This is a story about my Stiles research. It does not include anyone “famous”, but most stories on family history do not.
Several years ago, I made contact with a descendant of Lucy Wellington through her daughter Augusta Wakefield. I descend from Augusta’s sister, Mary Wakefield (1831-before 1888) who married Wilbur Stiles (1827-1870). This contact was able to provide me with the names of the children of Wilbur and Mary who were known at that time – including a William Henry Stiles. At the time, she had found a William H Stiles in the census with a family in Genesee County Michigan, but did not know for sure if this was our William Henry Stiles. My gut told me it was, but gut feelings are not proof.
Then, almost 2 years ago, I made contact with a descendant of William H. Stiles from Genesee County. Her family story said that William’s mother was a Native American – possibly with the name of “Sue Bee” (or some variation of spelling). However, she could find no proof of that family legend. She did have the father as probably Wilbur Stiles.
The information that this cousin provided proved to me that we were indeed talking about the same family. She just wasn’t sure only because of the family legend, but again, my gut told me it was the same family. And the information that was provided coincided with the census information that was found earlier.
This however still was not definitive proof. The historian for the Stiles Family of America felt that it was not definitive enough proof to remove the missing link information for that family and to link it to my family. So the search continued.
I then broke down and ordered the military service and pension files for Wilbur Stiles Jr (1864-1938). In it, was a copy of a page from a Bible which served as his birth certificate.
As you can see above, the copy is not the best. What intrigued me though was the line under Wilbur F. Stiles at the bottom. It’s hard to see in this image, but there is a William H. Stiles listed – the lettering is just really light. It could be because it was written in pencil instead of pen, or it could be due to age I suppose. The thing is, it proved to me that there indeed was a son of Wilbur and Mary who was named William H. Stiles. My gut again told me that this was the same person as in the census and the ancestor of this newly discovered cousin from 2008. However, it was still not enough proof for many.
Then, today, March 8, 2010, I accessed another resource – pilot.familysearch.org. This website had images of the record books from the various counties in Michigan. Here I find the following pictures.
The marriage of William H Stiles to Emma Elliott from the Lapeer County Michigan book of Marriages.
The marriage record of William H Stiles and Mabel Gibbs as recorded in the Genesee County Michigan Marriage Record book.
Finally – I have proof that William H Stiles that my cousin descends from and that appeared in the later census records really is the son of Wilbur and Mary. My gut was right! This still doesn’t explain the “Native American” legend from that branch of the family – although quite frankly, many family legends in Michigan contain that fable. However, it doesn’t diminish my excitement for this discovery.
