[NI021] Susannah Dodds handwritten, but shaky signature appears on the marriage record in the Parisdh Register. This might indocate that her reading and writing abilities were not on a par with her husband's. However it might just be because of nervousness due to wedding excitement.
[NI022] At this time (9/22/1999 Thomas is a rather shadowy figure. Although shown as a brother of James in genealogies from England the birthdate shown (1809) is incorrect as is his marriage data.
[NI022] Little is known about him in the U.S.. The marriage data shown for him is based on a newspaper clipping pasted on the inside back cover of the James Stillman (Thomas's brother) family bible. It has been assumed that it refers to this Thomas but there is no direct evidence of this.
[NI022] Emma Jane Stillman Murray, James granddaughter and Thomas's Grand Niece told her son William several times that another Stillman had also come over with James but didn't like America and eventually went back to England. So far only the fact that Thomas came to the U.S. with James has been verified. There is no verification that Thomas returned to England, either on a visit or permanently.
[NI039] Edward was a Cavalryman in the English forces in the Battle of Dettingen, Germany in 1743. This battle is memorable as the last battle in which an English King accompanied his forces in the field.
[NI039] He wrote a letter home to his brother Thomas describing the battle. It was later copied into the letter book of the Fifth Earl Of Orrery and was also published in "The Age Of Scandal" by Terence Hanbury White published by Penguin Books.
[NI039] The Earl's letter book is now in the Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge Massachusetts. In October 1988 I visited the library and was able to read the letter as it appeared in the letter book.
[NI039] I compared the text of the letter as it appears in "The Age Of Scandal" with the text of the letter in the Earl's letter book. The text in the latter is supposedly an exact and true copy ("copied and spelt exactly from the original"). It seems to be more complete than that in the "Age Of Scandal". It is the version which follows, however the the spelling has been "modernized" to facilitate reading and understanding.
[NI039] To Mr. THOS STILMAN in Frome in Somersetshir In ENGLAND Thus:
[NI039]
Dear Brother - I send you these lines to let you know that I am in good
health and now I can with pleasure send you the happy news of our success
in the Battle that happened the 15th, of this month, (1) and now I shall
proceed with the particulars which were as follows. Thursday in the
morning at 5 o'clock the French began playing their cannon upon our
baggage, (2) from a battery they had raised at the other side of the
Main, (3) and so continued until 20, minutes after 8 and then they turned
their cannon upon us and all our regiments of horse and Dragoons till 12
which you may think it strange but I shall tell you the cause of it. They
had got 40 thousand in a wood just across our right wing in order as soon
as we had marched up to fall in upon our rear and so we should have been
at front and rear with water on one side of us and a wood at the other
but it was happily discovered and our cannon set brisk to work and by 12
lat the wood (4) about their ears and drove them to the rest of the Army
and we then marched up all the Foot (5) in front of our right wing and
the Dragoons in the centre and all the horses upon the left and his
Majesty in the front of the old Bufs (6) bold as a lion with his cane in
one hand and his sword in the other. So when they came up to them we all
gave three housays, (7) and all the foot gave 3 (of) the (most) mortal
cheers that ever were known and the french turned tail and ran to the
waterside in hope of getting over their bridge but while cape (kept) them
in play, the queins (Queen's) men pulled down the bridge and about 2
thousands of them were forced into the river so that the Main is be cum
seckent (second) Danube (8) so then our left wing came into play and our
regiment pushed in upon the (Gendarmes?) which is the French Life Guards
and a regiment of Dragoons and the first push as we made Mr. Vizard was
at my right hand so we had our swords on our wrist and our pistols in our
hands and before Mr. Vizard could could draw his trigger his horse was
shot and dead (died?) upon the spot and Mr. Vizard's leg laid under one
horsebelly. I dropped my pistol and I held out my sword with a stiff arm,
caught the blows and never waged (wavered?) till I saw Mr. Viz leg clear
of the horse so he got clear with only the loss of his bags and shirts
and all the things he had. It was a mortal hot battle as ever was seen in
this age as I have heard officers say since God knows. I thought every
minute to be my last. For I thought that all of them presented at me and
the whirling of the balls made me almost deaf but God Almighty heard my
prayers and brought me clear without any wound. When I was in the heat of
the battle I was so past fear. Mr. Figors horse was shot and Mr. Gorgs
(Georges?) horse and Mr. Meeis had his belt cut in two but did him no
harm. Doctor Hatthon is shot through the body and still alive and likely
to do well. The most shocking thing was to hear the cries of wounded
French that we rode over when we pursued them but we could not help it.
