The 1860 and 1870 censuses show the growing Stufflebean family.

Cornelius and Phebe had ten children:

1. Clayton M., born c1853; died 1924; married Florence O. Shannon. She was born 1857; died 1937. Both are buried in Sheldon Cemetery, Sheldon, Franklin County, Vermont. Clayton had sons George and William H. H.
2. Leslie E., born c1855; died after 1930, probably in New York; married Myra B., c1887. They had one daughter, Dora, born c1888 in New York. She married Charles Dyer and lived in Rensselaer County, New York. They apparently had no children.
3. Dewitt C., born c1856, Jay, Vermont; married Ellen E. Taylor, 19 April 1876, St. Albans, Vermont; died after 6 May 1898 when he was living in Newark, New Jersey.
4. Walter Byman, born 29 September 1859; married Elizabeth, c1888 and lived in Johnstown, Fulton County, New York in 1900. He had a son George and daughter Carrie.
5. Elmer Mirana, born 9 March 1861, Lowell, Vermont; died after 1910 when his widowed mother lived with him. He apparently never married.
6. Herman H., born 21 July 1862, Lowell, Vermont; died after 6 May 1898 when he was living in Lowell, Massachusetts.
7. Mary J., born 15 April 1864, Eden, Vermont; died before 1870.
8. Nettie, born c1866; died after 1880 and before 6 May 1898.
9. Sarah, born c1868; died 1948; married Fred B. Sargent, c1887. He was born 1863, Vermont; died 1913, Johnson, Lamoille County, Vermont. Sarah had four Sargent children – Howard, Libbie, Lillian and Helen.
10. Jennie, born 1870; died before 1880.
11. Eugene A., born 4 December 1871; died 1932, Johnson, Vermont; married Adeline M. Hammond, 15 February 1900, Vermont. She was born 1886; died 1952. It appears they had no children.

However, by 1880, Cornelius was living in St. Albans, Vermont while Phebe had married (2) George W. Olds, 16 November 1879 in Johnson, Vermont. George was born c1829, New York and died 28 January 1914.

Cornelius reported in 1880 that he was a widower, but in truth, the couple apparently separated and divorced sometime between 1870 and 1880. Cornelius married (2) Eliza Dinsmore, 29 March 1883 in St. Albans, Vermont. Eliza was born c1831 and died 28 July 1893, St. Albans, Vermont.

When Cornelius Stufflebean died, his son, Eugene, was appointed administrator of his estate. The court papers said there was no living widow, which was true since second wife Eliza predeceased Cornelius.

Administration Granted 6 May 1898

Surviving sons and one daughter were:

Clayton M., of Franklin, Vermont
Leslie E., of Stillwater, New York
Dewitt E., of Newark, New Jersey; died 1937; married Hattie (MNU) and had one daughter
Walter, of Jamestown, New York; married (?_) and had at least two children
Elmer H., of Johnson, Vermont
Herman H., of Lowell, Massachusetts; died 1914
Sarah S. Sargent, of Eden, Vermont
Eugene A., of Johnson, Vermont

Of these eight children, Clayton, Walter and Sarah all had children. Dewitt and Herman haven’t been located in 1900. Dewitt married in 1876, but hasn’t been found in a later census and it is not known whether he had children. Herman hasn’t been found after the 1870 census and nothing more is known of him.

If you are descended from this family, please leave a comment.