BIOGRAPHICAL BITS AND PIECES 

From a Lawrence County, Indiana History:

"1819 or 1820, George Still began the same business [retail spirits in Leesville] and continued for about 10 years."

A Copy of A Short Life History of HENRY  STILL.

"I am the 2nd son of Wr. And Phoebe STILL, b 6 January 1766. My father's parents I never knew. He was from Carolina. My mother was the eldest daughter of Joseph and Rachel LACY. He was a respectable farmer. My mother had 9 children, 8 sons and 1 daughter. Mother died March 1782 of small pox.

1 October 1782-I put myself apprentice to John JENNINGS, carriage making business.

June 1783-moved to New Windsor, Orange Co., NY.

June 1784-moved to New York City.

October 2, 1785-fell on an ax and cut off my leg.

June 1786-commenced business with John WOODRUFF.

1789-experienced religion, and joined the M. E. Church.

On 2 May 1799-bought the farm I now live on.

12 March 1800-was married to E. COLEMAN.

1 April-commenced to keeping house.

1801-was appointed class leader which office I held 40 years.

1804-was licensed an exhorter, which office I hold yet.

1807-was elected trustee of the New Windsor M. E. Church, and appointed building committee.

1809-Newburgh circuit was divided, New Windsor taken from it. I was appointed recording steward.

My wife died 17 June 1830.

Married Hester MORGAN 5 November 1833, who died 25 December 1833.

25 October 1837-married Mary STANTON, who died 18 January 1853.

I am this day 87 years, 8 months, 8 days old. 14 September 1853. Henry Still

(Contributed by Florence P. TATE. Two copies of it agree exactly. One has addenda: "He had 12 children, 7 sons and 5 daughters. He died Oct. 1858, age 92 years, 8 months, 28 days.)"

From "American Ancestry", Vol. 4, 1889, p 23:

"STILLE, Charles Janeway, of Philadelphia, PA, b Sept 23, 1819, graduated Yale College 1839 LL.D. same 1868, ex-provost of University of Penna, historical writer, vice-president of Historical Soc. Of Penna (m April 21, 1846 Anna W., daughter of Joseph H. DULLES of Philadelphia). Son of John STILLE of Philadelphia, b 1767, d December 4, 1842, East India Merchant (m December 19, 1811 Maria, daughter of John WAGNER, merchant of Philadelphia). Son of John STILLE of Philadelphia b 1739, d 1802, (m Mary BOYD of Octorara, PA). Son of Morton STILLE of Gloucester Co. NY, b 1704, d 1753 (m Mary HALTON of same Co.) Son of John STILLE of Philadelphia PA, b 1646, d 1722 (m Gertrude___?___). Son of Olof Person STILLE, who came with the Swedish expedition to the shores of the Delaware under Gov. PRINTZ in 1641, as the millwright of the colony."

      "John STILL, general contractor and one of Steubenville's substantial and representative citizens has been established in this city since 1890.  He was born in Jefferson Co., Ohio on February 1, 1858, and is the son of Daniel STILL, now deceased, who followed the cooper's trade and was engaged in farming in Jefferson County."

From "The History of Delaware County, Ohio", p 433:

   "(....Mr. BROWN came to Ohio, and in 1808, came to Berkshire Township,....)  His arrival in 1808 was followed very soon by the families of Joseph COWGILL and Oliver STILL."

   "JOHN MEREDITH STILL was born in Barry County, Missouri, on the 25th of March 1846.  He was the son of John STILL and Susan HENSON.  He joined the Union Army and served in the Civil War from 15 February 1864 to 30 June 1865 in Company I, 2nd Regiment of Arkansas Cavalry.  When he enlisted, his description read: 'Age 18 years, height 5 feet 6 inches, fair complexion, grey eyes, light hair a farmer.'  He married Martha Jane ASHER on the 4th of July 1866 in Galena, Stone County, Missouri.  They moved to Searcy County and raised their eight children around the Tomahawk community.  Their children were:  Mary Elizabeth (1867-1890) married Joshua REEVES; Samuel B. (1869-1871); Sarah Jane (Said) (1871-1963) married John MOORE; John William (Will) (1873-1964) married Sarah BEARDEN; Martha Emeline (1876-1956) married Thomas Lawson GUTHRIE; Levi E. (Bug) (1878-1952) married Lucinda BEARDEN; James Garfield (Gar) (1881-1960) married Lucy Adaline KEELING, daughter of Isaac Newton KEELING and Emmer Tennessee OSBORN; Benjamin Franklin (Frank) (1884-1964) married Betty ADAMS, daughter of George and Adeline ADAMS.  Sarah and Lucinda (Cinda) who married Will and Levi were sisters and daughters of Francis BEARDEN and Millie SMITH.  John M. STILL was the original postmaster at Push, Arkansas.  Push was located at Baker Springs between St. Joe and Tomahawk; he also ran the general store.  He was very proud of being a Union Soldier and collected a pension from the U.S. Government until he died on the 24th of April, 1910.  His wife, Martha Jane, preceded him in death on 16 August 1907.  They are buried near his father, John STILL, whose tombstone reads. 'From Powell Valley Tennessee'.  Powell Valley is in Claiborne County, Tennessee.  Many descendants of this pioneer family of Arkansas live in Searcy County today."     ~Submitted by Bonnie Guthrie BROWN, granddaughter of Thomas GUTHRIE and Martha Emeline STILL.