So when the batel was over which was about 7o'clock we marched to a place
to encamp on then 4 men of a troop were ordered to go back, take up our
tents and citels (?) and all the rest of our camp materials and I was one
of them and then my heart was shocked most of all for most a mile
together my horse could not step for dead men and horses. We lost l5
hundred men and some odds, beside wounded and the French lost 9 thousand
besides wounded. The 26th all the whole army fired 3 times after cheers
for Joy Of Victory. I was on the vanguard, (9) for a fortnight (10)
before the battle and I thought it hard work but nothing is so hard as
killing of Men. Pray my dear brother give my Duty to my dear wife and
children and my love to my brothers and sisters and all my relations and
all that do ask for me. It is daily prayers to God that I may live to
come home and live in happiness with my wife and children which is all at
present from your most loving brother. EDWARD STILMAN.
I made what inquiry I can and sent James Newman to all the regiments that
he could go, to find out if there was any of my townsmen dead and he
could find but one which was Thomas Wilkons, his head was shot off by
cannonball. The regiment Samuel Pew belongs to is 5 miles from ours so I
got liberty and rode to his and I found him ingood health. I could stay
with him not above 5 minutes and he gives his Duty to his wife and his
love to all. Pray send to me in General Hunywood's regiment near
Ashaffingburg or elsewhere.
[NI039] Notes:
[NI039]
1. The recorded date of the Battle Of Dettingen is the 27th of June 1743,
whereas
Edward Stilman refers to it as the 15th. This discrepancy is evidently
due to the fact that while Germany adopted the Gregorian Calendar in 1700
England remained on the Julian calendar until 1752.
[NI039] 2. Baggage in this context means the portable equipment of the army.
[NI039] 3. The River Main is a tributary of the Rhine - the Battle of Dettingen took place in an area about 20 - 25 miles due East from Frankfurt.
[NI039] 4. Possibly "lit the wood" - whatever the word the effect was to force the French from their hiding place.
[NI039] 5. Regiment of Foot Soldiers.
[NI039] 6. Some present day readers of the letter suggest the word Bufs might mean Hussars. However at the time of the American Revolution there were 70 regiments of Foot Soldiers in the English Army. The 3rd was known as the Buffs and in 1970 was still known as "The Buffs" ( Royal East Kent Regiment). So it is probable that Bufs refers to "The Buffs".
[NI039] 7. Housays is the same as Hurrahs. Three cheers, in other words
[NI039] 8.On August 13, 1704, John Churchill, Earl Of Marlborough, an ancestor of Winston Churchill, defeated a French Army at Blindheim, Gemany (referred to by the English as Blenheim). In the course of the battle his forces drove many thousands of the French Army to their deaths in the Danube River.
[NI039] 9. Being in the vanguard meant that he was advancing with the front line during their march, which had begun in Leige during February and initially moved slowly.
[NI039] 10. A fortnight is two weeks (fourteen nights) The term is still commonly used in the United Kingdom but is almost unknown in the United States.
[NI039] The unit in which Edward served is not known, however from the text of the letter, it is evident that it was a Cavalry Regiment. The First through the Seventh "Cavalry of the Line" served at Dettingen. Reference "Battles of the British Army" by Charles Rathbone Low.
[NI039] It is however, certain that he was not a member of the Third Dragoon Regiment which suffered severe losses at Dettingen - all but 2 officers and 75% of the men either killed or wounded. Since Edward does not mention severe losses in his unit it is safe to assume that he was not in the Third.
[NI039] A General Philip Honeywood (spelled Honywood in some accounts) commanded the First Regiment (King's Dragoon Guards} at Dettingen. It appears likely that this is the "General Hunywood" (similar sound - different spelling) referred to in the last sentence of Edward's letter. Therefore it seems probable that Edward was a member of the First (King's Dragoons).
[NI039] If Edward conformed to the physical standards of the Dragoon Guards of 1775, as well he might have, he was about 5 feet 9inches tall. The men in the Dragoons were selected for that service because they were the "tallest and briskiest" of those available for service and as such were chosen to form specialist units such as the Dragoon Guards, who were trained to fight both on foot and horseback. Since Edward's description infers that he and the others were mounted but fought (in the Battle) mainly on foot, this would be further confirmation that Edward was in the First Dragoon Guards.
[NI039] At five feet nine inches in height, Edward would have been tall for his day when the height of the average man was about five feet four inches.
