Hiram Stufflebeam was born on 12 December 1833, the sixth and last child of John E. Stufflebeam and his first wife, Eleanor Roland, in Warren County Indiana.

Hiram moved westward into Fulton County, Illinois, where he married Mary Jane White on 16 January 1856.

However, the young Stufflebeam family then settled in Mason County, Illinois.

Although Hiram didn’t have the public turmoil found in his brother Michael’s family, he and Mary Jane suffered much sadness as only four of their nine children lived to adulthood, only three of those have descendants today and all of Hiram’s children predeceased him.

Hiram Stufflebeam died on 21 July 1918, Tazewell County, Illinois. His wife, Mary Jane (White) Stufflebeam predeceased Hiram, passing away on 17 February 1914 in Mason County, Illinois.

Children: (Stufflebeam)

1. Hiram Erastus, born 27 December 1858, Mason County, Illinois; died 16 October 1917, Mason County, Illinois; married Olive Letha Talbott, 10 March 1880, Mason County, Illinois. They were the parents of four children.
2. Martha, born c1861, Illinois; died before 1900; married Henry A. Kindorf, 7 March 1880, Mason County, Illinois. They had only one child, a son, Charles, who died at the age of 21 in 1903. No descendants.
3. Mary A., born c1862, Illinois; died 1894, Tazewell County, Illinois; married Benjamin Garman, 26 November 1879, Tazewell County, Illinois. They were the parents of one daughter.
4. Daughter, born c1864; died before 1870. No descendants.
5. Julietta, born c1866, Illinois; died about 1898, probably Morgan County, Illinois; married Asa Pemberton, 7 August 1889, Mason County, Illinois. They were the parents of two children, but one their daughter married and had a family.
6. Ella J., born c1868, Illinois; died before 1880. No descendants.
7. Arthur, born c1869, Illinois; died before 1880. No descendants.
8. Carrie E., born c1872, Illinois; died between 1880-1900. No descendants.
9. Orphie, born c1878, Illinois; died between 1880-1900. No descendants.

Therefore, when Hiram died, he was survived by only five grandchildren.

This completes the family sketches of the descendants of Michael Stufflebeam through his son John E. Stufflebeam and wife Eleanor Roland. Next, we’ll cover the descendants through John E. and his second wife, Harriet Ostrander.

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.