I have to admit, I’ve had more success this month unraveling the families of Michael Stufflebeam (1763-c1830) and his son, John E. Stufflebeam (c1795-1844) than I ever thought possible.

As I move away from this branch of the family, we’ll close out the month with a quick look at Hiram Stufflebeam, the son of John E. and Eleanor (Roland) Stufflebeam, born 12 December 1833 and died 13 April 1914, in Vermilion County, Illinois.

The confusion comes from online family trees that have Hiram marrying Mary Jane Stufflebeam, presumably his sister.

How did this confusion come about? Well, I know from records that there are at least two first cousin marriages in this branch of the family tree.

Secondly, Hiram did have a family friend named Mary Jane Fleming, who was close in age to his wife. Yes, there is an extant marriage record for Hiram Stufflebeam to Mary Jane WHITE, 15 January 1856 in Fulton County, Illinois.

Now, these incorrect online trees assume that Mary Jane Fleming is a married/widowed Mary Jane Stufflebeam, but this is NOT true. Those copy and pasters have turned her into someone who didn’t exist and made her the wife of Hiram.

Take a look at the 1860 census entry for Hiram Stufflebeam:

Ezra Stufflebeam is the eldest child of John and Eleanor Stufflebeam and the brother of Hiram Stufflebeam. They are living next door to each other in Mason County, Illinois in 1860, four years after Hiram married Mary Jane White.

Look closely at the two households. We have Hiram married to Mary J., aged 21, at home with son Erastus, 1, and a farm worker in the house.

Next door, we have Ezra Stufflebeam, married and with four children in addition to Mary J. FLEMING, aged 19, listed last in the family.

Now, let’s jump back to 1850 in Mason County, Illinois:

The ink is very faded, but there is Mary Jane, 10, listed at the end of the family even though she is the eldest child in the home. I believe this is Mary Jane Fleming who was incorrectly named as a Stufflebeam by the census taker. I can image the enumerator asking the names of their children and, after being told the names of their three children, he asked if there were any more children at home. The reply was, “Yes, Mary Jane. She’s 10.” No questions asked about parentage.

Now, Jeremiah Fleming was the guardian of Ebenezer Stufflebeam’s two minor daughters, Izelda and Mariah, in 1831.

I haven’t figured out why Jeremiah Fleming agreed to take on the responsibility of Ebenezer’s two children because I can’t find a marriage connection. However, I also think Jeremiah died later in the 1830s because I can’t find him anywhere in 1840.

Perhaps Elza took in Mary Jane, who might be Jeremiah’s orphaned daughter, to repay the family for their help with Izelda and Mariah Stufflebeam. I don’t know.

In any case, this single census record from 1860 proves that Hiram did not marry Mary J. Fleming.