   "Jake and Mary STILL came to Beaver Co. in 1905 to the Old Floris Community.  A well was drilled soon after homesteading.  It served the family and surrounding community.  Mary helped care for the sick and new arrivals, as those days called for all to work together in one great effort, to build and conquer a new land.  George Beard, Blackie Jones, and J. L. STILL circulated the petition for the Floris Cemetery.  They, along with other pioneers of No Man's Land, have left a heritage to be cherished and honored by all of us.  Eight STILL children grew up on these open plains of Oklahoma:  Orange, Oscar, Fern, Faye, Maye, Lee Olin, and Dale."  Submitted by Olin and Eva STILL

This was sent to me by Emery FRANCIS efrancis@aristotle.net   He is descended from Robert STELL--brother of the writer of the 1852 letter.)  This was originally published in the Morrilton (AR) Democrat Newspaper, May 28,1936.       [Surnames in CAPS is my doing--D. Everling]
                                           "INTERESTING LETTER WRITTEN 84 YEARS AGO"
"Members of the STELL family in Conway County recently received a copy of a letter written by John D. STELL many years ago. The original is in the possession of relatives in Texas. The original STELLs in Conway County came to Arkansas from Gwinnett County, Georgia in 1835. With them came the HARRISONs, the WILBANKs, the VENABLEs. The community now known as 'Hill Creek' was the site of the settlement of these families, and was for many years known as 'Georgia Settlement.' Mrs. Georgia GRISWOOD, now 80 years of age, who lives in this community was a granddaughter of Robert STELL (brother of John Dennis [STELL], the writer of the letter -Ed.) who came here from Georgia. Robert STELL is understood to have been a grandson of the John STELL who came to North Carolina from England in Colonial days and was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. There are many descendants of these emigrants from Georgia who live in Conway County and throughout the state."

"Fayette, Georgia                                                                                                                               14th April 1852

Dear Manson:
  Yours of the 12th is now before me, which I hasten to answer. Under existing circumstances I have no hesitation whatever in advising you to accept the profound honor. One consideration, me hereunto moving, lies in the fact that it is not by the procurement of yourself or of your relations, but is voluntarily tended unsought and unanticipated. I trust that your very kind friends have regarded it is a reward of merit. It is gratifying reflection to me indeed, which is greatly heightened by the consideration of the profound obscurity that has overshadowed our ancestry.
   My grandfather, whose name was John STELL, migrated to the continent of America from England, previous to the Declaration of Independence. Located in North Carolina, then a colony, in the vicinity of Cape Fear. Took part in the Revolutionary Struggle as a private soldier. Previously he had intermarried with Susan MALONE, a daughter of old Col. MALONE who subsequently resided in, and I think died in, Newbury District, South Carolina, of whom my father was born on the 4th day of March 1767. He being the second son and being in the tenth year of his age at the time of the Declaration of Independence of course he was too young to take any conspicuous part in the events of that unfortunate crisis.
   My father intermarried with Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of Captain Thomas JONES of Newbury District, S. C. I think in the year 1789, and transferred his residence to Hancock, Georgia about the year 1792 or 3 and remained in that county until February 1807 when he removed his residence to what is now Morgan county, it being then Baldwin, where he resided until his death which occurred on the 2nd of September 1814. I being at that time in my tenth year, having been born in Hancock county on the 27th of October 1804, and the youngest member of the family with one exception, my brother Robert being the youngest. In January 1821 my mother, myself, and my brother Robert moved from Morgan to the wilds of Gwinnett, poor and friendless. In the deep wildwoods of those native forests we erected our log cabin where we were nocturnally surrounded with the hideous howling of the wolf, occasional interspersed with the wild screams of the panthers as well as the doleful hootings of the night owl. During our (to me) ever memorable residence there, I being a poor ignorant orphan boy, uneducated, friendless and forlorn became acquainted with a little orphan stripling girl, somewhat similar circumstances to myself, whose name was Rachel CARROLL a remote descendant of the CARROLL family of Revolutionary memory, with whom I intermarried on the 24th day of November 1822. Yes, my dear son Manson, she was indeed the wife of my youth and may I not most truly add to her grave these tears be given. Pardon me for this melancholy digression. We remained in Gwinnett until January 1825 whence we removed to Fayette. Your birthday, you remember, was the 27th of August of the same year. The first school room you ever entered was the Academy at Fayetteville, and under the auspices of Mr. James F. H. CAMPBELL you learned Your ABC's in 1830.
  When you retrace our genealogy, when you find the name planted in the colonies at so early a day, when you rehearse the pages of history and find no record thereof, you are struck with astonishment; and the inquiry very naturally arises, what has become of the race? They have scattered abroad in the land and I apprehend that a large proportion have prematurely passed away. My life has been pregnant with adventure and vicissitudes and filled up to overflowing with many, very many anxious cares.
  It has been an important object with me to improve the pecuniary conditions of my family, but most of all my ardent ambition has ever been to give my children a name and a place, as well as character and standing with the children of the first men of the age. I have desired and yet do most ardently desire to see my children second in importance and usefulness to none. I desire them to be respected and esteemed for their sterling integrity, their manly virtues, their moral worth.
  It is true Manson, you are but a youth in age, and yet you are the oldest lawyer of the name in the United States. Then why not avail yourself of the earliest opportunity of having your name enrolled with those encircled in the shrine of accredited usefulness? I never shall be able to express my thanks to Judge STARKE for this demonstration of his kindness. I hope you will be able to read this faint, feeble sketch. I would transcribe it and correct it, but my time will not justify the undertaking. When you have your manuscript I should be pleased to see it.      Yours truly, John D. STELL"

  Return to Home Page

E-mail Dawn Everling

July 24, 2002