[NI039] Sadly Edward probably did not survive the war. Nothing is known of his service after Dettingen but when his wife died in 1749 she was listed as a widow.
[NI102] Although her legal first name was Emma, Emma Jane Murray was always known as Dot to her family.
[NI102] World War One was the first time women were enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Approximately 12,000 were enlisted.
[NI102] Feeling that it was her patriotic duty, and perhaps for adventure, she left a job as a stenographer in the New York Office of Aetna Automobile Insurance for the service. This according to verbal reminesence from her mother.
[NI102] She enlisted February 11, 1918, Third Naval District, New York City, New York as a Yeomanette.
[NI102] Assigned to Washington D.C. as a Stenograqpher, she was quartered in a private home. While there she contracted an illness (possibly flu) which resulted in her gradually losing her hearing.
[NI102] She was eventually judged awarded a disability rating of 100% (in hearing) and received a pension from the Veterans Administration for the rest of her life.
[NI102] She left active service July 10, 1919 as a Yeomanette First Class.
[NI102] "Dot" was discharged from the U.S. Naval Reserve Force, November 5th, 1920 and was issued War Service Certificate #432465.
[NI102] She separated from William Trowbridge in the mid 1920's and raised her son as a single mother.
[NI102] Soon after the separation she passed a Civil Service examination and was given a position in the Payroll Section of the U.S. Army (National Guard) at the Brooklyn Army Base where she worked for many years (at least 30) eventually retiring from there.
[NI102] Cause of death is shown on the Certificate Of Death as Arteriosclerotic Heart Disease with Congestive Heart Failure with Recent Bilateral Pneumonia shown as a significant condition continuing to death but not related to the heart disease.
[NI108] John was mentioed as a minor is his father's will which left him lands at Steeple Ashton. He was mentioned as "Of Trowbridge" at the time of his marriage.
[NI114] Birth date and mention of second marriage (to Suzanna Horton) mentioned Chancery proceedings chancery proceedings reference note F of source document.
[NI125] Information on Robert Styleman and his descendants presented in this family tree has been gathered through research conducted since the mid 1950's by several people all descendants from Robert in one way or another namely:
[NI125]
G.H. Stillman, Claremont, Western Australia - deceased.
Pamela Warner, Bognor Regis, England - deceased
Nicholas Planas, Basingstoke, England - last known address
William J. Murray, Penn Valley, California, U.S.A.
[NI125] Most of the information on the first ten generations of Robert Styleman's descendants came from G.H. Stillman's records and charts. Pamela Warner supplied copies of Stillman's materials and her own extensive research on lines of descent from Robert in England from the tenth generation to the late 1980's.
[NI125] Nicholas Planas supplied material on additional lines of descent from Robert in England from the tenth generation to the late 1980's.
[NI125] Both Warner and Planas also supplied material on the lives of some of the descendants and the areas and times in which they lived.
[NI125] Information on the Styleman - Stillman branch which emigrated to the United States in 1836 was developed by William Murray. He also examined publications available in the U. S. in an attempt to indentify the British Army Unit to which Edward William Stilman was assigned and in which he fought in the Battle of Dettingen, Germany in 1743.
[NI125] Murray, using the sources mentioned above, created the Family Tree using the Broderbund Family Tree Maker.
[NI125] As applicable, a large amount of background on some individuals is contained in facts and notes.
[NI125] ---------------------------
[NI125] Robert Styleman is the earliest Stillman Ancestor which G.H. Stillman has shown on the descendant tree. Approximate birth date has been calculated as follows:
[NI125] It is known that Robert's son Anthony was an M.P. from Wiltshire in the period 1491 - 1492. It it can be assumed that he would have had to be about 21 years old to be a member, this would set Antony's birth date about 1470. Assuming that Robert have been at least 20 years old when Anthony was born, this would make Robert's birth date about 1450. Using the 20 year same time frame from birth to first son would mean that Robert's father must have been born not later than 1430.
[NI125] These assumptions are based on evidence that the family name was in use in the mid-1400's. In the section headed "The Family Arms and Heraldic Visitations" in G.H.Stillman's 1961 "Styleman of Steeple Ashton" is a quotation from a letter to Stillman from the College of Arms as follows:
[NI125] "The arms were certainly not granted in 1562 as you (Stillman) suggested, because they are in fact recorded as early as 1531 in the Heraldic Visitation of Wilts. by Thomas Benolte Clarenceux, King of Arms. "
[NI125] Stillman goes on to report:
[NI125] "This record is in the name of Styleman of SteepleAshton in the county of WILTSHIRE. No letters Patent covering the grant have been issued as this was not the usual practice at the time. According to verbal advice from Chester Herald the registration would have been made on evidence of use by three generations or 80 years which would take them back to 1450."
