Stone ancestors traced to North Carolina

I have had clues that the Stone line came from North Carolina but I could not verify it. I am learning other means of searching besides Ancestry.com. I found some resources on the Internet that are helpful. I knew Pop’s grandfather and grandmother were Solomon and Elizabeth Fletcher Stone. I have learned that they were born in 1790 and 1794 in Surry, North Carolina and married there February 4, 1812. Elizabeth’s parents were William and Sarah Burcham Fletcher also from Surry, NC. This is from family tree data on the web. Further searching suggests that Solomon’s parents were Solomon and Elizabeth Ladd Stone. I cannot verify this yet. This couple lived in North Carolina (also in Surry I believe). A bio on him says he served in the Revolutionary War and was a wealthy Irish slave owner.

Mystery solved

This picture was in Grandma Theresa’s things. She wrote on the back “Grandma Heed mother of Rilla Stone with Rilla’s children”. Rilla was Pop’s oldest sibling. This confused me because in her notes Theresa mentions Nancy Heed. Pop’s mother was Nancy but never had the name Heed. The names of the girls are listed. The baby is Pearl Brittendall who was born in 1903 and only lived 11 months. This means the picture was taken in 1903 or 1904. Pop’s mother Nancy would have been about 47 years old. Nancy’s mother Sarah would have been about 73. This woman is at least that old. So this is Sarah Norris Farrington Heed who was Pop’s grandmother and great grandmother to these girls.

This is further verified by the 1910 Census which lists Nancy’s brother George living in Ellsworth, Kansas with his wife, children and mother Sarah Heed age 78. Pops’ mother Nancy was the oldest of nine children that Sarah had with James Farrington. He died in 1882 when she was 49 and still had young children. She apparently married a Heed at some point. I have no information on him. Sarah died in 1915 at 83 still living with son George. Theresa was in her late 80’s and living in rest home when she labeled some pictures and made a few notes for my brother. She obviously made a mistake identifying Sarah who was on Pop’s side of the family and someone she probably never met.

Update I just found Sarah A. Heed in the 1885 Census married to Samuel A. Heed. He was eight years younger than her. There were three young Heed children and five Farrington children in the household. All the names, ages, and places of birth are correct.

Another generation found

  I had a very successful search session today. This picture was among Grandma Theresa’s things. She had written that it was Olive Hatchel who was her great grandmother. I found several references to her. She was born in 1823 in North Carolina. She married John G. Hatchel and had several children including Jane L. Hatchel who married Lindley Cook. Their daughter Ella was Theresa’s mother. Olive lived out her life in Leavenworth, Kansas. She was still alive in 1905 at age 82. Theresa would probably have known her as a child. I  never imagined that I would be able to track my ancestry back 6 generations and nearly 200 years. I am getting close to solving a mystery that has bothered me since I started this. Stay tuned.

Ruben becomes Ralph

From his book we learn that Pop left home with a 6th grade education. He was about 13 and left with a group of horse traders. He drove a chuck wagon and did the cooking. This was when his passion for cooking developed. The 1910 Census finds him working as a cook at a hotel in Salina, Kansas. He gave his name as Ralph Stone, 25 years old and single. I do not know exactly when or why he changed his name. I would speculate that people may have called him Rube which meant hick or hayseed in those days. On October 11, 1911 Pop married Theresa Boyle in Liberal, Kansas. They had two sons, Stanley Ralph born December 28, 1912 somewhere in Iowa and Burton Harvey born November 1, 1914 in Illinois. The 1920 Census shows they were living at 135 17th Avenue in East Moline, Illinois. I was surprised to see that Pop’s occupation was listed as East Moline city policeman. Theresa was a waitress. I have always heard that in his youth, Pop was footloose and a heavy drinker. In any event by 1930 they were divorced. During their years apart, Pop was married to a woman named Bessie. The 1930 Census lists Pop living at 314 Jackson street in Jefferson City, Missouri with wife Bessie and step daughter Catherine F. Ranke age 14. Pop was working as a hotel chef. He and Theresa remarried December 29, 1937 in Davenport, Iowa with their sons as witnesses.

Ruben Stone

Pop and his twin sister Viola Susan were the youngest of children of Francis Marion (aka Frank) and Nancy Jane Farrington Stone. Francis was born in Illinois on February 1, 1853. He was a stone mason and died at age 42 of sunstroke on June 15, 1895 when Pop was only 8 years old. He is buried in the Brookville Cemetery in Brookville Kansas. Francis was the second oldest of four boys. His parents were Solomon Stone Jr. and Susan Elizabeth Chaney Stone. They married on January 10, 1847 in Greene County, Indiana. They were living on a farm in Hardin, Illinois when Solomon joined the Union Army in 1863. He died on July 18, 1865 of an unspecified disease shortly after his regiment fought at the battle of Vicksburg. He is buried in a Civil War Cemetery in St. Louis. I have the section and plot number which I plan to visit someday. Susan married William Cardwell in 1870 and had two daughters. She died in Douglas, Kansas in 1911 at age 80. Solomon’s parents were Solomon Sr. and Elizabeth Fletcher Stone, no further information on them at this point.

The Beginning

I gathered up a few boxes of old pictures, envelopes, and newspaper clippings that belonged to Grandma Theresa Stone. I found a family tree that my father did on large paper around 1980. It lists the names of R. O. “Pop” Stone’s brothers and sisters. It also includes the name of his father and his mother’s maiden name. Using this information as a start on ancestry.com got the ball rolling. The stuff in the boxes along with resources at Ancestry.com and a few other online databases have provided more verifiable facts than I ever hoped to learn. R. O. “Pop” Stone was born Ruben Olin Stone June 26, 1886. Theresa “Mom” Stone was born Theresa Boyle March 23, 1891. Next Pop’s ancestors…

Ancestors and Descendants of R. O. Stone

I have always wondered about my Stone family Ancestry. Like most I neglected to get information from parents and grandparents while they were alive. I had just about decided that I would never know. Now at nearly 70 years old and retired, I decided to make a serious effort. I bought Genealogy software, subscribed to Ancestry.com and started my search. I am amazed at what I have found in a very short time. I created this blog to track my progress and keep a record of my quest. I can share it with family members who are interested and display the information in a clearer format than family tree software.