Lawson Stockman

By Marjorie Fox

 

Marjorie Fox (Walter Gilbert Kehm, Lillian Gilbert, Susan Stockman, Jon George Windpigler Stockman, John George Stockman, Johann George Stockman and Anna Barbara Heim of the Maryland branch of the family) lives in Potomac, MD. She is an avid family researcher and has contributed to the Newsletter in the past.-lts-


     The youngest of nine children, Wilhelm Stockman was born 4 Feb 1789 in Frederick County, Maryland. With this their last child Johann George Stockman and his wife, Anna B. Heim, ended a twenty-two year span of child bearing and rearing. This Johann George Stockman was my immigrant ancestor who had made the arduous journey to America, was naturalized in 1794 in Frederick County, Maryland, when he took the oath that he would support the Constitution of the United States. He had made his mark by buying 114 acres of land in 1792, by marrying a strong woman of German parentage who bore him the aforementioned nine children. To make her life a little easier, he had bought a little slave girl, “Bealler”, nine years of age to help in the household.

     However, William being the youngest son, saw there was no hope for him to inherit his father's farm land. Perhaps, the example of his sister, Anna Catherine, who went west with her husband, David Coblentz, motivated William to strike out for Ohio. But first he married a local girl, Elizabeth Montgomery, 19 Dec 1818. Six years later, he bought 80 acres of farmland in East Township, Carroll County, Ohio. There he and his wife raised a family of seven Children.

     The years went by. The children grew up to adulthood, married and spread out to neighboring towns. Eventually William died in 1842 and his eldest son, as was the custom inherited the family farm.

     However, Lawson Stockman, the youngest son perhaps following the example of his father when a young man, chose not to settle down in the neighborhood. Instead he left a thin paper trail that had us family members running after him many years later.

     For some reason, still unknown to us, Lawson decided to live in Wapsipinicon, Muscatine County, Iowa. Here the 1870 census enumerator listed him as a young man in his prime, forty-two years of age. A dry goods merchant with $2,000 personal property was not all that bad considering he was supporting a wife, three children, Elizabeth his Mother and Emma, his sister. it is interesting to pause and reflect here a moment. Why did his Mother and sister abandon their Ohio roots and cast their lot with Lawson? What was it about this young man with whom they chose to end their days rather than with the other daughters and sons back home? We will really never know what lead them to follow in his footsteps. Presumably there was a strong bond of love between these family members.

     Later we find that Lawson had married Minerva Thomas in 1869 in Ohio and that as a young widow she had brought her two children, Alice and Edward Thomas with her to the marriage. Noting the date, she could have been a Civil War Widow. The third child in this census, John Curtis, was a baby born to the newlyweds.

     The 1880 census saw a restless Lawson move on to Kirwin, Phillips County, Kansas, where one more child, Frank Lewis, was added to the household. Since the 1890 census was destroyed in Washington, D.C. by fire one had to wait twenty more years to take a paper glimpse at Lawson's family. However, the 1900 census showed something terrible had happened. Minerva was missing, her two Thomas Children, the baby Frank Lewis, even Elizabeth, Lawson's mother. Just the three, Lawson, now seventy-one, his son, John Curtis, Twenty-nine, and Emma, Lawson's faithful sister, were living in Kirwin.

     The local historical society could shed no light on our Stockman family and only dredged up a completely different Stockman outfit - an August Stockman from Germany and his family. Since there was no known relationship whatsoever between Lawson and August it is really a coincidence for two Stockman families to be living in such a small isolated area.

     Waiting for the 1910 film to appear on the reader at the Archives, it was reasonable to assume that Lawson might have died by then at age eighty-one. Surely, though, John Curtis and maybe Emma would show up. But everyone had disappeared! Not a trace of even one.

     Remembering that a Carroll County, Ohio, history book alleged that Lawson and Emma had gone west and were living in Utah, this state was checked. Perhaps they really did live there for a short time but they were gone when the census taker came around. Missouri, Nebraska an several other states yielded no clue.