[NI125] The Heraldic Visitations were established about 1529 as a means of insuring that only those who had a right to "Bear Arms" did so. Those who could not present satisfactory evidence of that right were ordered to, in modern terms, "cease and desist".
[NI125] The records of visitations contain information which is considered to be fairly reliable in establishing family trees dating from the 1400's.
[NI127] Styleman of Steeple Ashton Chart - G.H. Stillman circa 1975. Note A - Notes And Authorities states (in part):
[NI127] Wife named Matilde in Will P.C.C. 29 Bennett. Daughter (Mary) assumed by her.
[NI170] An Edmund Leversedge who died in 1496 is shown as a descendant of one Roger De Courcelles living in 1121 in a sketch pedigree shown on page 72 of "The Book of Frome" by Michael McGarvie, publisher and date of publication unknown but probably after 1950.
[NI170]
It is possible that Edmonde and Edmund are one and the same person. If so
the descendants of Anthony Stilman and ... xpiane (or Christian) can
trace their lineage back to Roger De Courcells.
[NI170] So far (early July 1998) information has not been found to prove or disprove this possibility.
[NI170] Note: The Sketch Pedigree referred to in the first paragraph was drawn to establish the descent of the Manor of Frome Vallis from 1121 to 1738. The manor was sold in 1751 to John Boyle, The Earl of Orrery in 1751.
[NI170] It is possible that Edmonde is the French spelling of the English Edmund.
[NI216] This George was the first of Robert Stylleman's direct descendants to emigrate to America, (Massachusetts Colony) which he did in 1683 or 1684.
[NI216] Most of the Stillmans in the U.S. (but not all) who are Robert's descendants are descendants of this George Stilman.
[NI216] Another descendant of Robert, James Stillman, emigrated from London to New York City in 1836.
[NI216] George's son another George then five or six years old was left on London with friends when his parents emigrated to America.
[NI216] It is not known why George Stilman decided to emigrate to America but it may have been for political reasons.
[NI216] Typed copy of the source document is in the possession of the compiler of this tree William J Murray a descendant (through his mother) of the James Stillman who emigrated to the U.S. in 1836
[NF07] Marriage date was obtained by a combination of information from two sources.
[NF07] The first was a yellowed newspaper clipping pasted in the inside back cover of the bible belonging to Thomas's older brother James which reads as follows:
[NF07] MARRIED,
[NF07]
On the 19th instant, by the Rev. Duncan Dunbar, Mr.
Mr. Thomas Stillman, of London England, to Anna Maria
Parkinson of this city.
[NF07] The second source was an entry in a book by J.P. Maher, P.O. Box 7, Dunn Loring, VA., 22027 which listed marriage and death announcements appearing in the New York Herald over a period from about 1825 to 1855. The book was published by the Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, MD.
[NF07] That entry indicated the entry of the marriage announcement appeared in the July 20th 1841 issue of the Herald.
[NF07] A microfilm of the New YHork Herald for that date was obtained and viewed. The marriage anouncement was found and it verfied that the newspaper clipping in the bible had been taken from the Herald for July 20, 1841.
[NF10] Married in the Church of St. John The Baptist in Frome, Somerset Co. England
[NF39] 1565 Visitation stated "no issue' but Anthony's sons, John and Anthony were presented Manorial Court in 1577. If Anthony (the son) was born in 1566 immediately after the 1565 visitation that would make him about 16 years old at the time of his marriage.
[NF52] The Stylleman of Steeple Ashton chart contains conflicting information on this marriage.
[NF52] Note C - Notes and Authorities convey the impression that there was an Agn(es) last name probably Hulcott who was a wife of Richard. It also conveys the impression that there was another Agn(es), last name unknown.
[NF52] The only Agn(es) shown on the tree shows an Agn(es), the wife of one Wyse who is the daughter of Anthony. This would make Agn(es) wife of Wyse, the sister of Richard.
[NF52] For the purpose of this tree it is assumed that Richard's wife Elizabeth died before he did. He then married an Agn{es} Hulcott and that he also had a sister Agn(es) Stilman.
[NF52] The family tree will reflect this assumption when it is printed out