“Find a Grave” has Wills!!!
This column is about the value of finding copies of the wills of your ancestors.
Today, on January 11, 2020, I was fortunate enough to run across a copy of the wills of a man and his wife from Culpeper County, Virginia. Both wills were found on the “Find a Grave” website. The first one I viewed was the husband’s but I also looked to see if anything different had been added in his wife’s will and I was ecstatic.
The gentleman was Walter Stallard. Walter wrote his will on July 13, 1803, and it was proved on April 20, 1807, in Culpeper, Virginia.
The good thing about the second will (his wife’s) was the naming of the five daughters with their married names. Also named were the four surviving sons. One son John had died during the American Revolution.
The five girls were Eliza(beth) Cavender, Peggy Clore, Rachel Luttrel, Mary Ann Scott and Fanny Shumate. The sons were Samuel, Walter, Randolph, and David.
“Find a Grave” also listed Walter’s two wives, Elizabeth Williams and Hannah Pitts. Walter married first, Elizabeth aka Betsy Williams and they had two children.
Samuel Williams Stallard m. Jael Duncan,
Eliza(beth) Ann Stallard m. Ezekiel Cavender.
But the link to the second wife Hannah Pitts Stallard, daughter of David Pitts, was another genealogy delight. They had eight children and a listing of who each child married.
- Walter Stallard Jr. married three times: Elvira McCalahan, Judith Bayse, and Nancy Taylor Bayse.
- Randolph Stallard m. Mary Bullit
- Frances aka Fanny Stallard m. Telisferro Shumate
- Mary Ann Stallard m. James Scott
- Margaret aka Peggy Stallard m. Acre Clore
- Rachel Stallard m. Richard Lutteral
- John Stallard died unmarried
- David Stallard m. Susannah Pitts
The Walter Stallard who died in 1807 was my 6th great grandfather.