     Then one day I poked around the Washington State 1910 census. There he was, living in Whitman County, Lawson, with only one son, John Curtis, and Emma, his sister. This is where my part of solving the mystery ended. Eloise Clark, a direct descendant of William Stockman and Elizabeth Montgomery, took over from here. She immediately wrote to the Whitman Historical Society and it was there that Lawson's story unfolded.

     When, eventually, Lawson, John Curtis and Emma all died, each in his turn, Lawson's Bible had no family member to claim it. Instead, it found its way to a lonely little thrift store in a small town called Dusty. It was there that an intelligent and, no doubt, sensitive woman rescued this Bible and presented it to the Whitman Historical Society. And while there, another lady thought the papers inside were so interesting, that she copied them. This person was the one selected to answer Eloise's letter.

     Now the story can be told. Lawson attended Hiram College in 1853 and 1854 and was a classmate of President Garfield. Perhaps he aspired to be a teacher. However, with prospecting fever in his blood he, with others in 1859, rigged up an ox team and came west passing through Idaho, Walla Walla, WA, Florence and then to Helena, Montana. Ten years later, 1869, to be exact, he returned east to Ohio and married a widow with two children, Minerva Thomas.

     The Bible papers told the sad story that the youngest son, Frank Lewis died 12 Aug 1880 and Minerva, 2 Oct the same year. Even Elizabeth, Lawson's mother who had come so far to live with his family, died out there in Kansas 20 Apr 1885.

     Lawson must have felt it was time to move on with his diminished family. A Newspaper clipping in his Bible stated that a Lawson Stockman, a gentleman from Fayette, Idaho, purchased thirty-eight acres west of Garfield, Washington, for $2,500 and a four acre tract with residence for $1,500. Then Lawson settled down for the last seven years of his life with his son and sister.

     Being a devout and respected Christian, he was enrolled as a tither in the Church of Christ, of which he was a member for sixty-four years. He finally died 29 Apr 1913, at the age of eighty-four. Emma lived on until 1921 and John Curtis until 1935. All three are buried in the Garfield Cemetery.

     Are you going to ask what happened to the Bible which proved so valuable tracing Lawson's roaming life? Eloise Clark, the direct descendant of Lawson's father, was actually sent the Bible as a gift. It was probably the best Christmas Present Eloise ever received. So, now the once neglected and discarded Bible has come back full circle to an appreciative Stockman.

     At this point it is necessary to acknowledge that this story could never have been written if Phyllis Gerrick had not informed me of the existence of one of her many correspondent - Eloise Clark, form Kent, Ohio. Again, it was through Eloise's persistent research in Whitman County, Washington, that led to the full disclosure of the facts in Lawson's life.-mmf-


 



The 1880 Census of Phillips County, Kansas


     Marjorie Fox reports in her story of Lawson Stockman that in 1880 he as living in Phillips County, Kansas and that there was a Stockman family from Germany also living there. A check of the 1880 census records provides information on these two families.


1880 Census of Phillips County, Kansas Vol 16 ED 230 Sheet 1 Line 11 Kirwin TWP

Name

Relation

Age

Place of Birth

Lawson Stockman

head

51

Ohio

Minerva Stockman

Wife

39

Ohio

Alice S Thomas

Daughter

19

Ohio

Edward L Thomas

Son

18

Ohio

Curtis Stockman

son

10

Iowa

Frank L Stockman

son

1

Ohio


Living in the same township was August Stockman. This census record follows and tells us that August was born in Prussia. He apparently emigrated to the United States living first in Louisiana where daughter Annie was born then moving to Mississippi where he remained until circa 1875 then moved to Kansas.


1880 Census of Phillips County, Kansas Vol 16 ED 230 Sheet 25 Line 34 Kirwin TWP

Name

Relation

Age

Place of Birth

August Stockman

Head

50

Prussia

Dina Stockman

Wife

47

Prussia

Annie Stockman

Daughter

20

Louisiana

Charlie Stockman

Son

11

Mississippi

August Stockman Jr

Son

13

Mississippi

Julia Stockman

Daughter

8

Mississippi

William

Son

6

Kansas

Minnie Badeker

SE?

18

Louisiana

Mary Clark

SE?

23

Ohio

August Stumerl

BE?

30

Prussia

Herman Hilbrin

Clerk

30

Prussia